AFTER several years in Beechworth, Mountaingrass Festival is returning to Bright in November.

Festival secretary Helen Ludellen said the team is excited to be presenting a great program of Bluegrass and American old time music with special guests from the United States.

“High Fidelity with their bluegrass gospel harmony singing, fiddle tunes from the Nokosee Fields Duo, and The Alum Ridge Boys and Ashlee who wowed us on their tour of Australia last year are among the artists performing,” she said.

“Add to that Pete Denahy with his band Wide Land which includes Japanese friends Hiroki Maeta, a virtuoso mandolist, and banjo player Montz Matsumoto.

“To top that we have a selection of the best bluegrass and old time acts from Australia and New Zealand.  

“In addition to our main concerts at the Bright Community Hall and Bright Senior Citizens Centre we will have two very special, purely acoustic concerts on Saturday and Sunday afternoon at the Bright Courthouse Theatre, a performance space with a great acoustic.

“And, on Sunday morning we have our very popular Sunday Morning Gospel concert; expect to see our US guests there.

“Mountaingrass is an event that actively encourages new, emerging and experienced musicians.

“To support that we have a comprehensive program of workshops run by experienced teachers and musicians who want to share their love of the music.”

This year, aside from the instrument workshops at all levels for guitar, banjo, mandolin, upright bass and resonator guitar, the festival will have a workshop on gospel singing with High Fidelity; several performance skills workshops for players who want to learn some stagecraft; and an Old Time dance styles workshop.

There will also be guided slow jams throughout the weekend along with the usual spontaneous jams and sessions.  

Finally, festival luthiers will be at the Bright Community Hall where you can meet the maker and buy, or order, a hand-made guitar, mandolin or banjo customised to your requirements.  

Mountaingrass will be held in Bright from 4pm Friday, November 15 to late on Sunday, November 17 at the Bright Community Hall on Railway Avenue; the Senior Citizens Centre at 2 Cobden Street; and the Bright Courthouse Theatre at 1-3 Parks Street. 

For more information and to grab a ticket, go to mountaingrass.com.au.