Silver Bay, NY at the Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center
August 22-27, 2021
Previously scheduled for June 20-25, 2021.
Our 8th year, great prices, limited space… Don’t wait!

Silver Bay is a large Y Camp and Conference Center, on Lake George in the Adirondacks. For info about the facility, activities, photos of accommodations, visit SilverBay.org.
Tuition: $450
All Bluegrass Skills Taught
9am-12:30pm: Daily classes for banjo, guitar, fiddle, mandolin, dobro, bass…AND… Coached small jam groups, intermediate/advanced.
1:50-5pm: coaching on harmony singing (one coach per trio), classes on songwriting, basic music theory, practice “boot camp”, playing under pressure, stagecraft, and more!
Activities every evening: fiddle tune jam, open mics, karaoke, history, jamming, beautiful sunsets!
Organized Bands: $375 each member
For band members registering together, to work together as a band throughout the week: $75.00 off each member’s tuition. Bands will have opportunities to perform and get performance coaching including working with a sound system on stage (band lab), band cohesion, rehearsal guidance, band decision-making, “how to make a band work”.
Band members must first contact Pete as a group, for approval of the group members’ band discount, and then they can each register with the discount.

Qualifications
If you’re not sure if you qualify, write Pete regarding your skills in these areas.
Scholarships
We are sometimes able to grant scholarships for some or all of tuition and possible housing allowance, according to financial need. Grants depend on contributions to the Silver Bay Bluegrass scholarship fund. To donate or apply, write to Pete.
Applicants should give their age, instrument(s) played, and experience and goals in bluegrass, and a short statement of their financial need. Applications must be received by June 22 and applicants will be notified by June 27.
Silver Bay YMCA Conference Center

For accommodations reservations, call 518-543-8415 or email reservations@silverbay.org.
Call any time… Your message left will get a callback during the next business hours. The Silver Bay reservations team will help you with housing choices and all info.
Comments from recent camps:
Click any photo to enlarge.
Tentative Schedule
The schedule shown here is based on recent years’ schedules and is sure to incorporate some changes.
Sunday 8/22 | Monday 8/23 | Tuesday 8/24 | Wednesday 8/25 | Thursday 8/26 | Friday 8/27 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
8:00 | (Optional:) Early bird jams all welcome, start whenever, end at 9. 8:45 YouTube bluegrass highlights | |||||
8:30 | ||||||
9:00 | Camp assembly every day 9-9:30 discuss options for the day, maybe sing | |||||
9:30 | All Play music | Instrument classes by instrument 9:30-10:50am | ||||
10:00 | ||||||
10:30 | ||||||
11:00 | Small groups jam 11-12:30 | |||||
11:30 | ||||||
12:00 | ||||||
12:30 | BREAK (lunch served till 1) optional simultaneous classes: |
|||||
1:00 | ||||||
1:30 | ||||||
2:00 | 1:50-2:50pm Harmony instruction/coaching or slow jam | |||||
2:30 | ||||||
3:00 | 3-4pm Songwriting/practice drill "boot camp"/slow jam/specialized instrument classes; optional topics requested by students | |||||
3:30 | ||||||
4:00 | check in | 4:10 Band lab (performance, rehearsal factors)/coached small group jams | ||||
4:30 | ||||||
5:00 | ||||||
5:30 | ||||||
6:00 | dinner | |||||
6:30 | ||||||
7:00 | Meet and greet, orientation, informal jamming in Auditorium | Early evening options: Bluegrass movies/history, open mic, slow jam, etc. | ||||
7:30 | 7:30-8:30 Sat. faculty band |
Open mic | 7:15 Vespergrass | 7:15 Student warmup concert | Concert — variety show featuring faculty; open to public | |
8:00 | History talk: Golden Era | |||||
8:30 | ||||||
9:00 | family time, wi-fi time, practice, jam, chill | |||||
9:30 | ||||||
10:00 | ||||||
10:30 | ||||||
11:00 | QUIET HOURS |
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