2025 RockyGrass competition results

RockyGrass 2025 instrument contest winners Finn McGuiness (fiddle),
Dave Pailet (mandolin), Andrew Gordon (reso-guitar), and G Korth-Rockwell (banjo and guitar)

Each year at Planet Bluegrass’ RockyGrass festival in Lyons, CO, competitions are held for individual players on the various bluegrass instruments, along with a contest for full bands. Both are held in multiple rounds, and rules are meticulously applied to ensure fairness across the various categories.

Winning in any of these competitions is a high achievement indeed, and taking first in the band contest often leads to much bigger things. Instrument contest winners receive either a new, professional-grade instrument or a cash prize, while band winners receive cash, strings, and the first place group gets to perform at the following year’s festival.

The band contest winners for 2025 were:

1. Slay & Stinson (Denver, CO)
2. Ms. Amy and the Jet Set (Denver, CO)
3. The Sullivan Sisters (Evanston, IL)

And in the instrument competitions, the winners were:

Banjo

1. G Korth-Rockwell
2. Colton McCormick
3. Maura Benton

Flatpick Guitar

1. G Korth-Rockwell
2. Oscar Caudell
3. Everitt Merritt

Mandolin

1. Dave Pailet
2. G Korth-Rockwell
3. Oscar Caudell

Fiddle

1. Finn McGuiness
2. Julian Oliver
3. Mei Lin Heirendt

Reso-Guitar

1. Andrew Gordon
2. Arthur Wessel
3. Mathew Lois Zuckerman

First place prizes this year were:

• Banjo – Deering John Hartford 5-String Banjo
• Fiddle – Thomas Verdot Paragon Fiddle
• Guitar – Preston Thompson D-MA Guitar
• Mandolin – M5-F Bourgeois Mandolin
• Dobro – $750

Well done and congratulations all!