The National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest and Festival (NOTFC) Oral History Project contains fieldwork conducted by the Idaho Songs Project under the direction of Gary Eller. In 2018, the Idaho Songs Project, in cooperation with folklife interns from Utah State University (USU) and NOTFC, initiated the collection of oral histories of contestants, campground musicians, contest staff, townspeople, local politicians, and others who were around the contest and festival in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. The goal is to preserve a variety of perspectives for study by current fiddle contest and festival personnel as well as future folklife researchers.

The NOTFC has been held annually at Weiser, Idaho, since 1963. The contest had roots in the 1910s but ended due to World War I. After a forty-year hiatus, it was revived to bring revenue and entertainment into the town, and it quickly became the preeminent fiddle contest in the world. In 1963, it officially became known at the National Oldtime Fiddlers’ Contest. The event has attracted up to 5,000-10,000 people, doubling or even tripling the population of the small rural town of Weiser for about a week. It is arguably the longest continually running musical event in Idaho.

The Weiser contest and festival also became internationally legendary for its incredible campground acoustic jam scene. A town festival with downtown sound stages, carnivals, and parades developed as part of the event, and in recent years, a banjo contest has been added.