New Mexico Banjo Camp 2025
Join world-class players and teachers for an unforgettable weekend of bluegrass/three-finger and old-time/clawhammer instruction, a Saturday night faculty concert, jamming and social gatherings designed for all levels of players. What’s the difference with the New Mexico Banjo Camp? We’re small with a maximum of 25 students, so you’ll have much greater access to our teachers. We get to know you personally and can provide much more one-on-one help than is possible at larger events. We also provide comfortable high-quality bed-and-breakfast style accommodations at the historic Black Range Lodge and homemade healthy meals made by the staff on site.
Up to four sessions of topics-oriented workshops per day will alternate with open time for follow-up and Q&A along with a Saturday night concert, late-night jams and more. We’ll teach what you’re interested in learning and the emphasis is on having fun in a relaxed and entertaining learning environment where there’s plenty of time to take in what you’re learning. Our schedule mixes group workshops (with topics determined by student requests, collected before camp), jamming at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, our close-up faculty concert as well as informal one-on-one interaction with teachers along with down-time each day for meals, rest and practicing.
To accommodate demand but to keep our camp small, we have two successive camp weekends scheduled on April 24-27, with Alan Munde, Bill Evans and a teacher soon to be named; and May 1-4, with Alan Munde, Bill Evans, Riley Baugus (old-time/clawhammer) and Ned Luberecki.
$540 tuition includes all instruction, concerts, jamming and social events. Payment for food and lodging is made separately to the Black Range Lodge and will vary according to your room choice from $160 to $210 per day. Our schedule mixes group workhops (with topics determined by student requests, collected in advance), jamming at beginner, intermediate and advanced levels (with plenty of help given to those new to group playing!) and informal one-on-one interaction with teachers and down-time each day for relaxed meals, rest and practicing (see below our 2019 schedule).
“I’m excited to meet in person again after not being able to be together for the last two years. With our smaller size, it is my goal with the New Mexico Banjo Camp to inspire every student with new ideas and practice strategies that they can put to use immediately. I also hope to provide inspiration and music direction that will help you throughout the year after you’ve returned home. I’ve designed this to be a different kind of camp, with time to absorb what you’ve learned, get feedback from teachers and to set future goals for after our weekend has ended – all in a low-pressure, relaxing and fun learning environment. And all of this takes place in an incredibly beautiful setting in New Mexico at the Black Range Lodge with delicious and healthy food and comfortable Southwest-style accommodations.”
BANJO TEACHERS
This Year’s Instructors
The New Mexico Banjo camp will feature some of the premiere bluegrass and old-time banjo players in the world. Each weekend will have a different set of instructors. Get to know our banjo players more below.
Bill Evans
Camp director Bill Evans is a member of the American Banjo Museum’s Hall of Fame and also received the Steve Martin Banjo Prize in 20222. The author of Banjo For Dummies, Bill has taught thousands of players in both group and one-on-one instruction over the last forty-five years. He has authored five books, nine video projects and hosts five different instruction courses at Peghead Nation (https://www.pegheadnation.com/string-school/instructors/bill-evans).
Bill has taught at hundreds of music camps and directed over twenty events of his own all across the United States. His instruction is down-to-earth, organized and hands-on with detailed tab examples designed for the adult learner.
Bill currentl performs with the California Bluegrass Reunion (John Reischman, Chad Manning, Jim Nunally, Sharon Gilchrist & Mike Witcher) and with his solo concert The Banjo in America, where he presents musci from the 1780’s to the present day on a variety of historic instruments. His latest recording is Things Are Simple, featuring the Reunion, his wife Babi and daughter Corey.
Ned Luberecki
Steve Martin describes Ned Luberecki’s playing as “an absolutely joyous, riveting, beautifully syncopated example of the beauty of the banjo.” Banjoist for the Becky Buller Band and host of More Banjo Sunday and Derailed on SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s Bluegrass Junction, Ned Luberecki is a 2024 inductee into the Banjo Hall of Fame, was named Banjo Player of the Year in 2018 and Broadcaster of the Year in 2023 by the IBMA. Ned is the author of the Complete Banjo Method series for Alfred Music and has numerous lesson videos available at TrueFire.com (http://TrueFire.com).
Living in Nashville, TN, he is an in-demand performer and session musician having appeared on stage and recordings with Becky Buller, Chris Jones, Jim Lauderdale, Ray Stevens, Nedski & Mojo and many others. Ned is a popular instructor at music camps and workshops across the US, Canada and Europe including Camp Bluegrass, RockyGrass Academy, Kaufman Acoustic Kamp, Sore Fingers (UK) and Bluegrass Camp Germany. His website is nedski.com (https://nedski.com/).
Alan Munde
Alan Munde has been a constant in the world of bluegrass banjo playing and education since his early days in 1969 with Sam Bush in Poor Richard's Almanac, later as a member of the pioneering band Country Gazette, and through his 20 years teaching bluegrass banjo in the Creative Arts Program at South Plains College. Alan was recently inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Fame. He is also a Hall of Fame member of the American Banjo Museum and is a Steve Martin Banjo Prize recipient. Alan brings all his experience and insights to the New Mexico Banjo Camp to enable the participants to progress in meaningful ways with their music making.
Kristin Scott Benson
Kristin Scott Benson is the five-time International Bluegrass Music Association’s Banjo Player of the Year and recipient of the 2018 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass.
Since 2008, she has been a member of Grammy-nominated and two-time IBMA Entertainers of the Year, The Grascals. Kristin is one of the nation's top bluegrass banjo players, exhibiting impeccable taste, timing, and tone. With an attentive ear to back-up, she is known and respected as a true team player among her peers.
Kristin's newest release is a unique project. Under the artist name Benson, the 2023 album Pick Your Poison was released by Mountain Home Records and is a collaborative effort between two of bluegrass music's most treasured instrumentalists: Kristin and her husband, mandolinist Wayne Benson. With decades of experience in top-tier bands, both have established themselves as stalwarts in the community. After years of paving separate musical paths, the two finally decided it was time to integrate their identities and create something new together. Benson is their first combined effort, despite having been married for over 20 years.
Kristin has been featured on The Grascals’ albums since 2008. As part of the Grascals, Kristin’s media performances include The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Fox & Friends, The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, and CBS’ The Talk, among others. The band has also performed for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, as well as accumulating nearly 200 performances on The Grand Ole Opry.
Riley Baugus
Riley was born and raised near Winston-Salem, North Carolina and started playing banjo at the age of 10. He was inspired by the traditional Appalachian music that he heard in his family’s community in the Blue Ridge mountains and went on to learn his craft while still a youngster from such old-time greats as Tommy Jarrell, Dix Freeman and Robert Sykes. Riley has played with numerous old-time string bands, including The Red Hots and the Old Hollow Stringband and has recorded on his own for Rounder and Sugar Hill records. He sings on the soundtrack to the Academy Award winning film Cold Mountain and performs on the Grammy award winning Raising Sand by Alison Kruass and Robert Plant and Willie Nelson’s Country Music. Riley performs internationally, often with Dirk Powell and dancer Ira Bernstein.
Schedule of Events
Sample Camp
Schedule
This year camp will take place in person, and you can find a sample schedule of what this years camp might look like. This schedule is meant to give you an idea of what camp will be like.
Friday & Saturday
8:00 - 9:00 A.M.
Breakfast
–
9:15 – 10:30 a.m.
Workshop Session #1
Alan – Roll Logic: Basic Rolls & How to Place Melody Notes Within Them
Ned – Jam Session Survival
Bill – Up The Neck: Great Licks and Solo Strategies
Saturday:
Alan – Up The Neck Back Up Combining Chord Shapes, Licks & Rolls
Ned – Improvisation For Everybody
Bill – Licks-ercises in Scruggs Style: Turning Rolls Into Licks
–
10:45 a.m. to 12 P.M.
Workshop Session #2
Alan – Playing in C and D
Ned – Rolling With Down The Neck Backup
Bill – Understanding Melodic Style
Saturday:
Alan – Analysis of Blue Ridge Cabin Home: Working Up Scruggs Solos
Ned – Finding Chords All Over The Neck
Bill – Intros & Endings
–
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch
–
1:00 – 2:15 p.m.
Riley’s Intro to Clawhammer For Bluegrass Pickers!
–
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Free Time
One-on-one sessions / mini-workshops / free time/ jamming
–
4:15 – 5:30 p.m.
All Group Sessions
Friday: Taking It Step By Step: Your Road to Being A Great Player
Saturday: Arranging & Playing Non-Bluegrass/Old-Time Songs
–
6:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Dinner
–
8:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Performance
Noisy Water Band & Riley Baugus In Concert (Friday) / The Hard
Road Trio, Bill Evans, Alan Munde & Ned Luberecki In Concert (Saturday)
–
9:00 – 10:00 p.m.
Facilitated Jams
It’s time to jam!
Sunday
8:00 - 9:00 A.M.
Breakfast
–
9:45 – 10:45 a.m.
Workshop Session #1
Alan – Veritable Load of Licks in G, C & D
Ned – Playing in Really Far Out Keys (A, Bb, E & F)
Bill – Understanding Single-String Style
–
11:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
Group Farewell
Alan – Classic Fiddle Tunes (your requests!)
Ned – Blending Melodic and Single-String Styles
Bill – Practice Strategies: Using Your Ears & Working Up Speed
-
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch
–
Camp Ends
Lodging and Food
Black Range Lodge
Lodging and food are separate transactions and must be arranged directly with Catherine Wanek at the Black Range Lodge by calling 575-895-5652. Rooms, camping spaces and 2 RV spaces are available, in addition to several Air BnB options in the immediate area. In addition, several hotels are a short drive from the lodge. Lodging prices include your room and all meals. Most rooms have double or queen beds and couples are welcome!
Those attending camp will be charged for three days’ accommodation and food.
Rates vary according to each lodge room. Visit the Black Range Lodge’s website for room descriptions. And the food is delicious and home cooked!
Black Range Lodge
Catherine Wanek
575-895-5652
SEE ACCOMMODATIONS
