September 7 - 10, 2017
near Seattle, Washington
ETA
Spend a long weekend away from the toil and cares of everyday life, with nothing to do but learn about the 5-string banjo or fiddle or guitar or some other instrument from world-famous teachers, play in jams, eat delicious food, and possibly even sleep!
News
ABC will add more classes in 2017
with an exciting new overall schedule!
Stay tuned for details. . .
A.B.C. is moving!
Our 2016 Camp will take place at
Pilgrim Firs Conference Center near Port Orchard, WA.
ABC offers a "commuter" option!
Our new site makes it possible for us to offer a reduced commuter rate.
Now you can stay at home or at an area motel or B&B
and still take part in our great program.
We can get you a discount rate at a local hotel
See the registration notes for commuter rates.
ABC has a full-time guitar track
as well as a full-time fiddle track!
Members of the Washington Bluegrass Association or the Oregon Bluegrass Association who have never been to ABC before are eligible for the WBA/OBA New Member Scholarship that takes $50 off the first registration fee!
Saturday, September 11th, 2016 at American Banjo Camp -- (click for hi-res version)
Our Program
The American Banjo Camp takes place on the first weekend after Labor Day each year at a camp on the Puget Sound.
ABC is a camp for adults of all ages (students under 18 may attend if accompanied by a parent). There you can study old-time or bluegrass banjo with world-class instructors. Or you can take classes in fiddle, guitar, or other instruments (see the schedule).
The schedule is packed with hands-on classes and faculty concerts as well as dozens of jamming opportunities. An "Extra Day" offers a band scramble, student open mic, hosted jams, and panel sessions.
American Banjo Camp is committed to offering highly specialized classes tailored to the expertise of our faculty. Over the course of ABC you’ll have the opportunity to take eight different classes and socialize with the instructors outside of class. See the details of our classes and schedule.
Our Faculty
We pride ourselves on having teachers that are among the best in the world! It's just frosting on the cake that they're also among the best players in the world. See their biographies here.
Tuition and Registration
We try to keep the tuition and other costs as low as possble while providing priceless instruction and inspiration. We can also offer a limited number of scholarships. We have forms to register for camp and to apply for a scholarship.
Our New Site
ABC is changing venues and our next camp will not be held at Fort Flagler! Our new site is the Pilgrim Firs Conference Center near Port Orchard, WA—still on the Olympic Peninsula, but a bit south of our former location. Although we'll miss the views at Fort Flagler, Pilgrim Firs offers a number of advantages, and we're sure that returning students will approve our decision once they have been there.
Pilgrim Firs—a “colony” of cabins and lodges nestled among tall conifers surrounding a private lake—is a much more modern and developed facility than Fort Flagler. Sleeping and bathroom facilities are clean and comfortable as are classrooms, dining hall, and social spaces such as the rooms where people can comfortably jam after hours. And if inclement weather ever comes our way, all of our events can move inside. Other advantages: the new location will be closer to SEATAC airport (making for easier arrivals and departures), and it is more accessible to Seattle proper.
For more specifics on our new site, go to the Pilgrim Firs Website.
Camper Info
Most of the things you need to know when you're getting ready for American Banjo Camp – how to get to camp, what to bring, songs to play in jams, etc. – are on the Camper Info page.
FAQ
If you have a question, check here. Somebody may already have asked it! If you don't have a question yet, look here and you may find one.
Misc
ABC has been running since 2003; we have photos and other information about past camps. The Misc page also has ABC posters and flyers you can print out, as well as a place to get ABC T-shirts, mugs, etc. and links to other music-related web sites.
Directors & Coordinator
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 On-site Coordinator Janet Peterson lives in Bellingham, Washington, and is a sign language interpreter for the deaf and deaf/blind. She is a founding member of the band Motherlode in which she sings and plays cello and guitar, (but never the banjo). Janet is a year-round Coordinator for the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and Co-Director of the California Bluegrass Association's Summer Music Camp at Grass Valley as well as being the on-site coordinator for the American Banjo Camp. |
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Co-director Peter Langston also directs both the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and the California Bluegrass Association's Summer Music Camp at Grass Valley, CA.
Co-director Ken Perlman has served as music director for several banjo teaching festivals, including the Maryland Banjo Academy, Banjo Camp North, the Bath Banjo Festival, Midwest Banjo Camp, and Swannee Banjo Camp. He is also on the old-time staff for the American Banjo Camp, specializing in melodic clawhammer banjo.Contact Us
If you have a question or suggestion, please get in touch with us via any of these ways.
This is a relatively new website. Please let us know if something doesn't appear to be working. Thanks!
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