About Bluegrass Lab Teens
Saturdays, 3:15-4:45 PM
Vocalists, string instrument players and guitarists between the ages of 10 and 18 are invited to participate in BKCM’s bluegrass ensemble!
This weekly class is taught by a rotating set of professional bluegrass musicians in a fun jam-style approach. Students will experience the joys of leading, improvising on and accompanying bluegrass standards and will leave the class prepared to perform and jam in bluegrass contexts in NYC and beyond.
CLASS PRE-REQUISITES
- Guitar, mandolin and bass players should have basic proficiency with transitioning between G, D, A, and C chords
- Bowed string instruments players should be able to play the fiddle tune “Liberty” (see below)
HOW TO REGISTER
To register for Bluegrass Lab Teens, please complete the following three steps:
- If you are new to BKCM, click here to create a Registration account.
- Click here to fill out the Student & Family Survey.
- Call 718-622-3300 to register.
If you have questions, please call 718-622-3300 to speak to one of our registrars who will guide you through every step of the registration process. For complete information on our registration process and policies, please click here.
Financial Aid for the 2025-26 School Year
At this time in the school year, BKCM has minimal financial aid left for spring 2026 Community Music School classes and lessons. To be considered for financial aid should additional funds become available, kindly submit the financial aid application. Please note: submitting an application does not guarantee that financial aid will eventually be awarded.
If you have any questions before applying, please contact kris.mandapat@bkcm.org. After submitting an application, please allow 7 business days for Kris to review your application and respond.
BLUEGRASS TEACHING ARTISTS
Alex Deane
Alex Deane started playing fiddle, loving bluegrass music, and writing songs as a child in Nashville, TN. After moving to New York City she picked up guitar and became immersed in the city’s bluegrass scene. She currently plays with the Dirty Mother String Band and The Old Grimes as well as at jams around Brooklyn. Alex believes in the power of art and music to contribute to building a better world. With a teaching style that emphasizes connection more than perfection, she is passionate about helping people find their way to playing music together with others at any skill level.
Mike Clifford
Mike Clifford wears many hats: solo artist, member of the country/bluegrass band The District, NYC elementary school teacher. His music fuses folk, bluegrass and pop. Based in Brooklyn, he has toured nationally and abroad. He volunteers with the program Musicians on Call, bringing live music to hospital patients. Mike also teaches bluegrass to students at The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. He currently hosts a weekly folk and bluegrass jam at the Gowanus Dredgers Club.
Ken Shoji
Kensuke Shoji is a jazz violinist and member of Deadgrass. Born in Gifu, Japan, he began playing violin at 7 with Suzuki Method. Kensuke joined his father’s Bluegrass band when he was a teenager and moved to the U.S to study with Matt Glaser (the chair of Berklee String Department ) and world renowned jazz violinist Christian Howes. You can find Kensuke playing with top bluegrass musicians throughout NYC and worldwide.
Steve Burke
Steve Burke is a bassist, mandolinist, electronic music composer, and educator based in Brooklyn, NY.
In 2008, Burke attended Berklee College of Music in Boston where he studied bass performance with Fernando Huergo, Chris Joye, and Bruce Gertz. Later, he continued to study music with players like Matt Clohesy, Johan Hansen Larson, Janek Gwizdala, Andy Hess, and Don White. Burke cites Steve Swallow, Dario Deidda, John Paul Jones, and Bill Evans as influences.
As a bass player Steve has performed as a band lander and a sideman alongside some of Boston’s most popular musicians. Steve leads the Syndicate, an original jam and improvised rock band out of Salem, MA. On mandolin, he leads the bluegrass and old-time group The One and Onlies.
As a sideman, he has appeared with Henley Douglas Jr (Boston Horns), and Eric Reardon (Sarah and the Wild Versatile), ALMA, MC Kabir, The National Reserve, and many others. He has built a reputation as a sideman on the Boston and New York music scenes, playing over 200 shows each year across genres ranging from jazz, funk, and reggae to folk, country, and blues.
Sam Dallas
Sam is a Brooklyn-based bassist and vocalist who plays with the Dirty Mother String Band, The Sentimentals and many other NYC-based artists. She loves old-school country melodies and 3-part harmonies, and also performs songs from the Great American Songbook.