Jammin' With JOI - The Best Free Summer Program in Las Vegas Nobody Told You About

Free Weekly Summer Jazz Camp for Middle & High School Students · Two Locations · All Summer Long

Last week I walked into a Jammin' With JOI session and walked out a different person.

I say that as a musician, as a parent, and as someone who works alongside JOI every day. I thought I knew what to expect but what I witnessed in that room was nothing short of incredible.

The energy, the generosity, the genuine joy of young people discovering what music can do reminded me exactly why this organization exists and why this program might be the best thing going on in this city for young people right now.

What Is Jammin' With JOI?

Every week from June through August, Jazz Outreach Initiative opens its doors at two locations across Las Vegas for a free, drop-in summer jazz camp for middle and high school students. Students of all abilities are joined by JOI's professional jazz mentors to study jazz language and play with them and other students from across Southern Nevada in a fun, relaxed, and supportive atmosphere.

No registration required. No instrument required. No experience required.

Students do not have to register, can come any time, and are welcome to bring friends. Strings and vocalists are welcome too. Just show up and find your groove.

JOI is on a mission and the student teachers are the story...

Here is what stopped me in my tracks last week...

The three student teachers running the session were not hired professionals who showed up to fulfill a role. They were JOI kids themselves. Students who had sat in those same seats years ago, who had gone through the same programs, who had experienced exactly what the students in front of them were feeling. They were in familiar territory and understood the nervous energy of a first jam session - The curiosity, the excitement, the uncertainty and working through it all together.

Today, they are teaching. Guiding. Inspiring. And moving forward in their own lives - heading to college, building futures and giving back to their community in part because of what JOI gave them when they needed it most. They learned here, grew here, and are now giving it back. That's not a classroom moment, it's a life moment. The kind of thing that changes the trajectory of a young person in ways that are impossible to measure and impossible to forget.

What They Learn is More Than Music

Jazz has always taught more than notes on a page. JOI believes jazz is a great unifier — teaching tolerance and patience, work ethic, listening skills, negotiation, and collaboration.

In a jam session, you cannot just play louder to win. You have to listen. You have to respond. You have to find your moment and make it count without stepping on someone else's. Those are not just jazz skills. Those are life skills and every student in that room is learning them, whether they realize it or not.

For students who have never touched an instrument, Jammin' With JOI is a first step that costs nothing and could open everything. For students who already play, it is a chance to develop alongside peers, learn from mentors, and discover what it feels like to be part of something bigger than a solo.

Two Locations. All Summer. Starting Now:

East Las Vegas — Community Lutheran Church Annex

📅 Wednesdays · June 3 – August 5

⏰ 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

📍 3690 E Tropicana Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89121

North Las Vegas — College of Southern Nevada

📅 Mondays · June 1 – August 3

⏰ 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM

📍 3200 E Cheyenne Ave, North Las Vegas, NV 89030

Attend one location or both. Come every week or when you can. There are no registration or attendance requirements. Just show up.

Share This With Every Parent You Know

Summer in Las Vegas is long. The good programs fill up fast and the ones that cost nothing and deliver this much are rare. Read more about Jammin with JOI at Chic Compass by Debbie Hall.

If you know a middle or high school student who loves music, is curious about music, or simply needs somewhere meaningful to be this summer, send them to Jammin' With JOI. No instrument, no experience, no cost. Just a room full of young musicians, great mentors, and the kind of environment where something real can happen.

Share this article. Tag a parent. Forward it to a school counselor or band director. The more students who walk through that door, the more stories like the ones we witnessed last week get written.

This is a safe, free, and genuinely extraordinary investment in a young person's summer and their future.

Stay Connected

Want to be first to know about JOI programs, concerts, and community news? Subscribe to the JOI newsletter.

About Jazz Outreach Initiative

Jazz Outreach Initiative is a Las Vegas nonprofit connecting the language of music to the language of life through education, outreach, and performances. Founded by Kenny Rampton — trumpeter and member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra — JOI serves students, families, and communities across Southern Nevada. Platinum-rated by Candid/GuideStar and among the top 0.69% of nonprofits in the country.