Real Work, Real Stakes: Dynamo Students Step onto a Major Music Video Set

That’s what it looks like when Create Here connects Chattanooga’s creative community to the global industry.

The camp was hosted in partnership with Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, one of the most decorated producers and songwriters alive, with credits spanning Michael Jackson to Beyoncé to Justin Bieber. Jerkins has hosted hundreds of camps over his career. He brought with him a collection of platinum and Grammy-credited writers and producers from across the globe.

The economic and career impact for local participants was immediate and tangible. Fifteen Chattanooga-based songwriters, producers, musicians, videographers, and photographers were embedded in the camp alongside that caliber of talent, building relationships and creative credits that would otherwise take years to access. Local designers and print shops produced the camp’s merchandise. The camp was structured to generate ongoing publishing revenue that flows back into Songbirds’ community work, creating a model where industry activity directly funds local creative development.

This is the Create Here model in action: lower the barriers, build the relationships, bring the industry here, and make sure local creatives are in the room when it happens.

The camp was made possible by bold local funders willing to invest in something genuinely new for Chattanooga, including Andy and Hannah Peters and Northshore Spirits, alongside national partners GC Pro, Gibson Guitars, Focal, Fender Guitars, and Universal Audio.