Girls need girlfriends, and they need really cool girlfriends,” Kelley Anderson, creator of Southern Girls Rock and Roll Camp (SGRRC) and a founder of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities, said of girls growing up today.
And one way girls, ages 10-17, are making tons of cool friends this summer is by attending the fifth annual SGRRC, held at the Wright Music Building on MTSU’s campus July 16 – 21. Anderson (a musician herself serving as the bassist for the local all-girl band Those Darlins) formed the camp in 2003. Musical experience isn’t required to attend and there are usually 70 to 80 campers who come from all over the South to spend the week hanging out with other talented, artistic girls. The goal of this camp, inspired by a Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls in Oregon, is to build a foundation for girls to grow in their confidence and creativity.
During camp the girls are kept busy from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. with assemblies, guest artist performances, panels, workshops and band practices.
“By the end of the [first] day we convene in one big instrument room and say, ?OK, choose your band’ and they run around and talk to each other,” Anderson said. “Some come in with a clear idea of what they want like two guitars, one bass, drums and vocals . . . and sometimes we have weird combinations like two bass players; it’s chaos, but it’s organized chaos.”
Once the girls have chosen their bands, they must also come up with their band name and manager, and they are left independent in their decision making, the counselors only intervening when a group asks.
The bands practice everyday with the instruments, supplied by Concert Productions, and at the end of the week the girls show what they have learned by putting on a big performance at MTSU’s Tucker Theater. This year’s performance will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 21, and will include approximately 20 bands. This performance is the highlight of the week, and though the girls are nervous they are also excited to play for their friends and family. Each band performs one song they wrote and practiced throughout the week.
“The past two years there has been around 800 people,” Anderson said excitedly. “It’s a pretty big deal, a lot of these girls might not get to play for an audience that big again.”
In the future, the directors of SGRRC hope to have a Youth Culture and Arts Center in Murfreesboro that would hold the girls’ camp and a year long after school program for both girls and boys. It would also provide a venue for the SGRRC girls to continue to practice and perform their music long after the camp’s end.
“We’ve found that some of the girls stay with their bands after camp but there’s no where for them to perform,” Anderson said.
For more information, visit sgrrc.org.
