Alberta Swing Camp 2025

Details about the upcoming camp will appear here as they develop.

Last update: January 1, 2025.

Date

In order to minimize conflicts with the many things going on this summer (festivals, BC Swing Camp, Nimble Fingers, etc.) July 4-6, 2025 seems to be the best. This weekend worked pretty well in previous years and we have had an increase in the number of attendees year over year.

Event Description

Hey fans and players of swing music and Django Reinhardt! Join us for a weekend of camping and jamming July 4-6, 2025 in central Alberta. The focus is acoustic swing music including swing tunes from the great American songbook, Western swing and the music of Django Reinhardt and the Quintet of the Hot Club of France. Acoustic guitars, bass, violins, violas, clarinets, mandolins, accordions, singers, etc. are all welcome. All playing levels are welcome. There will be some experienced players there but newer players are encouraged to come and learn as well. We can split into separate jams for different playing levels.

Activities

Jamming

There will lots of opportunities for jamming all weekend, and there will be enough people we can split into two or three separate groups depending on skill levels.

Instruction

In the past we have had several great music teachers: Cam Neufeld on swing violin/hot club gutar, and Phill West, Rick Moore, Clint Pelletier, Jeremy Doody and Kevin Jacobson on hot club guitar.

Instructors for 2025 will be announced as soon as we know. Rick and Kevin are confirmed to attend.

Depending on interest we can run some additional workshops and beginner instruction as necessary. Possible topics: rhythm guitar, basic swing chords, basic hot club chords, la pompe, repertoire, upright swing bass, mandolin, violin, etc.

Other Activities

If you really need a break from jamming there is a nice park not far away. You could go biking, swimming, etc.

Location

In 2022 to 2024 the camp was held at a private location in Alberta, Canada about a two-hour drive south of Edmonton, one-hour drive north of Calgary not far from the town of Bowden. It is a nice location and works great so we are back there again in 2025.

There is a large grassy area to pitch a tent or park a trailer and set up jam areas. There are some trees around for shade if you like. It is fairly private, away from other facilities so we can jam all we want without interruption or bothering anyone. Please bring pop-up gazebos for shade and rain shelter if you have them. Potable well water is on site. Bring your own water if you prefer. We are renting two outdoor portapotties.

Directions

This is on someone’s personal acreage so for privacy reasons we will give the exact location only to registered participants. I printed out some small signs with our guitar hero on it, to put along the roads near the property to help with navigation.

Somewhere near here!!

Stuff to Bring

Tent or RV
Bring your own food, drinks, toiletries, clothing (for all seasons – it’s Alberta you know), supplies, etc.
Acoustic instruments, tuner
Charts (paper, electronic, iReal pro) – some extras to share if possible
Music stand, chairs
Pop-up gazebo
Propane fire ring

For Saturday night dinner we have ordered some takeout from a nearby restaurant. There are Thai and pizza options close by. You can participate in that if you like, we’ll put together an order together and pay up whatever your meal costs.

Costs

The costs are going to be shared among attendees (no profit here). I am collecting enough to cover the portapotties and paying the instructors. If there is left over money I can hold it for next year for more instructors. The exact price is yet to be determined based on projected costs, but it has always been a pretty cheap weekend for camping and instruction.

To reserve a spot, please send an etransfer of $TBA to:

Kevin Jacobson – the_cave@yahoo.com

Please include your name, email address, instrument(s), skill level and what kind of camping setup to expect (tent, trailer, etc.).

Please email me if you have more questions.

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