'A Huge Honor': National Fiddler Hall Of Fame Holds Induction Ceremony

Rob Hajacos and Jimmy Mattingly have been playing the fiddle since they were kids. Now, all their hard work is paying off.

The two started playing when their fathers first placed the instrument in their hands.

"My dad played, and I watched him play," said Mattingly. Hajacos said, "my dad was a fiddle player, so I was heavily influenced by him."

Little did they know their talent would lead them to play with some of country's biggest names.

"I've toured a lot with Dolly, I've toured with Garth for 28 years," Mattingly said.

The 2023 Fiddler Hall of Fame inductees are Jimmy Mattingly, Rob Hajacos and Hoot Hester. Hester passed away in 2016, but his daughter accepted the award on his behalf.

When the inductees were asked about how they got here, they would quickly talk about the accomplishments of one another.

"He played for the great Osborn brothers bluegrass, my gosh I just saw some footage of him playing with them and I was like wow, I mean really, really top-notch stuff," Hajacos said about Mattingly.

Rob Hajacos and Jimmy Mattingly have been friends for years and have watched each other get to this point. Now, they get to join this musical legacy together.

"Some of my heroes are here so for me to be here it's a huge honor, and a huge honor to go in with Rob and Hoot because they're guys that I've looked up to for a long time and so its, yeah its cool," said Mattingly.

Hajacos and Mattingly are grateful for the opportunity, but say they couldn't have done it without their fathers. "I think at some level he would probably go wow, I saw it coming later but I would have never dreamed of it when I put him on the airplane to go to Nashville when he was 19 years old you know? So I think now, he would be, he would be like I knew you could do it," Hajacos said.

The inductees are thankful for this honor and are excited to welcome other fiddlers into the legacy next year.