Mike Compton to play at Mountaingrass 2016
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Banner photo by the lovely and talented Ian Fisk. “Strzlecki Stringbusters at the walkup stage.”
Mike Compton to appear at Mountaingrass 2016
Grammy and IBMA award winning bluegrass mandolinist Mike Compton has been confirmed as a headline act for Mountaingrass 2016. He played with the legendary John Hartford, recording a half-dozen albums with the Hartford String Band and touring extensively until Hartford’s death in 2001. Wearing his signature pressed blue overalls and rocking and weaving with fluid body motion, Compton stuns not by tricks or artifice, but through his singing, his ability to engage a crowd, and through decades of honing his technique into the unique, one-of-a-kind Compton signature mandolin sound.
Artist Applications for 2016
Applications opened the 1st of March and they have been coming in steadily ever since. Many of the acts who performed at Mountaingrass 2015 have already applied to return, telling us we’re doing something right and have created a positive, welcoming environment that performers enjoy! That must be it, they certainly aren’t coming for the money. Applications close 10pm May 1st and successful applicants will be notified by June 1st.
Interested in applying? Read the guidelines and fill out your application today!
Read the Guidelines
Apply for Mountaingrass 2016
Wanted: Publicity Coordinator
Have you ever found yourself thinking of all the ways you would advertise and promote Mountaingrass if you were in charge? Now you can be! We are looking for someone to develop a campaign to ensure that publicity is occurring in a scheduled and consistent way in the lead up to the festival. You can read more about this position here: http://mountaingrass.com.au/volunteer/publicity-coordinator/.
Email info@abotma.org.au or fill out the contact form at http://mountaingrass.com.au/volunteer/ to put yourself in the control seat. We look forward to hearing from you!
Publicity and media not your thing? There are PLENTY of other jobs waiting for your particular skills. It’s only with the skills and hard work of people like yourself that a volunteer run festival like Mountaingrass can happen! Visit the Volunteer at Mountaingrass webpage for more information.
Instrument maker profile of the month: Laurie Grundy
Where would we be without Laurie Grundy? Not in Harrietville, that’s for sure! Laurie has been making his beautiful banjos since 1976 and was instrumental (unintended pun!) in bringing the first Harrietville Bluegrass and Old Time Convention into being. The number of accomplished banjo pickers who love Laurie’s work is too long to list! This year Laurie is doubling down on his support of ABOTMA and Mountaingrass by providing first prize for this year’s Mountaingrass raffle: a Grundy open-back old-time banjo. Thank you, Laurie and Linda!
Have your say! www.mountaingrass.com.au
One of our goals this year is to make the Mountaingrass website as user friendly and attractive as possible. We realise that as the designers of the website, we don’t see it the way you do. We’re bound to miss stuff. If you’ve got a minute, please click on that link just above there and have a poke around. What do you like? What don’t you like? Are things clear? Can you find answers to your questions easily? If some piece of information wasn’t the first place you looked for it, where was the first place? We’ll move it there!
Kind regards,
Your ABOTMA Executive Committee
info@abotma.org.au
John has been on the Canberra Bluegrass scene since the 1970’s performing on banjo & dobro with the legendary “Tag and the Noose Brothers” pioneering bluegrass music around the district for many years. During this time he constructed several banjos and a mandolin and this stirred a desire to keep making instruments.