Hailing from Durham, NC, Jon Shain is a veteran singer-songwriter who’s been turning heads for years with his fiery acoustic guitar work, and his evolved musical style – combining improvised piedmont blues with bluegrass, swing, and ragtime. His newest album, Restless Soul Syndrome reached #5 on the Folk DJ chart. Shain is also the author of the music books Gettin’ Handy With the Blues – a Tribute to the Legacy of W.C. Handy and Jon Shain’s Fingerstyle Guitar Method, both published by Mel Bay Publications. In 2019, Shain won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN in the solo/duo category.

In Jon’s words,”I specialize in getting adult students “unstuck” from their plateaus, introducing music theory and new techniques in a very hands-on manner. Some students come to work with me on songwriting, some on fingerstyle blues or flatpicking techniques, some on improvising, etc;  the main thing is that I try to keep their original goals in mind, while still sneaking in a few ideas they might not have envisioned for themselves, yet. I work with beginners all the way to fairly advanced professional musicians, both in my home studio and online via Zoom. I’m the co-founder of The Great Guitar Camp and a regular teacher and workshop co-ordinator at PicknBow Camp, both located in Durham, NC. I’ve also taught at the following adult music camps: Steve Kaufman’s Acoustic Kamp, Acoustic Alaska Guitar Camp, California Coast Music Camp, and Millwood Blues Week.

We’re really pleased to have Jon bring his diverse skills to camp for the first time.