Thursday-Sunday, March 12-15, 2026

Join Us for a Few Days of Banjo Paradise

in Beautiful Live Oak, Florida!!

~ Registration for the ’26 Camp Is Now Open: Sign Up Today! ~

25 or Under? Check Out Our Youth Scholarship Opportunities

Come study 5-string banjo in gorgeous natural surroundings with some of today’s best players and teachers. Our program features hands-on classes, demonstrations, and two big faculty concerts, and still leaves lots of time for jamming with your fellow banjo enthusiasts. Suwannee Banjo Camp offers four levels of serious instruction in clawhammer and bluegrass banjo styles. We also offer full-time programs in old-time fiddle, bluegrass guitar and mandolin.

Note: Clawhammer and old-time fingerpicking together are often referred to as old-time banjo.

Suwannee Banjo Camp runs straight through from Thursday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. We offer nine class sessions — three on Friday, four on Saturday and two on Sunday. Each session is one hour and fifteen minutes long. There are staff concerts on both Friday and Saturday evenings; over the course of the weekend you’ll have the opportunity to hear our entire staff in concert. Rounding out the program are “demonstrations,” presentations, and staff-led bluegrass and old-time jams conducted at a variety of skill levels. For a full description of our program including classes, demonstrations, concerts, jams and other activities, see the Program menu item. For an overview, start with the About Our Program page.

**Special Note: At SBC you do NOT have to sign up for particular classes or instructors in advance. Once you’re at Camp, you are free to select any class at any time.**

♦ This Was the 2025 Suwannee Banjo Camp Program Schedule

The SBC 2025 Camp Photo

Click to Access & Download a High Res Version of our 2025 Camp Photo

Attendance Options: Full Camp vs. Weekend-Only Option

The Full Camp option starts mid-Thursday afternoon and runs through early Sunday afternoon; it includes nine hands-on class sessions and all meals from Thursday dinner through Sunday lunch. If you can’t take an extra day off, our Weekend-Only Option is for you. Weekend-Only begins with the first class Friday afternoon. Included are seven hands-on classes and all meals from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch. Included in both options are the two faculty concerts, staff-led jams on Friday and Saturday evenings, and demonstrations on Friday afternoon. Rates for Full-Camp and Weekend-Only Options are on the Registration & Fees page.

Lodging Must Be Reserved Separately

Lodging must be reserved and paid for directly through our host, Cerveny Conference Center. For lodging options and lodging reservation instructions, see the Lodging page.

Commuting

You can easily commute to camp – and pay only for tuition and meals – either from home or from an area hotel or B&B. For more info, go to the Lodging page.

Banjo Classes

For descriptions of our old-time and bluegrass banjo programs, go to Classes, scroll down and then choose either the Old-Time Banjo tab or the Bluegrass Banjo tab.

Full-Time Fiddle, Guitar and Mandolin Tracks

For more information on our full-time programs in fiddle, guitar, and mandolin go to Classes, scroll down and then choose either the Fiddle Track tab, the Guitar Track tab, or the Mandolin Track tab.

Location

Suwannee Banjo Camp takes place at beautiful Cerveny Conference Center at Camp Weed in Live Oak, Florida. For more info, visit the Cerveny Conference Center website.

Starting and Ending Times for Full Camp and Weekend Only Option

  • Check-in for the full Camp Opens at 3:00 PM on Thursday March 12; hands-on classes start promptly at 9:15 AM on Friday March 13. Camp ends following lunch at 1:30 PM, Sunday March 15.
  • Check-in for the Weekend Only Option starts at 11:00 AM Friday, March 14; your first camp meal is dinner (6:00 pm)*. Your program begins 1:30 pm that afternoon and continues through lunch on Sunday, March 15. Note that weekend-only registrants may opt into Friday lunch (details on the Registration & Fees page.

Scholarships

We are usually in a position to offer several partial scholarships. We would like to particularly encourage those under 25 to apply. We also offer a few work-trade scholarships. For more information or to apply, visit our Scholarships page.

Here Is Our 2026 Faculty

  • Old-Time Banjo: Paul Brown, Hilarie Burhans, Joseph Decosimo, Adam Hurt,  Terri McMurray, and Ken Perlman
  • Bluegrass Banjo: Scott Anderson, Greg Cahill, Eli Gilbert, Gina Furtado, Alan Munde, and Haley Stiltner
  • Fiddle: Erynn Marshall (principal instructor); classes will also be taught by Joseph Decosimo and Adam Hurt
  • Guitar: Tim May (principal instructor); classes will also be taught and Alan Munde and others TBA
  • Mandolin: Carl Jones (principal instructor); other instructors are TBA

Photos and bios of our 2026 staff are currently posted on the 2026 Instructors page.

Covid Protocol

  • We strongly recommend that all attendees be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and continue to get annual boosters as recommended by the medical community.
  • We will also follow common sense precautions re Covid testing, masking, and social distancing.
  • We reserve the right to ask all attendees to take a home Covid test before setting off for Camp (anyone who tests positive should of course stay home)

This Was Our 2025 T-Shirt Design

This was our cool T-shirt design for 2025, featuring our logo rising out of a beautiful White Lake sunrise (viewable from the glass wall of our Dining Room).

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