Norfolk, Neb. -- Get ready to rock! The annual rock band camp has returned to Norfolk, bringing together young musicians from across Northeast Nebraska for a week of musical mayhem. This year, witness the incredible as 17 strangers unite to form bands and unleash their talent live at The Cove.

Rock Band Camp, a four-day event held in Downtown Norfolk, involves 17 aspiring musicians aged 12 to 19. Throughout their time together, they'll learn what it takes to make a band complete.

“We form four different bands, and they all have a drummer, a guitar player, keyboard player, and they work on their technique of what it takes to form a band from square one,” said Midwest Music Center owner Chad Barnhill. “They learn how to put a band together, get a band name, promoting the band, and picking songs and rehearsing them.”

This year, students face the challenge of performing music from the 1970s. "They pick out songs that are from the 1970s," Barnhill explained. "We monitor the lyrics and make sure that it fits in the years from 1970 and Rock & Roll."

In addition to musical training, Midwest Music Center provides breakout sessions to teach kids how to promote their music using modern technology.

“We teach them how to promote using Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and AI making posters on how to do that,” said Barnhill. “We talk to them about that because it's a real important thing, and we want people to be at the show. So, our big push is, promote the show.”

Music manager Alexis Hrbek notes the growth and collaboration that emerges from the camp. “The songs are not going to be perfect because they have only had three days to work on them,” said Hrbek. “But seeing the change from the beginning of camp to the showcase and all the progress that they have made, it is a really rewarding experience."

"The end result of all of this is this: the kids are working together to make sure that they're going to give the audience a great show,” said Barnhill. “So it's really fun watching them grow and being able to help them.”

The Rock Band Camp concert will be held at The Cove in Norfolk (Behind Midtown Event Center) at 7:30 p.m. Four bands will be playing songs from the 1970s, and five-dollar tickets can be purchased at the entrance.