Rock Camp is a week-long music and mentorship program. We aim to empower girls, intersex, and all trans and gender-diverse youth ages 10-17 years, encouraging creativity, self-expression and teamwork through music.

Over 5 days of ‘camp’, the participants form their own band, learn an instrument, watch live music performances, attend creative and capacity-building workshops and write an original song to be performed at the end of the week.

We welcome volunteer and camper applications from women/girls, intersex, and all trans and gender-diverse folks. We recognise that gender is self-identified, and that there is a variety of language people may use to best express their experience of gender.

The Rock Camp program involves instrument instruction, band formation, collaborative songwriting, and participation in various workshops. Past workshops include music history, self-defence, zine-making, screenprinting and more. Each program culminates in a live showcase performance, attended by friends and family.

Every day, campers go to instrument classes (guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, vocals, or electronic music) and workshops. At lunchtime, there are performances by visiting bands and artists. On the first day, campers are placed in bands, and the bands have practice time every afternoon. During band practice, the band members work together to write a song and practice playing together. At the end of the week, the bands perform at the showcase.

Each band at Rock Camp is paired with at least two mentors who will model respectful, positive behaviour, strong self-confidence and promote healthy band dynamics. Through music lessons, workshops and live performances, Rock Camp shows girls, trans and gender diverse young people that their voices and actions are valued and not only can, but should, be heard. By pairing campers with mentors who are able to relate to the challenges facing women, trans and gender non-conforming people in the music industry and engaging them in active, creative roles, Rock Camp encourages young people to speak up, express themselves and make some noise!

We are about breaking down stereotypes, providing a safe space for people of all backgrounds and creating positive social change in our community. Girls Rock! Adelaide values diversity of age, race, economic status, gender expression, size, physical ability, developmental ability, musical interests, learning styles, nationality, religion, thought, citizenship status, and sexual orientation. We promote respect and do not tolerate racism, sexism, homophobia, or other discriminatory behaviour or expression.

Absolutely! The young people who come to Rock Camp are encouraged to explore all genres and types of music that interest them, from country to rap to heavy metal and more. We are all about teaching young people to creatively express themselves with music, and they are certainly not confined to only performing one style.

Rock Camp is open to girls, intersex, and all trans and gender-diverse youth aged 10-17 years old.

Yes! No musical experience is necessary and we provide instruments for all campers. All you need is a desire to rock out!

Campers will have the choice of learning guitar, drums, vocals, bass or electronic music. We have instructors for all these instruments. Additionally, the campers will form their own bands and learn to write their own songs. They will perform these songs at a showcase scheduled at the end of their camp session.

We ask you to focus on one instrument for instruction for the week, but you don’t have to play that instrument in your band – you can study drums in your classes and play guitar in your band (if your bandmates are cool with that). Also, remember that Rock Camp is only one week long – you can start a band with other campers after camp, or with your friends from school, and play a completely different instrument.

This year Rock Camp will be held at Ngutu College in Woodville North, South Australia, on Kaurna land. Our venue is wheelchair accessible, and has accessible and gender-neutral bathrooms.

Our showcase will be held at local Adelaide venue, UniBar, which is located on the ground level of Union House at The University of Adelaide. UniBar is wheelchair accessible and has accessible bathrooms via the lift to Level 4 of Union House.

Yes. We ask all participants to commit to attending the entire week, as your band mates will be relying on you to perform with them at the Saturday showcase.

Yes! We have had participants from all over Australia attend. Please be aware that we do not provide accommodation for everyone, so you will likely need to organise accommodation and travel yourself. We do offer regional scholarships, so make sure you select those options in your application and we can discuss ways we can help you attend!

There are also Rock Camp programs in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth so we encourage you get in touch with them if that’s closer to home!

Camper applications are now open (as of 9am ACDT Saturday 18th Feb 2023)! The application is linked at the top of this page.

It’s a two-part application form, with a section for campers to fill us in on who they are and what they’re about, and a section for parents/guardians to share all the important extra details.

Applications officially close 31 March 2023, or when all available places are filled.

Sorry, the program cut-off is strictly 10 years – they should apply next time!

We welcome ten year olds – but please be aware that Rock Camp is self-directed. If you have any specific concerns about your child’s needs then please contact us about your application.

Rock Camp is $495 (incl. GST) for the week. This includes daily morning and afternoon tea, as well as all workshop materials.

We opt for an invoicing system for successful full-fee or half-fee applicants, so no payments are required on initial application.

Camper applications are now open (as of 9am ACDT Saturday 18th February 2023) via this page.

Make sure you apply as soon as possible! Applications will close at the end of March, but spaces for our last camp filled up very quickly and we ended up with a waiting list much sooner than the closing date.

They should still apply! Partial and full scholarships will be offered on a need basis, so please indicate this on your application and we will do our best to help. We encourage everyone who can afford tuition to pay it in full, as this assists us to be inclusive to those who cannot pay for the program.

We operate on an honour system for eligibility. As part of the standard application form, in the second section, there's a question called 'Financial Assistance' where we ask that parents/guardians provide a short summary of their circumstances and self identify their need for either a half ($247.50) or full scholarship. This information is confidential and only accessed by the committee for these specific purposes.

We opt for an invoicing system for successful full-fee or half-fee applicants, so no payments are required on application.

A big part of the camp experience is learning to make new friends and collaborate with people whose perspectives and experiences may be different from your own. For many campers, this is a rare chance to socialise outside of their normal friendship groups.

We believe that working in bands with new friends fosters important social skills and learning opportunities for our campers. Additionally, we strive to create a welcoming and inclusive environment to all our campers and strongly encourage them to engage with each other as much as possible.

No, this is a day camp – 9am to 4:30pm, Monday to Friday, with a showcase on Saturday afternoon.

Our mentors come from a diverse range of backgrounds, and are carefully selected based on their experience, skills and enthusiasm for our wider aims. Our mentors are musicians, music industry professionals, teachers, community arts workers etc. They are all passionate about encouraging girls, intersex, and all trans and gender-diverse youth to participate, get creative and be themselves.

Unfortunately volunteer applications closed Sunday 26th February 2023.

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We ask that all prospective campers take some time to communicate why they want to be a part of Rock Camp by creating an ‘Express Yourself’ piece. It helps us get to know your child, and they will be shared with their assigned band mentors (band manager and band coach), so they can get to know the camper before.