In a grassy expanse filled with tents and tapestry-adorned pop-up canopies, the sounds of stringed instruments begin to fill the air, drowning out the burbling river that edges the east side of the campground as the last rays of sun slide off the reddish cliffs beyond it. Folks mill around, hugging friends they haven’t seen since last summer’s RockyGrass Academy—an annual pickin’ school held since 1992 at Planet Bluegrass in Lyons the week before the eponymous festival—and arranging camping chairs into jam circles. The music continues well into the night, and players shift from group to group, trying out their chemistry.

“One year, it had gotten really dark out,” says Christie Schneider, a fiddler from Lafayette, “and [professional musician] Jake Schepps sat down next to me. I could tell just by his banjo playing that it was him.”

Photo by Lauren Hartmann, courtesy of Planet Bluegrass

The formal educating happens during the day, when sessions—some led by performers who will take the stage at the weekend festival—for banjo, fiddle, guitar, mandolin, bass, dobro, and, new this year, clawhammer banjo and old-time fiddle are held under shade structures spread across the property. But the summer camp vibes are what many of the 270-some adults (and around 35 of their kids, age seven and up, who have their own programming) return for, year after year.

“Bluegrass is a tradition that’s been passed along from generation to generation, sort of an oral exchange of this music,” says Kyra Holt, who attended RockyGrass Academy in her teens and now oversees schools and sustainability for Planet Bluegrass. “There’s so much value to sitting down with somebody and playing with them.” The same ethos powers Planet Bluegrass’ Song School, where in the days leading up to the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival (August 8 to 10), aspiring songwriters can camp out and learn about everything from copyright law to stage presence. “We would like to be a springboard for a lot of these musicians,” Holt says.

Campers may or may not find fame or future bandmates, but they’re almost guaranteed to make friends. “It’s really fun because you meet a bunch of people,” says 13-year-old Stowe Schneider, who has attended RockyGrass Academy with his mom, Christie, and nine-year-old brother, Everett, for the past two summers.

Says Christie: “A lot of it is about the classes and instruction, but a lot of it is just about this awesome time hanging in a special place to play music. And to share that with your kids—it’s pretty cool to be able to go to camp with them, where we’re both learning.”