San Francisco Peaks

Bluegrass is on fire, says Flagstaff Roots and Boots Music Camp founder Julie Sullivan, and it’s lighting up the nation. “Everyone wants to know how to play it. It’s very accessible and people can identify with the music and the instruments. We’ll hear, ‘I have a banjo that was my dad’s.’ Or, they play guitar and plunk around at home. What I’ve found is almost everyone who has an instrument wants to play, sing and work out songs with other people to create that communal, tribal quality. That’s what I focus on.”

Sullivan is one of the founders of the hugely popular Pickin’ in the Pines Bluegrass and Acoustic Music Festival that attracts about 3,500 people and rocks Fort Tuthill for three days every September. “What makes it different from a rock concert is that people want to camp and play their instruments here. Jamming after bluegrass festivals into the wee hours is unique to this genre, having fun, singing to the stars.”

And that’s her inspiration for the Flagstaff Roots and Boots Music Camp, a four-day event for adults devoted to the study and enjoyment of bluegrass, acoustic folk and blues, scheduled for June 7-11 at Camp Colton on the San Francisco Peaks. Besides immersion classes with seasoned musician instructors from around the region, participants learn “the etiquette of jamming,” she said. “People learn how to play with an ensemble. We emphasize singing harmonies, too, which is so prevalent in bluegrass and folk music.”

Sullivan learned to play guitar when she was 14. She also sings and plays lead and backup acoustic guitar in her Roots and Boots band. She teaches others to play by ear, which is how she learned and how she continues to play. “That’s how bluegrass is played. It’s an oral tradition. Songs are passed along among people.”

As a young adult, Sullivan moved to Berkeley, California, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after college as an art student and fledgling guitar player. “I was really embracing my own musicality. I started working at a famous coffeehouse, The Freight & Salvage, and I was exposed to so many great bluegrass and folk legends there: Doc Watson, David Grisman, Tony Rice, Kate Wolf, Maria Muldar, Laurie Lewis. They were so welcoming and it was really through this folk and bluegrass form of music that I went on to perform and play it with other people. I loved it. It really resonated with me. And I could go anywhere in the world and find people to play with. It’s a universal language.”

Sullivan calls the music and the way it brings people together “uplifting.” After observing what an impact Pickin’ in the Pines had on audiences, she felt compelled to start the Flagstaff Roots and Boots Music Camp. “You can see they just really want to learn the music. So, I started thinking about a camp. Why shouldn’t we have a premier camp for adults to learn to play bluegrass and acoustic folk music?’”

The music camp was started in 2019 at Arizona Nordic Village, but the pandemic and forest closures derailed the camp in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, threat of wildfire closed the Nordic Village so, with just a few days before the start date, Sullivan reached out to Camp Colton. “It was available and perfect!”

She expects to fill the camp with 40 participants this year with a mix of locals, Arizonans and musicians from neighboring states. Eleven accomplished instructors will teach guitar, banjo, bass, fiddle, mandolin and singing.

“The camp offers daily immersion courses in many instruments and lots of fun electives, including sound craft, where students can practice performing and expand their knowledge of sound systems,” said Sullivan.

New this year, is an intensive vocal master class with Chris Sanders of The Hard Road Trio. “I’ll be helping people get the most out of their voices and bringing their music forward by singing and playing with the instrument that they like to be accompanied by,” said Sanders, a longtime Las Cruces, New Mexico musician, grounded in classical and choral music. “Every camp is its own community. We get to share this wonderful experience of making music with others in a safe and fun place to grow.”

The evenings, says Sullivan, are magical, with musicians playing, voices harmonizing and talent igniting around the campfire. QCBN

By Bonnie Stevens, QCBN

To sign up or for more information, visit https://rootsandbootsmusiccamp.com/about/

Photo courtesy of Dawn Kish: Julie Sullivan, captured here playing the guitar, founded the Flagstaff Roots and Boots Music Camp. She is also an art director and graphic designer in Flagstaff, with her business Shine Creative Industries.