Berridale is becoming a new folk and bluegrass centre in the Snowy Monaro following the formation of a social group which brings musicians and singers together each fortnight to jam.

The group, Snowy Mountains Folk, has a permanent home at the recently re-opened Berridale Inn, meeting on the second and fourth Sundays of each month between 5pm and 7pm.

Formed by Berridale local musicians ‘to fill a gap’, with the nearest folk clubs located in Canberra and Braidwood.

Snowy Mountains Folk welcomes musicians and singers of all ages and all levels with only one requirement - they must enjoy folk, bluegrass and country music.

“There are quite a few open mics now going on regularly in the region, such as BerriJam on the third Sunday of each month in Berridale, Club Bombala offering on the first Sunday of the month and the Brumby Bar Open Mic on Friday nights in Jindabyne, but we didn’t have a place for people who specifically love to play, sing and listen to folk, blue grass and country to gather and jam together,” organiser, Gabi Forman, said.

“We set up Snowy Mountains Folk as a social group, originally meeting at the annexe behind Berridale’s Anglican Church, but we started to outgrow the space and have decided to move to Berridale Inn at the kind invitation of the new owner, Jacko, who wants to encourage community and family groups to use the facility.

“We will be in the back room, closed to the public, so it is a safe and welcome space for younger people to join in, or for musicians to bring their families.”

The sessions are attended by experienced and new musicians playing instruments from guitar to banjo, ukulele, fiddle, dobro, drums, harmonica, flute and mandolin.

Percussion instruments are available for anyone who doesn’t play at stringed instrument but would like to join in.

Musicians travel from as far as Nimmitabel, Bombala, Cooma and even the Far South Coast to join in, with the occasional Canberra visitor.

“Basically people show up with their music stands or tablets, and their instruments, which we encourage to be played acoustically, we hand out some music, play songs once or twice through, see how it sounds and have a lot of fun,” Ms Forman said.

“Some people can only play one or two chords, but find they can join in and have fun and learn.

“It is very casual, welcoming and not overly-structured.

“We supply music or call out chords, but also encourage people to bring chord sheets for bluegrass, folk or country songs they think the group might like.

“We are hoping to attract some visiting musicians who might be passing by, especially in the winter and have already had interest from coastal musicians keen to come along and jam with us.”

The social group has spawned dedicated rehearsing and performing bands, which have played at Berridale Lions Christmas Fair, Cobargo Folk Festival and the National Folk Festival and members often play at BerriJam.

Members of the group have also competed in the finals of the Australian National Busking Championships.

Ms Forman said Snowy Mountains Folk regulars were grateful for the use of the Berridale Anglican Church facility and had made a donation for the use of the facility in recent months.

“It was a great place to get started but we are looking forward to bringing folk and bluegrass music to the Berridale Inn,” she said.

“There are quite a few closet folk and bluegrass musicians around the area and we are hoping to lure them out to play with us.”