Immerse yourself in the heart and soul of bluegrass music at the 2nd Annual Bluegrass Unlimited Workshop Weekend! You’ll receive hands-on instruction led by seasoned professionals, featuring Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin, Fiddle, and Bass classes. Join us for an unforgettable musical journey that will inspire your creativity and deepen your love for bluegrass! This camp is designed for musicians who know basic knowledge of their instrument.
Youth Scholarship Application
Thanks to sponsors and grantors, a limited number of youth scholarships are available. Please complete the following form and submit by January 25th, 2026. You will be notified by February 1, 2026 if you have been selected to receive a scholarship for the Bluegrass Unlimited Workshop Weekend. Hotel and travel expenses are not included.
Must be less than 21 years of age. Must agree to attend all 3 of the workshop days. The student must be at an intermediate level or above proficiency on the chosen instrument course.
DETAILS
Date: Friday, February 6th - Sunday, February 8th, 2026
Location: Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky
Workshop Fee: $495
Hotel Discounted Rate: We've partnered with Home2 Suites by Hilton Owensboro to provide a discounted rate. Book your room at the link below.
GUITAR - TIM MAY
Tim May has been working in the Nashville Area for over 20 years. Having toured with artists Patty Loveless and John Cowan, he also worked as a regular on the Grand Ole Opry with Mike Snider. Tim has been a regular teacher at multiple music camps including Camp Bluegrass, Kaufman Kamp, Colorado Roots Music Camp, Nashcamp, and others.
Class Overview - This bluegrass guitar series will focus on building solid rhythm to confident improvisation, beginning with bass runs, alternating bass choices, and dynamics inspired by masters like Tony Rice and Jimmy Martin, then building into soloing through Maybelle Carter’s iconic “Carter Scratch” and Norman Blake’s rhythm-driven approach. Students will learn how to create compelling solos by playing and embellishing melodies with neighbor notes, tremolo, and harmonized scales, explore crosspicking through George Shuffler’s banjo-inspired roll and the styles of Clarence White and Doc Watson. Students will also focus on improvisation techniques for crafting fresh solos on unfamiliar tunes using targeted chord tones, arpeggios, blues notes, and the art of “spontaneous composition.”
GUITAR - DAN MILLER
Dan Miller is a familiar name to bluegrass enthusiasts, having guided Flatpicking Guitar Magazine from its launch in 1996 through its final issue in 2016. As editor, publisher, and writer, he helped shape the magazine into a cornerstone of the flatpicking community. Under the FGM banner, Miller also produced popular instructional DVDs and released several audio CDs for guitarists. Since 2020, he has served as editor of Bluegrass Unlimited.
Class Overview - Students will focus on right-hand technique to improve tone, accuracy, speed, and volume, while leaning essential bluegrass rhythm guitar skills such as bass runs and a variety of strum patterns. Instruction will also cover how to transition smoothly from a bass-run–driven rhythm style into Carter-style lead breaks, as well as how to create solos for vocal songs using techniques including double stops, tremolo, neighboring scale tones, hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, harmonized scales, and crosspicking.
MANDOLIN - SCOTT NAPIER
Scott Napier is a talented mandolin player renowned for his skill in blending traditional bluegrass techniques with modern influences, creating a style that is both innovative and deeply rooted in classic sounds. Over the years, Napier has toured and recorded with some of the most prominent names in bluegrass music. For the past decade, he has been a leading figure in bluegrass music education. As of March 2024, Napier is spearheading the new Capital Bluegrass & Traditional Music Program at Owensboro Community & Technical College. Napier was a recent nominee for the International Bluegrass Music’s Associations Mentor of the Year award.
Class Overview - This mandolin series will start by tracing the evolution of the instrument from pre-bluegrass styles into early bluegrass, exploring what changed and why. Students will then move into building mandolin solos within vocal songs while developing ear training skills. Students will examine tremolo and creative substitutions, learn effective pick techniques, and collaborate as a group to write an original tune. The course also highlights bluegrass gospel mandolin, focusing on iconic kickoff phrases, and concludes with an open discussion and jam session that ties everything together, along with one-on-one video recordings for take-home assignments.
BANJO - KRISTIN SCOTT BENSON
Kristin Scott Benson is the six-time International Bluegrass Music Association’s Banjo Player of the Year, recipient of the 2018 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass, and 2024 inductee into the American Banjo Hall of Fame. 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.
Class Overview - This course covers essential right & left-hand fundamentals while building a strong foundation in bluegrass banjo backup and soloing. Topics include low rolling and 3/4 backup, and creating solos by rolling over chord changes. Students will also develop a deeper understanding of intervals to form any chord, explore up-the-neck backup, transition between major and minor chords, “Scruggsify” melodic tunes, add melodic flair to Scruggs-style solos, and incorporate basic single-string fills for slower songs.
BASS - MIKE BUB
The banjo was Mike Bub’s first love, but not long after arriving in Nashville he discovered he could find more work playing the bass. He found himself onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, on tour with the likes of Bill Monroe, and in studios across Nashville. He played in Del McCoury’s band for years. Mike also became a regular at the Station Inn, what he calls the “last bastion” of the Music City he first encountered in the 1980s — full of legends and upstarts making a go at their craft as sunset began to fall on country music’s golden age. He still plays a standing gig there on Monday nights.
Class Overview - Learn how to confidently play with others in a band setting while developing the skills needed to be a strong, supportive musician. Instruction will cover effective band communication, playing with dynamics, using tasteful runs between chords, understanding song arrangements, and navigating more challenging keys. Students will also have the opportunity to ask one-on-one questions and receive individualized guidance to address their specific goals and challenges.
FIDDLE - JIMMY MATTINGLY
For winning the Nashville-based Grand Master Fiddler Championship at age eighteen, in 1981, Jimmy Mattingly earned an appearance on the Grand Ole Opry as a guest of country music legend Roy Acuff. Mattingly went on to be a featured member of Garth Brooks’s band—and he still tours with Brooks. While Brooks was on hiatus from performing, Mattingly was a founding member of the Grascals. He has played with Brooks & Dunn, Bela Fleck, Reba McEntire, the Osborne Brothers, and Dolly Parton.
Class Overview - This course will focus on improving tone and sound and applying those skills to fiddle tunes and bluegrass standards so every note you play sounds better. Participants are encouraged to bring their questions, as Jimmy will tailor the class around them, helping everyone gain a deeper understanding of fiddle tone, bowing, and other techniques they’ve always wanted to learn. Additional topics may include playing tasteful fills behind a singer, using chops, chords, or single notes while other instruments take fills, kicking off a song, navigating challenging keys, and developing confident stage presence and performance skills.
