Mountaingrass and ABOTMA

“Mountaingrass” is the official festival of the Australasian Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association of Australia (ABOTMA). 

The festival aims to present performances of bluegrass and traditional old-time music, related workshops, and opportunities for attendees to learn and share with each other through jamming and picking sessions. 


Mountaingrass is organised entirely by volunteers, the committee, members of ABOTMA and dedicated festival helpers for lovers of bluegrass and old time music in Australasia.



ABOTMA is a not-for-profit incorporated organisation formed in 2013 to continue organising an annual bluegrass and old time music festival after the successful and much-loved Harrietville Bluegrass and Traditional Music Convention ceased in 2012.
The new festival was called Mountaingrass. It was held at Harrietville, Victoria from 2013 until 2017 when it moved to Beechworth, Victoria. In 2024, the festival moved to Bright, Victoria where it will stay. 

ABOTMA is dedicated to the promotion of bluegrass and American old-time music in Australia and New Zealand. Where possible we also involve acts from other parts of the Pacific Rim including Japan. We do this primarily through the annual Mountaingrass festival, but we also have several projects in including the Young Peformer Grant , Women in String Bands Project, and the ABOTMA Songwriting competition.  

You can support ABOTMA, (and get on our mailing list), by becoming a member. 


As an incorporated body ABOTMA is managed by an Executive committee, who also oversee the organisation of the Mountaingrass festival. 

The 2024/2025 Executive committee is:


• President:  Jacinta Connery
• Vice President:  Bruce Packard
• Secretary:  Stephen Loss
• Treasurer:  To be filled
• Ordinary Committee members: 
  Mick O'Neill
  Richard Drew
  Suzanne Diprose


Organising a festival is a mammoth task, we are very grateful for the help of all of our dedicated volunteers. We are always looking for people who would like to get involved in helping with tasks such as artwork, web site maintenance, publicity, grant writing and fund raising. If you have skills in these areas and have a bit of spare time, why not join our festival organising team? 

Send an email to info@abotma.org.au if you can help. You can also volunteer to help during the festival. We work hard but we make sure we have fun too!