Sweetwater Rock Camp is the real deal. It is a chance for your talented kid to hone their skills, meet other young musicians just like them, and learn how to play in a band. They’ll come home with a new appreciation for teamwork, a deeper knowledge of music, a copy of the song they write and record at Sweetwater Studios, and a video of their live performance.
We know you probably have a bunch of questions. Hopefully, we can answer the major ones here . . .
In short, Rock Camp is your child’s chance to learn firsthand what it’s like to be in a real rock ’n’ roll band.
Held on Sweetwater’s campus, Rock Camp is a five-day workshop where young musicians hone their skills, meet other young musicians, and learn from professional instructors as they:
Sweetwater’s Rock Camp is a unique experience packed with practical instruction, the opportunity for lasting friendships, and the chance to be in a performing band. Many of Northeast Indiana’s up-and-coming bands are Rock Camp graduates.
Students ages 12–18 years old that are intermediate to advanced on their instrument!
The camp fee covers five days of professional instruction, breakout sessions with subject matter experts, a recording session in a professional studio, digital copies of their professionally mixed song, a video of their live performance, lunch every day, dinner on Friday, a Rock Camp T-shirt, and other cool stuff.
Rock Camp is held at the Sweetwater campus in Fort Wayne, Indiana. We have midsize and large practice rooms, as well as state-of-the-art performance venues and recording studios. We also have a diner, café, free arcade, and Music Store.
Much of Rock Camp is focused on band-related activities, so it’s important that campers are beyond the beginner stage. Below are a few skills a camper should possess prior to coming to Rock Camp.
If you are still unsure whether Rock Camp is right for your child/student, then please call us. We are happy to talk and help you decide what is best for your child/student.
While it is not required that your child read sheet music, campers should be able to read a chord chart or lead sheet.
Rock Camp is a great opportunity for campers to meet new people and build new connections! While you certainly can make note of a special request, we cannot guarantee that the request will be accommodated.
Rock Camp staff place musicians in bands based primarily on skill level, age, and taste in music.
We get a wide range of interests each week at camp, so a specific genre request may not be accommodated, but we certainly try our best! We recommend that campers be open-minded when they arrive on Monday. Rock Camp is a great opportunity to try out different music styles and expand on their skills!
Rock Camp is run by the Sweetwater Academy of Music & Technology staff and instructors. Our instructors are top-level local musicians and educators, each with many years of experience performing and teaching. Breakout sessions are led by Sweetwater employees, Academy instructors, or agents who are subject matter experts in their respective areas.
Sweetwater has arranged for special Rock Camp rates at a variety of Fort Wayne hotels. Please reach out to academy@sweetwater.com for a list of these hotels.
Yes, we do ask that campers be present for the entirety of the week. This will ensure the campers, and their band mates, have the best experience and are well prepared for their concert on Friday evening.
Rock Camp runs Monday through Friday. Each day begins promptly at 10AM, and Monday through Thursday ends at 4PM.
Days are packed with lots of instructor-led band practice.
A typical Monday-through-Thursday schedule looks like this:
Fridays include recording studio time, lunch (provided), soundchecks, games/activities, giveaways, album cover reveal, dinner (provided), and the live concert. We strongly encourage parents, friends, family, the next-door neighbors, and the paperboy to attend the FREE concert. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the transformation campers undergo between Monday and Friday. This will not be a show you want to miss.
Doors open at 5:30pm and the concert starts at 6pm. It typically lasts around an hour and a half. The location will be communicated to campers on Monday.
**Should there be any venue changes after Monday, we will communicate those via email.
Rock Camp staff place musicians in bands based primarily on skill level, age, and taste in music.
We get a wide range of interests each week at camp, so a specific genre request may not be accommodated, but we certainly try our best! We recommend that campers be open-minded when they arrive on Monday. Rock Camp is a great opportunity to try out different music styles and expand on their skills!
We do not schedule individual lessons as a part of Rock Camp. However, our instructors will work with campers individually as needed in order to master the songs they are working on. Our breakout sessions will also focus on helping each camper hone the skills specific to their instruments. If you’d like to schedule lessons in addition to camp, let us know! We’d be happy to help get your camper into lessons during their week of camp.
We provide each camper with a name tag on day one and we ask that they bring that with them each day of camp!
In addition to the name tag they receive on Monday:
** Your camper will want to practice at home after camp, so if they do not have access to their instrument at home (a keyboard or drum kit), let us know so we can work on a plan for you!
No. Lunch is provided by Sweetwater’s Downbeat Diner and is included in the camp fee. The campers are welcome to purchase additional food from the diner and Crescendo Café with their own funds.
Campers should enter the main Sweetwater entrance. On the first day of camp, members of the Rock Camp team will be there to greet you and guide your camper to the right place.
There is no supervision provided outside the Rock Camp hours and we do require a guardian be present with anyone under the age of 16 if they are spending time in the building before or after camp for an extended time.
While we appreciate supportive parents and friends, we prefer to keep Rock Camp sessions private. This way, each camper can focus on learning new skills and practicing with their bandmates and instructors. Parents/caretakers are encouraged to attend the welcome session on Monday morning from 10AM to 10:15AM. We will introduce the instructors and camp staff and give an overview of the week ahead.
Rock Camp staff can be reached by phone at 260-407-3833 or by email at Academy@sweetwater.com, which will also be provided to parents/caretakers and campers upon check-in.
These times vary, but we hope to get them to you within 2 months after Rock Camp ends for the summer. We’ll send them via email to the email address you used at registration!
All you need to do is register here*. You can also call us at (260) 407-3833 or email us to learn more.
* Payment due at time of registration. Not valid with any other offer.