It’s never too early to start planning your summer! We will be offering 4 sessions of Camp Woodshed this year, and for the first time, our first two sessions of the summer will include vocal groups taught by Monica Nelson and Vivian Slade. Registration is already open, so if you’re ready to sign up for camp, head over to our website and register!

If your child was in camp here last year, you will soon receive a link for $50 off registration for 2025! As always, the front desk is ready to answer any questions you might have, so don’t hesitate to reach out if there’s anything you want to discuss before signing up.

Keep Shedding!

We had a great first week at camp this year. I am always surprised by how quickly songs come together, and it seemed like these groups had the tunes together by Wednesday. After that, it was just finishing touches and cleaning up some trouble spots. We had several multi-instrumentalists this week, and campers were very flexible depending on what the band and/or the song needed. Zach and Sean are both veteran Camp Woodshed Counselors, and they were able to maintain a safe, fun environment throughout the week. Special shout-out to our CIT Kaj for helping out as well.

As usual, we started Monday with a one-minute meditation on the patio and gradually increased to five minutes by Friday. These were good meditators! I didn’t have to keep anyone from goofing off or making noises. It takes a lot of patience to be comfortable with silence, an important skill for musicians. On day 2, we tried something new with a guess-the-riff challenge. We had so much fun doing this on Tuesday that I kept it going the next couple of days and created a playlist here of all the riffs for the campers. The kids did pretty well, but they must listen to Tom Petty and Eric Clapton more!

By the time the performance rolled around on Friday, these kids were fast friends. Goofing off, taking band photos, going on a shopping spree at Poppacorn’s, and getting ready for soundcheck. The performances went off without a hitch, and I hope everyone enjoyed themselves on stage in Studio A. We’ve got 3 weeks left of camp this summer, and I can’t wait to see what is in store. Looking forward to more tunes, more laughs, and more meditation 🤫

-Parker

Dogwood Festival

Our Guitar Shed Sunday Teen Band is excited to play the main stage at The Atlanta Dogwood Festival this Saturday. The band has been working hard to put together a special set of music led by their instructor, Sean McMorris. Stick around after the show to catch Parker Smith and the Bandwith featuring several Guitar Shed teachers.

We have five different teen bands at Guitar Shed. Specifically, we have 2 ‘tween bands’ and 3 ‘teen bands.’ The Tween Bands consists of an Americana Band and a Rock Band, and the Teen Bands are all Rock Bands. All five groups are led by different instructors, and they will be playing together for our first Summer Shindig on 5/18 at Lake Claire Land Trust. Doors open at 5 pm for this event, and music will start at 6 pm.

With the opening of our additional studio space, Studio A, earlier this year, we have been able to offer more bands and ensembles. These bands are a great way for students to get used to playing with their peers and rehearsing in a top-of-the-line studio setting. By providing students with customized instruction in a professional, laid-back environment, we aim to prepare students for gigging in the real world. Our bands build their way up from performing mini-sets of 2-3 songs, to eventually performing a full set of music. In this case, the Sunday Teen Band will perform an entire 45 minute set.

The Dogwood Festival has a rich history in Atlanta, and here is a brief overview of the first festival…

On April 19, 1936, Atlanta invites the world to attend her first Dogwood Festival. Walter Rich, president of ADF and founder of Rich’s department store, seeks to make Atlanta internationally known for the blooming of the dogwood trees during the week-long event. Trees are planted in all parts of Atlanta under the sponsorship of the garden clubs and public spirited citizens interested in the beautification of the city. Pageants, parades and carnivals sponsored by the Junior League, along with performances by the Metropolitan Opera, Philadelphia Symphony, and choruses from local colleges, are featured.

The Coca-Cola Main Stage features music in a variety of genres for three tune-filled days. The International Stage programming features hundreds of performers representing Atlanta’s global communities, this year appearing on the Main Stage. With entertainment ranging from dancing to singing and several additional varieties, the International Stage programming celebrates Atlanta’s diversity.

Performers and times are subject to change.

Reminder NO outside food or beverages may be brought into Piedmont Park during the festival. Thanks for your cooperation.

Here is some information from the Dogwood Festival’s website about parking and getting there!

🎨 At its core, the Atlanta Dogwood Festival is an arts festival, and the juried Artist Market welcomes 250+ fine artists from throughout the country each spring. Selected from more than 1,000 entries, participating artists working in metal, oil, mixed media, photography, sculpture and more bring their best new work to the Atlanta Dogwood Festival, nationally, one of the first in the annual art festival season.

☀️ Among this year’s booths, you’ll find fine artists working in a variety of mediums, styles and price ranges. Take your time, peruse and enjoy this opportunity to browse, talk with the artists, admire their creativity and purchase one-of-a-kind works of art.