The brothers looked back on freezing lakes, late-night shoots and Reese’s Pieces as they return to the ‘Camp Rock’ franchise
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NEED TO KNOW
- The Jonas Brothers are reprising their roles in Camp Rock 3 and serving as executive producers for the film
- On their podcast Hey Jonas!, they shared behind-the-scenes memories from filming the first two Camp Rock movies
- Nick Jonas opened up about managing Type 1 diabetes and the importance of relying on his support system
Nearly two decades after the Jonas Brothers first stepped into the world of Camp Rock, Joe, Nick and Kevin Jonas are heading back to camp — and they have plenty of memories from their first go-round.
On an Aug. 13 episode, the brothers revisited their time making Camp Rock and Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam on their podcast, Hey Jonas!, as they prepared to welcome a new generation of campers in Camp Rock 3. The podcast, which launched in 2026, is the official Jonas Brothers podcast and is hosted by the three siblings. It gives the brothers a chance to talk about their lives, careers and family dynamic in a more casual setting.
While discussing their return to the franchise, the brothers couldn’t help but look back at some of their favorite and, in some cases, coldest and most exhausting, memories from the original movies.
Nick, 33, started with a moment from the first Camp Rock, recalling the morning the cast came up with the now-famous stomp-and-clap sequence.
“My favorite Camp Rock memory from back in the day had to be when we got to set. I think it was 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning, and we just hear this,” he said that led into what became the movie’s memorable stomp-and-clap sequence. “I’m like, what is happening? Because it wasn’t scripted.”
The moment caught Nick off guard because it wasn’t originally part of the plan. The brothers explained that the sequence came together spontaneously, with the cast initially pushing back on the idea.
Nick continued. “That iconic moment with the stomp clap thing. It wasn’t like, ‘We should do this.’ We basically refused to do the thing.”
“And that’s why we added drumsticks, which ended up making it kind of iconic,” Joe, 36, said. “I don’t think I’m in it. Yeah, I’m in it.”
Joe, of course, was then reminded that he was at the center of the movie. He played Shane Gray, the lead singer of the fictional band Connect 3 and Mitchie Torres’ love interest, while Nick played his younger brother Nate Gray and Kevin, 38, played their brother Jason Gray.
Credit: Jonas Brothers/Youtube
The Jonas Brothers first joined the Camp Rock franchise in the 2008 original, starring alongside Demi Lovato, who played Mitchie. They returned for Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam in 2010, with Connect 3 back at Camp Rock as the campers faced off against the rival Camp Star.
Now, the brothers are back as Connect 3 in Camp Rock 3. Disney confirmed that Joe, Nick and Kevin would reprise their roles as Shane, Nate and Jason, with all three also serving as executive producers.
And while the brothers have plenty of fond memories from their Camp Rock years, some involved considerably less glamour than others.
“I had to jump in a freezing lake, even though it’s summertime,” Joe recalled.
Nick was quick to remind his brother that, well, plenty of actors have it worse.
“Oh, your life is so hard,” he jokingly chimed in.
Credit: John Medland/Disney Channel via Getty
Joe wasn’t finished, though. He also remembered getting woken up with cold water by his uncle, who apparently wasn’t satisfied with using anything less than the coldest water available.
“My uncle in the movie, Uncle Brown, wakes me up with cold water,” Joe shared. “And he decided to get the coldest water.”
The freezing-water memories apparently became something of a theme for the franchise.
Joe continued, “Ironically, he didn’t need to do the cold water. I was freezing. It was so early. We didn’t actually need cold water.”
“In this film as well,” Kevin joked. “We may or may not throw you in water. There’s a theme going on here”
But the brothers’ most fitting Camp Rock 2 memory for this particular story involved staying awake through a long night of filming, with a little help from the craft-services table.
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Joe remembered his first real introduction to what actors call “crafty,” or the collection of snacks available on set. And apparently, he found his favorite pretty quickly.
“Shout out to Marissa Machado who does our hair and makeup, as she and I love Reese’s Pieces,” he said. “I would go and just devour as many Reese’s Pieces.”
That snack habit came in handy during one particularly exhausting shoot: the final musical showdown between the rival camps.
“I remember there was one night where we were filming. I think it was Camp Rock 2. It was the final jam against Camp Star,” he recalled. “It was our first, really one of our first, experiences of shooting at night.”
Joe said he was with Nick and Lovato, 33, during the shoot, trying to stay awake as the hours dragged on.
“Me, Nick, and Demi were having… This is probably before we would drink coffee. It was just sugar,” he said. “Lots of sugar to stay awake through the night.”
But the Hey Jonas! episode wasn’t all Camp Rock nostalgia. During the podcast’s voicemail segment, Nick also opened up about living with Type 1 diabetes.
Nick was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 13 years old. In response to a question from a pediatric nurse who cares for children recently diagnosed with the condition, he discussed what he’s learned about managing diabetes over the years and the importance of allowing other people to help.
He said that when he was younger, he mentioned he was proud of handling his diabetes largely by himself.
“Through my teens and my early 20s, I took great pride in doing it all on my own and just dealing with it and not letting it slow me down or affect my day-to-day life,” Nick explained.
As he got older, however, Nick said he realized that leaning on the people around him was an important part of managing the condition.
“I had to start to rely on my community, my friends, my family, my wife to support me in my journey and take some of that pressure off because if I try to do it all myself, it’s going to have a greater mental and emotional impact than I ever realized when I was young,” he continued.
Joe and Kevin also discussed learning more about Type 1 diabetes so they could better understand what Nick deals with every day.
“We have been beside you while you’ve been dealing with this disease and it’s still great to be re-educated and have a tuneup on our education to make sure that we’re prepared,” said Kevin.
Camp Rock 3 premieres Aug. 13, 2026, on Disney Channel at 8 p.m. ET/PT and arrives on Disney+ Aug. 14.
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