Not every drum lesson happens behind a kit. Some happen at the lunch table, under a practice pad canopy, or after lights-out when a student’s still tapping on their legs. That’s the kind of space the Mid-Atlantic Drum Camp has quietly built, and will return to in July 2025.
Set for July 12 through 17, the camp isn’t about showmanship. It’s designed for young drummers, aged 9 to 23, who are serious enough to want more but still figuring out what “more” means. They come from all over the country. Some are self-taught. Some are music school kids. Most are somewhere in between. The only real requirement is wanting to get better and being willing to listen.
This year, names like Matt Garstka, Teddy Campbell, and Alex Cohen will be at Mid-Atlantic Drum Camp. These aren’t just performers. They’re working drummers who’ve carved out very different careers and are now taking time to pass it forward. But the camp doesn’t market around personalities. The point is to connect the dots between students and professionals, effort and intention, sound and silence.
Days are structured but not rigid. Small-group instruction keeps things personal. Workshops move between hands-on techniques and broader concepts, things like adaptability, listening, or how to stay musical when the room gets loud. And each evening, students share meals and gear talk, slowly letting their guard down. That’s when the real learning tends to show up.
No one wins anything. There are no rankings, no ribbons. Instead, there’s a final performance, where students step up not to impress, but to contribute. Every groove played is something they built over the week, and every beat is part of something communal.
What sets this camp apart isn’t its size or flash. It’s that the experience feels lived-in, not staged. The educators aren’t untouchable. The routines aren’t performative. And the students, for once, aren’t rushing to finish; they’re settling into the process.
As registration closes on April 15, the camp is once again reminding the drumming world that mentorship doesn’t always need a big platform. Sometimes, it just needs a room full of questions, a few open ears, and a place to play.