Country or Folk or Something
Wednesday, July 30th, 2025
TIPI CIRCLE circa 5:30pm—The sun has finally angled to a position that provides fairly comprehensive shade in the Tipi Circle. Standing on the central stone firepit I spray hose water over the earthen stage that is circumscribed by log benches. The initial impact of the water on the dirt raises shallow clouds of dust until the third or fourth passing. As if by design, the range of this hose with its sprayer attachment reaches just to the very edge of the benches.
All around downtown Camp campers are busy enjoying the last few minutes of afternoon free time. A pair of young girls are intrigued by the hose antics and plop down on one of the benches. “You can spray our feet!” they insist, waggling their flipflop-ed feet toward the action. They giggle as I pass the jet in their direction. Wetting the last few dry spots, I loosely coil the hose and head for the equipment shed.
Just outside the shed I find my trusty garden cart, which I’ve rigged with a tarp shell to protect two guitar amps from the dust and dew. The cart lurches over the uneven ground as I drag it. Returning to the shed for my guitar, I pass our drummer Paul Gaffaney carrying pieces of the drum kit into the circle. I plug in alongside bassist Eden Leeman and we begin sound-checking—a little reverb, a little delay. There’s no PA for vocals in this band, but that’s only because we have 150 lead singers.
The conch is blown, calling the campers to check in at their respective tipis. We know this means 15 minutes until showtime. Song leader Natalie Garms arrives on the scene with her acoustic guitar. “Simon and then The Chicks?” she asks, using shorthand lingo for the songs in our setlist. Band members Mayahuel Montoya and Riley Soloner appear with a tambourine and a melodica respectively. The whole band is almost here.
The conch is sounded once more, summoning the campers to Dinner Circle, a daily pre-dinner event where counselors share important announcements about Camp activities and etiquette. As the campers populate the benches, us band members leave the circle and wait for our big introduction. After a short attention-grabber and preamble, the circle leaders give us our cue:
“Please make very welcome The Stragglers!”
We enter to mild applause and proceed to lead the campers in a rendition of Paul Simon’s “I Know What I Know.” I hand lyrics to a group of camper “soloists” who champion the verses, while the rest of Camp chimes in on the chorus and the “whoops”. Adjunct song leader Annika Crowley joins us for the second song, “Wide Open Spaces” by The Chicks. She and Natalie lead the campers in memorizing the second of three verses.
It’s hard to learn multiple songs in just one week, but the campers seem to be picking things up quite quickly. We practice twice per day, once before breakfast and once before dinner, for a grand total of ten. Also on our setlists this session is a parody of “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X, created by song leader Shakon, “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers, and a rendition of “Tequila” where the sole, titular lyric is replaced by the hot sauce “Cholula”. The latter usually results in a very dusty conga line.
Earlier today I spent some time collecting various opinions on the phenomenon of Camp’s song circle.
“You like circle up before dinner and breakfast, and we sing songs,” said Frankie, 10, Gold Tipi. “The Stragglers come out with guitars and tambourines and usually they do a ‘repeat after me’. It’s kinda country or folk or something, I don’t know. I enjoy it. I wish we did more songs. My favorite song is either Shakon’s song or ‘Lovely Day’.”
“So much fun!” said Asa, 10, Gold Tipi. “You can meet new people at the circles, depending on where you sit. The music is really joyful and creative. I don’t know my favorite Camp song; I love all of them. It’s a really nice way to bring people together.”
“It’s very sing-songy and very long,” said Elaya, 13, Turquoise Tipi. “It’s always happening when I’m hungry. I think it’s just to give the kitchen more time to set up food and stuff. The songs are nice and calming though. It feels like family because everyone is there. My favorite is ‘Lovely Day’.”
“It’s amazing!” said Trevor, 10, Ultraviolet Tipi. “It could be shorter, but I like it. I like the community in it, and it’s fun. The songs all have a good mood to them. The instrumentalism is great, almost like a real band! My favorite Camp song is ‘Lovely Day’ also.”
“It’s pretty good,” said Olivia, 14, Turquoise Tipi. “Even though there’s different friend groups at Camp, and different age groups, it brings us together and makes us more kind. It’s like a recentering after the excitement of classes. It brings me back to a more peaceful mood. My favorite song is ‘I Know What I Know’.”
“It’s interesting,” said Zubin, 10, Rainbow Tipi. “It brings everyone together and makes you happy. It’s a fun way to start the day. The songs usually wake you up if you’re feeling tired. My favorite song is ‘Wide Open Spaces’. It’s just got a vibe to it.”
“Song circle is lit! The Stragglers are my favorite band,” said Aerials Instructor Cristiana Moody. “It’s song circle; it’s self-explanatory. You get in a circle and sing songs. The songs are cute, and you get to learn new music. I remember camper Puddy running around with no shirt on, going crazy, especially for with a hammer and a bell in it. He would act out all the lyrics. That’s my favorite song circle memory. I love it when these young kids get to learn some older songs.”
Stay hydrated,
—J. Payseno, Editor
