Musicians from around region and globe visit Levelland for Camp Bluegrass

LEVELLAND — Last week, more than a hundred campers descended on the campus of South Plains College for summer camp. But these are not your typical summer campers. Hailing from all over the world and ranging in age from elementary school to retirement, these campers have one thing in common: a love for making bluegrass music.

Camp Bluegrass, now its 36th year, was held July 17-22 at SPC. Guitarists, fiddlers, bassists, mandolinists, Dobro players, banjo pickers and singers attended the event, ranging in skill level from beginner to professional. Musicians come to the camp from all over to hone their skills in bluegrass while learning from some of the genre's most respected players.

Paula Carr, camp director, said the camp started more than three decades ago as an offshoot of the college's bluegrass studies program and has grown significantly since. Carr's husband Joe Carr, who passed away in 2014, co-founded the camp with Alan Munde, who continues to teach at it today.

"In the first year, I think they had maybe 15 students, but the next year it got bigger," Carr said. Nearly 120 campers attended this year.

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"Thirty-six years passes pretty quickly," she added.

Campers attend small classes in the morning to workshop their instrument with expert instructors. In the afternoons, they attend workshops on topics like songwriting and sound reinforcement. Students also participate in "jams" throughout the week, which are opportunities to play with other musicians in an informal setting.

"A lot of them come because they get to pick with other people," Carr said. "Bluegrass musicians love to pick, so that's why we have jam sessions every night going on in the dorms."

Musicians come from literally all over the world to attend the camp. Guitarist Greg Narwocki drove all the way to Levelland from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada to attend the camp for the third time. Narwocki grew up taking guitar lessons, but he didn't experience bluegrass until adulthood when he spent some time in the States.

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"I went to work in the U.S. in 2014 and I heard my first bluegrass bands, and that's where I said, 'I have to learn that type of music,'" Narwocki said. "Just the caliber of musicians … they really know how to play their instrument, and I just like the happy feel of bluegrass music."

"I'm not looking to be an expert, and I'm always learning," he added. "It's an interest that never goes away, a puzzle that can't be solved."

Now, Narwocki makes it a point to roadtrip down to Texas each year for Camp Bluegrass, making a stop in Nashville along the way.

"Sometimes in the middle of (the trip), if I'm going through a long section where there's not major highways, I think 'Why am I doing this?' But then when I get here, I say, 'I'm going to come back next year,'" Narwocki said.

Alex Klein made his first trip to Camp Bluegrass this year, traveling from Switzerland to learn more about bluegrass. The 62-year-old Nestlé retiree has already established himself as an accomplished guitarist and popular Swiss country and blues singer, but he came to Levelland to explore the roots of the genre he already knows and loves.

"I wasn't born into this (country) culture, so for me it is very important to play it as authentic as possible," Klein said. "This is why I come to Nashville to do my recordings, and this is why I came also here. One of my aims with this bluegrass camp is to pick up a shot of authenticity."

"The spirit (of bluegrass) is very much open, friendly, very warm and — very important — there is no competition," Klein said.