IN 2011, MILES of Music LAUNCHED AS a week-long Summer camp for GROWNUPS on a tiny island in New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee. We call that Island Camp, and it’s happened every year since.

Thematically, we’re interested in timeless traditional music and modern songwriting. All of our events are focused on exploring the space where those creative pursuits intersect. 

Over the years, we’ve gradually expanded our age range to include kids who attend with their parents or a chaperone. And we’ve hosted other events both in person and online — including weekend House Camps in Brooklyn & Boston, and an entirely Virtual Camp in the year we all stayed home due to Covid.

This season, our online offerings include the Imperfectionist Song Society (an online accountability group for songwriters) and a festival of online workshops we’re calling Miles of Music: Reprise! (featuring fan favorite offerings from Island Camps past).

You're invited! 

At Miles of Music, we value:

  • creativity

  • collaboration

  • joy

  • connection

  • ACCESSIBILITY

  • belonging

we create events, experiences & opportunities that:

  • Spark inspiration

  • Foster the aural passing-on of living musical traditions
    Support artists wherever they are in their personal and professional journeys

  • Elevate the level of artists’ work through individual learning and collaborative creation

  • Are inclusive and safe environments for learning, sharing, and growing FOR ALL PEOPLE

  • Promote a sense of belonging

  • Diversify the MILES OF MUSIC community IN MANY WAYS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO RACE, CLASS, AGE, ABILITY, AND VARIETY OF MUSICAL EXPRESSION. WE DO THIS for OUR own enrichment, in pursuit of living our values, and TO influencE the SOCIAL AND artistic communities in which we all participate.

 

2025 Miles of Music TeaM

Each Miles of Music program is brought to life by an inspired team of musicians and support staff. You can read about those people on the “About” pages for Island Camp, the Imperfectionist Song Society, and the virtual Reprise Festival.

Meanwhile, at Miles of Music Headquarters, there’s a small team that works to support the whole organization:

We’d also like to acknowledge our corporate sponsors, individual donors, and volunteers — including the members of our anonymous Merit & Community Discount Committee. They help us live up to our goals and values throughout our work.

Photo by Kelley Anderson

The story of Miles of Music:

Here’s a note from Kristin Andreassen & Laura Cortese, co-founders of Miles of Music.

It’s in dire need of an update to include the stories of many more characters who bring their energy and vision to the organization. But for now, this is a true story, and a fun one at that. Enjoy!

• • •

So… we’re Kristin & Laura. We’re both award-winning songwriters, multi-instrumentalists, percussive dancers and old friends with musical roots stretching from fiddle folk to indie rock. Another thing we have in common is that we were fortunate enough to have encountered all-ages music camps along our artistic path. “One day,” we thought, “we might get to create a camp of our own…”.

Fast forward to 2009, when we were invited to Three Mile Island as a part of a writing retreat for Boston-based songwriters. (We were Boston-based at the time — now Kristin lives in Nashville and Laura lives in Belgium!). So where were we? Right. That retreat was convened by two of our mutual musical heroes, Rose Polenzani & Dinty Child. Dinty happens to be both a stellar songwriter and the off-season manager of Three Mile Island on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Dinty tells the story of how we arrived at the retreat at different times and yet, each stepped onto the dock and immediately said more or less the same thing — “Wow, this place would be perfect…” Together with Dinty, we worked on a proposal to start an all-comers’ music camp on the island the following year.

These days, Miles of Music has grown to something bigger and more profound than anything this crew of three people could have imagined. We’ve become a real community, with a palpable sense of ownership from hundreds of people who have attended our events, and at least a dozen people who do substantial work throughout the year to make these gatherings possible.

We are a mission-driven organization that functions as a non-profit (we now partner with a fiscal sponsor called Fractured Atlas, so we can accept and provide receipts for tax-deductible donations). In 2015, we identified diversity, equity and inclusion as a priority in our continued growth, and most of our fundraising is geared toward pursuing that work in its many forms.

The biggest recent organizational change — announced in December 2024 — has been Laura’s decision to step back from her role as Co-Director. Laura has two kids now, and we decided together a change would help create space for new growth both within Miles of Music and for Laura’s career and family at home in Belgium. We have the highest regard for Laura and all that she’s given to Miles of Music since we first set foot on this tiny island.

Please continue to explore our web site to learn about our community and how you can be part of it!

With love,
The Miles of Music Team