• Great Lakes Music Camp Announces 2020 Lineup for 4th Annual Camp

    Despite current situation, committee is "optimistic" the camp will take place Oct. 1-4, 2020.
    Great Lakes Music Camp
    GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. — Limited Registration has begun for the Great Lakes Music Camp (GLMC), a four-day acoustic music symposium held at Camp Blodgett (West Olive, Mich.) October 1-4, 2020.

    Great Lakes Music Executive Director, Jason Wheeler noted, "Despite our current situation across the country, we are maintaining a cautious optimism that this year's camp will be held in October and that our social distancing measures will have paid off and resulted in enough time for our team to pull off yet another sold-out camp on Lake Michigan."

    Early Bird Registration kicked off for previous year's campers on April 14. Several packages sold out in less than 1 hour. Today the camp launches to the public and various packages are available on the camp web site. Wheeler is offering a refundable deposit to reserve space at this year’s camp.

    "Because our current situation is so fluid, it's not realistic to provide deadlines at this time but we are at least removing the burden of anyone losing hard-earned money by offering deposits back if we need to postpone GLMC due to what we're experiencing nationally and at a local level," he said.

    The camp, which features some of the finest acoustic music instructors in the country, will include workshops, lessons, hosted jams, and concerts through the extended weekend in the bluegrass, old-time, swing, folk, and Americana styles.

    The GLMC will offer guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, bass, and songwriting instruction from award winning musicians including Don Julin (author of Mandolin for Dummies), Darol Anger, Grant Gordy, Bruce Molsky, Betse Ellis, Joe K. Walsh, Jason Wheeler, Clark Wyatt, Bill Evans, Hayes Griffin, Evie Ladin, Joe Newberry, Zoe Guigueno, Kevin Gills, and Bruce Ling. Additional instructors and performers will be announced later this summer.



    Beginner, intermediate, and advanced tracks will be available. In addition, GLMC will be offering an "ensemble track" for campers that concludes with group performances at the end of the camp. These will be recorded and later offered to the campers as a take-away.

    "We are fully aware of the situation and the stress this has placed upon all of us. We hope that by hosting GLMC 2020 we are helping them regain momentum, income, and creating a safe environment for people to experience Great Lakes Music Camp, and perhaps more importantly, re-connect with each other. More than ever before, I hope GLMC becomes a place for us to unpack the last few months of stress and uncertainty and just enjoy sharing music together," Wheeler said.

    Additional camp features include a youth scholarship program, VIP reception, private concerts for campers, organic and locally-grown gourmet food, musicians hostel lodging option, hiking, and beach activities.

    The GLMC has partnered with local nonprofit The Grand River Watershed Arts/Music Council (GRWAMC) who will serve as the fiduciary for the event for the fourth year.

    A benefit concert on Saturday, October 3 will raise money for GRWAMC. Concert details will be revealed in July. GLMC is actively seeking sponsors for the benefit concert.

    "We will continue to keep everyone posted on the status of Great Lakes Music Camp and we certainly will not proceed this year unless we are certain we are not countering all the efforts in our community to stay healthy and get back on track. Stay tuned and stay healthy is our message at this time!"



    About

    Founded in 2017, The Great Lakes Music Camp (GLMC) serves as a music education resource within the West Michigan community. The organization offers workshops, lessons, performances, youth scholarship programs, and classes featuring world-touring musicians and instructors. We strive to create highly interactive musical experiences and hope to be a source of inspiration to our "campers". We do this in the name of tradition and with respect for those who came before us. The GLMC is committed to passing on this history because we believe in the healing power of music.

    Additional Information