Concerts
The faculty concert is split into two parts; half the staff plays on Friday evening and the other half plays on Saturday evening.
Given that our staff contains a hefty percentage of the best banjo pickers in creation – not to mention world class fiddlers, guitarists, and mandolin pickers – our concerts come pretty close to achieving old-time and bluegrass heaven.
Here’s how some of our students have described our staff concerts:
- “The best banjo concerts in the world”
- “As good as any bluegrass festival”
- “None better! What a ride!”
- And finally: “Either half of the faculty concert was worth it coming to camp alone. But both!”
Check Out Videos on YouTube from Past Faculty Concerts
- Access video recordings of our Instructors performing at the MBC 2024 Faculty Concerts
- You can also view videos made during the MBC 2023 Faculty Concerts. and the MBC 2022 Faculty Concerts
- Here’s a link to videos at MBC Faculty Concerts during all years from 2011 to the present (to access them all, go to “Playlists”).
Staff-Led Jams
Our jams are led by our stellar faculty. We rotate them among the levels, so the odds are you’ll get to jam with all your favorite players. We also rely heavily on our non-banjo students to add to the texture of our jams by joining in on bass, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, voice, and other instruments.
We Now Offer Instructor-Led Jams on Saturday Afternoon
By popular demand, we now offer a series of instructor-led jams n Saturday afternoon. Like our evening jams, we offer bluegrass and old-time jams at three levels plus a vocalists’ jam and a classic jazz jam for tenor banjoists.
The Kind of Jams We Usually Offer
- Slow Jams. We promise to keep the repertoire relatively simple and the speed way down
- How to Jam Workshops are for those who can play pretty well but just don’t know how to interact in jams with others. Issues covered are jam etiquette, the roles of different instruments, how to find appropriate chords, how to play something effective when you don’t know the tune, and more.
- Intermediate Jams. These feature moderate tempos and common tunes.
- “Regular” Jams. Expect normal tempos for old-time and bluegrass tunes; and a repertoire that ranges farther afield. That said, leaders have been asked to pitch the jam-levels to the skill-levels of the players who attend.
- Vocal Jams. For those who like to sing, play and even harmonize at the same time. Instruments are optional!!
- Guitar &/or Song Circles. Folks gather in a circle; then in turn each attendee offers a song or instrumental piece on their own or for others to join in.
- Tenor Banjo Jams. We offer jams that cater to the typical tenor banjo repertoire, such as classic jazz and blues. We always consult with the primary tenor instructor to come up with the best possible jamming options for tenor players. You can prepare ahead for the jams next year by consulting our list of popular tenor banjo jamming tunes.
- Specialty Jams. We like to offer jams from time to time that appeal to special interests. Among the jams we may offer are minstrel, jazz and swing, and northern & Celtic. Check the MBC 2025 Program Schedule when it comes out in January for this year’s options.
Lists of Popular Old-Time and Bluegrass Jamming Tunes
Over the years many students have asked us for lists of tunes that are likely to come up at jam sessions, so they can learn them before Camp. Although it’s impossible to predict what songs might come up at any particular jam, we have come up with lists of 25 popular jam tunes for bluegrass and old-time banjo. It’s a pretty good bet that these tunes will come up at the slow and intermediate level jam sessions (in fact, you should feel free to request them yourself!).
List of Tenor Banjo Jamming Tunes
We have also come up with a list of tenor banjo jamming tunes. It’s even a better bet that these jam tunes will come up since they have been vetted by our principal 4-string instructor.
