The Australasian Bluegrass and Old Time Music Association, (ABOTMA), is a not-for-profit incorporated organisation that was formed in 2013 to continue organising an annual bluegrass and old time music festival following on from the very successful and much-loved Harrietville Bluegrass and Traditional Music Convention after it ceased in 2012.
The new festival, called Mountaingrass, was held at Harrietville, Victoria from 2013 until 2017 after which it moved to Beechworth, Victoria. Mountaingrass is organised entirely by volunteers and members of ABOTMA for lovers of bluegrass and old time music in Australasia.
ABOTMA is dedicated to the promotion of bluegrass and American old-time music in Australia and New Zealand. We do this primarily through the annual Mountaingrass festival, but we also have several projects in including the Young Performer Grant and Women in String Bands Project.
As an incorporated body ABOTMA is managed by an Executive committee, who also oversee the organisation of the Mountaingrass festival. The 2019/2020 Executive committee is:
President: Helen Ludellen
Vice President: Bec Bradbury
Secretary: Susan Boothroyd
Treasurer: Karita Brokenshire
Organising a festival is a mammoth task, so 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 particular tasks such as artwork, web site maintenance, publicity, grant writing, and fund raising in particular. If you have skills in these areas and have a bit of spare time, why not join our festival organising team? Send us an email to info@abotma.org.au if you can help. We work hard but we make sure we have fun too!
ABOTMA Projects
Young Performer Grant
Most years ABOTMA uses the funds raised from the Mountaingrass raffle to offer a small grant to a young performer already playing playing bluegrass and old time music to encourage them further.
Note that the Young Performer Grant will be not be offered in 2020 but we expect to offer it again in 2021.
Winner of 2019 Young Performer Grant, Amy Ryan.
for more info go to: Young Performer Grant
Women in Stringbands Project
In 2017 ABOTMA released a compilation CD featuring and celebrating Australian and NZ female musicians playing in stringbands with help from the Folk Alliance Australia and Alexander Bell Studios. It comprises songs and tunes featuring Australian women playing music rooted in bluegrass, old time acoustic string music and other related folk styles. The CD is available for sale or download.
For more info go to: Women in Stringband CD Project