Monday, June 29, 2026

From Aretha to Taylor Swift, a Pasadena Camp Traces Pop Music’s Arc in Five Days

School of Rock’s weeklong program puts young musicians inside the songs that defined six decades of popular music

The distance from Aretha Franklin to Taylor Swift is six decades — and, starting this week, five days at a music school on East Colorado Boulevard.

School of Rock Pasadena’s Pop Legends Camp, which runs Monday through Friday this week, puts students ages 8 to 18 inside a working band to rehearse and perform songs by artists who collectively trace the evolution of popular music. The camp costs $645 and ends Friday with a live performance for family and friends, according to the school’s website.

The Pasadena location, at 1240 East Colorado Boulevard, is one of more than 450 School of Rock franchise locations worldwide. The performance-based music school, which counts students from Pasadena Unified School District and other local schools among its enrollment, is a member of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce.

The camp’s setlist draws from a roster that starts with early pop legends — Franklin, Diana Ross, Dusty Springfield — and runs through Madonna and Michael Jackson to Kelly Clarkson and Swift, according to the school’s camp listing. The curriculum centers on female pop artists but includes male counterparts such as Jackson and Prince.

Students choose from five instruments — bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, or vocals — and spend each day in rehearsals, practice sessions, and music-based activities from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., the listing states. Some prior musical experience is preferred but not required, according to the school.

On Friday, the week’s work comes together: campers take the stage at the school at 1:30 p.m. for a live show. The performance is open to family and friends.

The Pop Legends Camp is one of several themed summer camps at the Pasadena school. School of Rock was founded as a single location in Philadelphia in 1998 and has grown into a franchise with locations across 19 countries. Its model combines private instruction with group band rehearsals, with the aim of getting students performing live, according to the company’s website.

The Pop Legends Camp runs Monday, June 29, through Friday, July 3, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each day at School of Rock Pasadena, 1240 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91106. Tuition is $645. Drop-off is no earlier than five minutes before camp begins, and pick-up is no later than five minutes after camp ends. Campers must bring their own nut-free lunch each day, as well as hearing protection, which is available for purchase at the school. Guitarists and bass players may bring their own instruments. A full refund is available for cancellations made 30 or more days before the first day of camp, a 50 percent refund for cancellations 15 or more days before, and no refund within 14 days, according to the school’s website. Enrollment is available online at schoolofrock.com/locations/pasadena, by phone at (626) 508-1818, or by email at pasadena@schoolofrock.com.

Five days, five instruments, six decades of pop music — and on Friday, a room full of parents will find out what their kids did with all of it.