Music Camps: camps for adults

Adult band camps, rock fantasy camps, folk gatherings, and songwriting weeks. You live on site, play all day, and jam long after lights-out was supposed to happen. We track 13 camps here, 12 of them running. The one that isn't stays listed with a label, because half the internet still recommends it.

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Active camps

  • Augusta Heritage Center Summer Workshops

    A 50-year-old Appalachian folk arts camp where adults study blues, Cajun, and old-time music face to face with master artists for a week at a time.

    West Virginia Week-long Varies / not published

  • CAMMAC Music Centre (Lake MacDonald)

    Canada's classic amateur-musician camp, run since 1953 on Lake MacDonald in the Laurentians.

    Quebec, Canada Week-long $1,000 to $1,999

  • Interlochen Adult Camps (Chamber Music & Choir)

    Interlochen's College of Creative Arts runs adult versions of its famous arts camp, including a chamber music week and a choir week on the same northern Michigan campus the kids use.

    Michigan Week-long $1,000 to $1,999

  • Jazz Camp West (Living Jazz)

    An eight-day jazz immersion for adults (teens welcome too) held at a rustic camp in the Santa Cruz Mountains redwoods.

    California Week-long $2,000 and up

  • Ladies Rock Camp (Girls & Ladies Rock MKE)

    A three-day rock camp for women and gender-expansive adults 18+ where total beginners are handed a bass, drums, guitar, keys, or a mic, form a band, and write an original song.

    Wisconsin Weekend Under $500

  • New England Adult Music Camp (Snow Pond)

    The adult offshoot of the historic New England Music Camp, where amateur wind, string, and jazz players spend a lakeside week in ensembles, seminars, and drum circles.

    Maine Week-long $1,000 to $1,999

  • Puget Sound Guitar Workshop

    A beloved adult guitar camp running since 1974, where a few hundred players bunk at a woodsy camp on Washington's Kitsap Peninsula for week-long sessions.

    Washington Week-long $1,000 to $1,999

  • Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp

    The original rock fantasy camp, running for 30 years: campers are placed in bands, coached by touring pros, and jam with headline mentors like Roger Daltrey, Stewart Copeland, and Michael Anthony before performing at a famous venue such as the Whisky a Go Go.

    California / Florida Week-long $2,000 and up

  • Showcation

    A 21+ 'summer camp, reimagined' at Camp Ramblewood that leans harder into music and comedy than most adult camps: cabins, all-you-can-eat meals, pool parties, and camp activities by day, DJ sets and stand-up at night.

    Maryland Weekend Under $500

  • SummerKeys

    A 'music vacation for adults' in the easternmost town in the US, where amateur pianists, harpists, and other instrumentalists get daily lessons, practice time, and ensemble work with no auditions.

    Maine Week-long Varies / not published

  • SummerSongs

    A nonprofit songwriting camp running since 1999, where adult singer-songwriters of every level spend a week in classes and song circles led by nationally touring writers.

    New York Week-long $1,000 to $1,999

  • The Swannanoa Gathering

    A summer institution at Warren Wilson College where adult folk musicians live in dorms for themed weeks of fiddle, banjo, old-time, and traditional song.

    North Carolina Week-long $1,000 to $1,999

On hiatus, unverified, or no longer running

  • Camp Copperhead

    Steve Earle's Catskills songwriting camp put fans in cabins at Full Moon Resort for days of craft classes, co-writes, and campfire performances with Earle and guests like Shawn Colvin.

    New York Week-long Creator-run On hiatus

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