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As the school year draws to a close and summer tilts into full swing, kids everywhere prepare for summer camp. Long, sunny days of swimming, games, arts and crafts, capture the flag and campfire songs. But for girls and young women in several cities across the US (and beyond), camp is looking a little different these days. From Portland to Austin to Columbus to DC to London, girls will be heading to rock ‘n’ roll day camps to learn instruments, form bands and boost self-confidence. The first rock ‘n’ roll camp for girls opened in Portland in 2000, and others soon followed suit. The camps are independently run, but a number of them belong to an alliance that allows them to network with each other.

According to Portland’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls, the premise of camp is “to eradicate all the limiting myths about music and gender that make girls afraid to speak up, sing out and make noise.” Music is, on the surface, the focus of camp, but is in reality just the medium by which girls are encouraged to create and grow throughout the week. “Rock, by nature, is strong and confident, and we seek to help girls develop these qualities in themselves,” says Jeanni Centofani of Girls Rock! DC.

Why Girls?

Camp organizers say that they are frequently asked the question, “Why only girls?” Jenn Fox-Thomas, a musician, teacher and one of the organizers of Girls Rock! DC, estimates that “women represent only 22 percent of pop music artists and most women are regimented to the role of singer.” By her approximation, women comprise only about 8 percent of all pop non-vocal instrument-playing musicians.
“It is appalling how mentally regimented women are to certain roles in music. Despite 15 plus years of playing, ‘girlfriend’ and ‘beginner’ are the two job descriptions I get handed over and over again. Once, I was on tour in Nashville, Tennesee, and as I carried in my drum set, was told by a male bouncer that I could put ‘my boyfriend’s drum kit’ on the stage.

“Why a girls camp? Imagine coming to camp everyday and seeing women in diverse roles, not just ‘girlfriend’ and ‘beginner’ but as guitarist and drummer and roadie.”

Men have dominated rock culture since its inception, not just fronting bands, but writing songs, producing records, running labels and managing acts. Male rock ‘n’ role models in the mainstream media abound, and men are much more frequently raised to speak up, take up space and rock out. Women like Patti Smith and Joan Jett have more than held their own in the rock world, but they have had to fight harder to be heard. Women are simply more likely to be taught to value appearance, congeniality and getting along with others, and to view other women as competitors rather than allies.

Not Just Music Class

Most of the rock camps follow a similar structure during camp week. Morning assemblies are followed by instrument lessons, band practice, songwriting and other workshops such as body image, self-defense and history of women in music. Campers receive instruction on guitar, bass, drums or keyboards—no musical experience is necessary for any camper. Lunchtime or afternoon assemblies often feature locally or even nationally known performers, the likes of whom many adults would pay good money to hear.

And by “band practice,’ they don’t mean sitting in folding chairs watching a conductor. In this case, we’re talking real, grown-up band practice. Girls are put into bands based on age group and musical interests, and, with the guidance of a band coach, name themselves, write an original song, coordinate their parts, and perform in the end-of-week showcase in front of friends, family and fellow campers. They create something to be seriously proud of, but they also learn to work together and communicate about a final product.

Michelle Shin, a 2007 band coach at the Willie Mae Rock Camp in New York City, recalls being in the audience during last year’s showcase, “where the girls’ bands play the songs they wrote and practiced all week in a real venue. I don’t know if I’ll ever have kids, but that day I felt like I had sixty.”

Empowerment Through Rock

Michelle was moved to witness “girls talking about media portrayals of women and what life would be like if everyday was like rock camp, where adults respected children and girls felt validated all the time. How great life would be if girls worked as allies and not enemies all the time. Watching eight-year-olds talk about weight loss and idolizing Paris Hilton, I thought, ‘Wow, I am so glad that we’re doing this.’ It’s the future of these young girls that is on the line.”

The recent independent film, Girls Rock! The Movie, documents the experiences of four girls who attend the Portland camp, Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls. The film offers glimpses into the real lives of little girls—self-loathing, social awkwardness, body-image and running with the wrong crowd. No camp can erase the pain of growing up, but rock camp offers the girls a different way of looking at themselves. It gives them time and space, a skill set and a voice. In the end, they are basically the same kids, but they’ve grown a little in vital ways. As the Girls Rock! DC slogan goes…The future of rock and roll is in your hands!

If you are interested in sending the little girl in your life to rock ‘n’ roll camp for girls, volunteering, donating or simply finding more information about a rock n’ roll camp near you, we’ve included a list of camps below.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Camp for Girls
Portland, Oregon
girlsrockcamp.org

Girls Rock! DC (Washington)
girlsrockdc.org

Girls Rock Philly
Philadelphia, PA
girlsrockphilly.org

Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls
Brooklyn, New York
williemaerockcamp.org

Popkollo
Sweden
popkollo.se

Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp
Murfreesboro, TN
sgrrc.org

Girls Rock Camp Austin
girlsrockcampaustin.org

Girls Rock! UK
London, England
girlsrockuk.org

Bay Area Girls Rock Camp
Oakland, CA
bayareagirlsrockcamp.org

Girls Rock Camp ATL (Atlanta)
girlsrockcampatl.org

Girlz Rhythm ‘n’ Rock Camp
Columbus, OH
girlzrhythmnrockcamp.com

Girls Rock NC (Durham)
girlsrocknc.org

Rock Camp for Girls Peterborough, Ontario
rc4gpeterborough.com

To find out where you can see Girls Rock! The Movie, visit girlsrockmovie.com.

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