“I just like the style of music, the mix and mash,” said 9 year old Alexander Feranti. He came to camp with his fiddle, guitar and mandolin. His week was spent learning new songs and hanging out with friends.
“I like how you all play together as a group. It makes people dance. It makes people happy,” said 13 year old Cora Bell after this year’s Jam Camp. She’s been taking Suzuki violin lessons but this is her first time playing bluegrass and fiddle tunes. “I’m also trying to learn how to play guitar.”
“Squirrel Hunters,” “Lonesome Moonlight Waltz” and “My Blue Ridge Mountain Home” were among the tunes she and the other campers learned to play together this week.
PineCone hosts two summer camps for youth each year. There’s the “Bluegrass Camp” which focuses on beginners and early intermediate fiddle, banjo, mandolin and guitar. That’s followed by “Bluegrass Jam Camp” where campers learn how to play bluegrass tunes as a group. In addition to the big jams at the beginning and end of the day, campers have the chance to form their own bands and perform each day.
The 2022 Bluegrass Jam Camp was lead by instructors Charles Pettee, Pattie Kinlaw Hopkins and Hank Smith with assistance from Sam Stage, Eliza Meyer and Isabelle Parker.