GRAMMY Camp Open House Event Celebrates 20 Years With Inspiring Performances

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Celebrating 20 years of nurturing the next generation of music industry professionals, GRAMMY Camp's Open House event showcased the incredible talent and hard work of aspiring teen musicians at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles.

On a sweltering Saturday evening in the thick of a Southern California heat wave, a crowd of about 100 gathered under the shade of the GRAMMY Museum's Ray Charles Terrace. This year’s GRAMMY Camp marked 20 years of the music industry program, which has been a significant influence on aspiring teen musicians nationwide.

The Open House event on July 20 capped off a week-long camp where attendees focused on one of seven music tracks, including business, audio engineering, electronic music production, music & media, and songwriting.

Campers donned aquamarine GRAMMY Camp t-shirts, while parents, guardians, and other family members filled the seats. Julie Mutnansky, Director of Education at GRAMMY Museum, was one of the first to take the stage. “This has been an insane week, so many things have happened in the last seven days. Special shoutout to the Village [Studios] for hosting GRAMMY Camp this year,” Mutnansky said, highlighting that everything about to be presented during the event was created in just the past week.

The evening's MCs were GRAMMY campers Cora Reardon from New Jersey and Maya Ray from Los Angeles, both participants in the music business track. They shared their experiences of the jam-packed week, emphasizing the intense music immersion, the lifelong friendships formed, and the support from knowledgeable faculty, including Mike Garcia, who is in his 15th and final year of running the GRAMMY Camp business track.

While the Open House honored parents, mentors, and other supporters, the spotlight was firmly on the teenage GRAMMY campers, who took charge of the event. The business track campers produced the event, wrote the script, and worked behind the scenes to make sure everything ran smoothly. The production quality, featuring strobe lights and other effects, demonstrated the campers' commitment to excellence, living up to the GRAMMY name. The result was a spectacular show, filled with one awesome musical performance after another — all products of the past seven days, and a testament to the collaborative spirit of GRAMMY Camp.

The band The Spicy Five kicked off the night with an acoustic rock track that got the crowd going. It quickly became clear that both the GRAMMY campers and many adults in the audience eat, breathe, and live music. One husband was overheard whispering to his wife about how incredible the guitarists and other band members were too.

Guitarist Lauren Hunter from Chicago performed, still buzzing from meeting guest artist panelist and former GRAMMY camper, Blu DeTiger earlier in the week. At the start of the camp, GRAMMY campers also heard from guest panelist Maren Morris, who shared her journey from GRAMMY Camp attendee to GRAMMY winner, offering valuable advice on making the most of the opportunity.

Another highlight was Brooke Murgitroyd, a singer/songwriter from North Carolina who killed it on stage and also showcased her talent in the community by performing with pop musician Lizzy McAlpine on Santa Monica Pier.

The event included brief interludes for campers focused on production to present their work from the past week. These campers gave mock pitches, demonstrating their readiness to secure their first industry gigs.

Pittsburgh’s Aryana Booker-Gamez, part of the songwriting track, delivered two passionate performances, including “Look at Me Now,” which received a standing ovation. Offstage, Booker-Gamez enthusiastically supported her fellow campers, clapping and dancing along with the same fervor she brought to her performances.

It was clear that many campers formed lifelong friendships and potential future collaborations at GRAMMY Camp. Reflecting on the whirlwind week, Murgitroyd posted on social media: “GRAMMY Camp 2024 was such a dream!! To my 82 new friends, you are all so talented and taught me so much!”

The event was a fitting celebration of GRAMMY Camp's 20-year legacy, highlighting the transformative impact the program has had on the careers of many young musicians.