Banjos are bustin’ out all over! We’ve just received word of the successful inaugural Banjo Camp Brasil, the first ever event of its type in the country. If your Portuguese is up to par, you can find out more at the Camp web site.
Here is a report from the organizers, along with a video. Well done all!
Sometimes we can’t imagine how far music and culture can travel. Between the 14th and 16th of January 2022, the first Banjo Camp took place in Brazil, an event that brought together banjoists and bluegrass enthusiasts from all over the country, more specifically to a city in the middle of the Mantiqueira Mountains in São Paulo.
There were 3 days of jams, shows, and workshops about the 5-string banjo. The creator of the project is Wagner Creoruska Jr, who started playing the banjo 10 years ago and during these years he committed himself to promoting and teaching the banjo to hundreds of students all over Brazil. 10 years ago this event would have been impossible, it was already a battle to be able to get banjo material and even the instrument itself here in Brazil, but as time passed and with the internet, Wagner was able to promote his work in the band o Bardo e o Banjo and their online lessons on the Curso de Banjo Online, a platform that took information and banjo culture to more than 200 students throughout Brazil and abroad.
In this first edition of Banjo Camp Brasil, another two special guests were expected for the workshops and jams, the North Carolina banjoist Andy Eversole who travels the world with his Banjo Earth project, and the virtuoso Vitor Rios who is known as Gigito, one of biggest highlights of banjo here in Brazil. Unfortunately, Andy Eversole couldn’t be there due to personal issues, but Gigito brought us a ton of knowledge and gifted us every day with his talent and his attention and love for the banjo.
In addition to the workshops and jams, we also had the shows with 3 Brazilian Bluegrass bands: o Bardo and Banjo, a project by Wagner Creoruska that brings bluegrass songs in Portuguese and a show with lots of energy and joy. The São Paulo band Pilgrim Bluegrass, by banjoist Caio do Banjo, who plays Christian songs and reinterpretations of great themes, and the Brazilian Grass, from the frontman Eduardo Lima, one of the great revelations of the bluegrass in Brazil.
ART BBQ was the place chosen to receive our campers, a themed restaurant in the heart of mountains in Campos do Jordão, and a place with the perfect weather and the necessary infrastructure for the realization of Banjo Camp. In addition to the authentic American BBQ, Art BBQ offers on-site accommodation, all the sound systems for the shows and workshops, and the perfect scenario for our jams and other special moments during Camp days.
Banjo Camp was also only possible through our community of banjoists who have been growing daily, and seeks not only to evolve playing the instrument but propagate the joy of playing and having fun with the sound of banjo.
It was 3 days that passed in the blink of an eye, but left unforgettable moments in memory. The first of many great events with this amazing community!
