Songs in the Woods

A week of guided songwriting, music making and camping!

Tuesday June 16th-Sunday June 21st
Sacred Nectar Sanctuary
North Sandwich, New Hampshire
$1050

A Focused Space to Write

Songs in the Woods offers a focused environment and community of collaborators to help you write songs. We’ll have a balance of structured workshops and open writing time to help you craft the music, lyrics, and recordings of your songs!

Guidance & Collaboration

Our experienced facilitators Nate, Ben, and Jessica will provide structure and instruction for solo and collaborative music making. They will be available each day to guide you through any roadblocks you encounter and offer feedback when you want it. We’ll co-write songs, improvise together, and arrange songs with fellow campers and counselors. You can expect ecstatic music making with big and small groups!

Sign me up!

The Great Outdoors

Six days at Sacred Nectar Sanctuary will uplift you! Expect breathtaking views, cradled in a valley with access to trails in the White Mountain National Forest. As one of the highest rated HipCamp sites in America, it has a track record of excellent care and service to their guests. Though we’ll be camping, there is access to large tents and a lovely indoor space for performance and workshops. You can find more info about the space and accommodations below.

Our Teaching Philosophy

There’s no silver bullet for instantly becoming a better writer. The path is nonlinear and unique to you. It takes time, honest feedback, and encouragement. The only difference between you right-now and you, the songwriter you’ve always dreamed of being is the experience and growth that comes from writing lots of songs. Persistence is key. This supportive community of counselors, facilitators and fellow participants will make this process more beautiful and easeful than it might be alone!

Overview of the Schedule

First half of the week

Breakfast
Morning writing and feedback
Lunch
Music Workshops About
- Instrumental skills
- Lyric writing
- Arrangement
- Music Theory
Evening writing
Dinner
Fireside Jams and Improvisation

Second half of the week

Breakfast
Rehearsal and recording time
Lunch
Rehearsal and recording time
Dinner
Jamming and performance opportunities

Is this retreat for me?

This retreat is for people who want to write songs - a lot of songs

We learn by doing. Instead of working hard just to make one song, we work quickly, making lots of songs, and learning along the way. Just as trees make tons of acorns, and only some become oak trees, we realize our potential as songwriters by churning out lots of material and seeing what sticks after the fact.
Writing lots of music changes you. It’s an act of confronting yourself, challenging the boundaries of who you think you are, and playing with what comes out of you. We don’t write “because we have something to say”; we write because we fell in love with the process of discovering what comes out as we write it. Our finest work happens when we let go of what we think our work is supposed to be.
You don’t have to “be good” at it already

Regardless of your experience level, you’ll have a place here. Whether you’re a beginner or a full-time professional musician, new possibilities will emerge from being immersed in this dedicated creative environment. All musicians benefit from writing quickly and imperfectly, finding the beauty in the work of others, and spending time playing music with other people.
If you are less than 100% satisfied with your songs and/or the strain or stress required to make them, we’ll provide a great space for you to work, play, and learn.
Our only requirement is that participants arrive able to play at least two chords on a chordal instrument and have a strong desire to write and sing songs.
Foster your personal creative voice

Everyone’s art leads them down a different path, which emerges only as you make your work.
We’re not going to give you rigid formulas to follow; we’re here to support you on the journey of writing the songs only you would write.

This gathering allows us to glimpse who we haven’t yet let ourselves be.
Forging new relationships and songs in a new place will induce quantum leaps — not into becoming a certain type of musician— but to becoming intimate with what expression is unique to you.

Meet your facilitators

Nate Shaffer

Since walking up the hill at recess in elementary school, Nate has loved making up songs. Though his creative life has brought him into the classical concert hall and comedy theatre, some of his most personal and transformative musical experiences have been whilst alone in nature with a guitar. Having taught hundreds of improvisation students — at ImprovBoston, Tufts University and beyond — he thrives on reading the energy of spaces, tuning into exactly what is needed. Recording music, writing songs, jamming with friends: these are the good things in life and he can’t wait to be with you in this leg of the journey.

Jessica Kion (Justice Cow)

Jessica’s passion for songwriting bursts out of her like a plow truck ramming through a pile of snow. Writing songs under the moniker Justice Cow has been the main catalyst for growth and healing in her life. During the pandemic, she held weekly songwriting workshops on Zoom to encourage her friends to write and record music and weather the storm of lockdown. The lessons she learned from these workshops, her songwriting degree from Berklee College of Music, and years of writing and touring in bands have led her to develop a highly effective approach as a songwriting teacher.

Ben Levin

Ben is a multimedia artist celebrated for his distinctive fusion of music and animation. With a prolific discography of 27 albums and EP’s, Ben has used songwriting as a way to keep track of his life and the way it has changed him. Ben’s YouTube channel features over 500 surreal animations and action-packed music tutorials. It is a treasure trove for people looking to deepen their creativity and embrace the part of them that laughs and thinks of wacky stuff.

Counselor Bios coming soon

The Full Schedule

More specifics on the architecture of the event — a run down on everything from arrival to the flow of programming throughout the Six Magical Days — in the woods!

Arrival

Tuesday June 16th, early afternoon (suggested 2-5pm)

6pm Opening Ceremony
7pm Dinner
TBA group activity 8-9:30
Camp Fire jams, settling in

Wednesday, Thursday & Friday*

8:30am Sauna + Yoga + Qi Gong
9:15am breakfast
9:45am Opening circle
10:15am 30-minute songs
11:00am sharing 30-minute songs in a small group
~short break~
12:45 lunch
~short break~
2:00pm-3:30pm group 1 – TBA workshops
400pm-5:30pm group 2 – TBA workshops II
5:45pm Optional 30-minute song #2
6:30pm Dinner
~rest & digest~
8:00pm-9pm Large group improvisations
9:30pm onwards: optional sauna, campfire jams, more writing

* on Friday, after lunch, our workshop slots will be preparing collaborations for recording. Depending on total registrations, we may start recording Friday afternoon

Saturday Schedule

9:15 breakfast
9:45 Opening circle
Recording blocks:
10am-1pm
1pm Lunch
1:30-3:30pm
Snacks out 4-4:30
5-8pm Songbuilders’ Soiree!!
8pm Dinner
8:30-10pm semi-Open Mic
Campfire Jams, Sauna, evening revelry

Sunday Schedule

9:15 Breakfast
10am-4:30pm Recording Blocks
1pm Lunch
5-6pm Closing Ceremony

Departure

Sign Me Up!

Sacred Nectar Sanctuary

Several fire pits and multiple large outdoor tents, for protection from sun and rain

Bring your own Tent!

Warehouse for nightly jams, recording, and more!

Leave your camp-stove at home. Delicious home-made meals by the Nourishment Mama!

FAQs

So, We are Camping?

Yes, we are totally camping! This will bring us closer to nature, get further out of our normal behaviors/boxes, and find new ways of thinking when we write.

Tents are not included in the price of the retreat. If you don’t have gear, consider reaching out to a friend, family, or community member. Lots of people who love camping are good at sharing! We may be offering a limited amount of gear for rental. Let us know if you’re in need and want to try ’n’ swing a rental.

Are There Scary Animals?

Sacred Nectar has had bears visiting off and on in the past. Bears love food but don’t like to hang out with people. If you do bring any food with you, please lock it in your car.

There can be ticks, so we will be reminding everyone to check for them regularly.

Bathrooms and showers though?

Sacred Nectar has whimsical outhouses! (see photo gallery) These composting toilets are great for #2. We will have plenty of toilet paper and sawdust. We will make sure the outhouses stay clean. Peeing outside is encouraged for people who want to – please be discrete.

There is an outdoor shower with hot water! There will be sauna and places to swim as well.

The shower is near the outdoor kitchen & a small edible garden. As such, no synthetic cleaning products are allowed. We’ll have some Dr. Bronner’s and handmade soap options. Let us know if you have any other questions about this!

Is there cell service and electricity? I think I might be addicted to my phone

We get it. Do you think we made this whole website without doing any doomscrolling? Though there is some cell service on the property, participants will be encouraged to unplug as much as possible. This will allow us to connect with each other and nature with more intention and make the most of our time.

Yes, there is electricity, it is somewhat limited but more than enough for our recording and performance needs.

How do I get there?

By car is the best way. Sacred Nectar is under 2.5 hours from Boston, just over 90 minutes from both Portland, ME and Manchester NH.

Although there is plenty of room to park, we encourage carpooling. We will make some efforts to connect you with potential carpools; however we can’t guarantee you a ride.

What if I can’t come the whole time?

We require participants to be there from start to finish, from Tuesday afternoon until Sunday evening.

However, we will have an open-to-the-public event on Saturday Evening. You can come just to that for a small ticket price ($10-20). There’ll be tickets for camping overnight and singing along on some of the recordings as well! We’ll have more information about this performance closer to the event – likely by the middle of May.

Is food included?

Yes! The Nourishment Mama will be making 3 vegetarian meals per day (dinner + snacks on arrival day; 2.5 meals on departure day.) The meals will feature mostly organic, local foods – including some produce grown on the property!

You may bring your own snacks to store in your car if you’d like, but these meals are going to be incredibly good. Please let us know if you have any food allergies when you fill out the registration form.

What else do we need to bring?

We’ll provide a THINGS TO BRING checklist to help you pack. Packing well will make a huge difference! Your needs will range from camping gear (sleeping pad, bag, tent,) to rain gear, towels, musical instrument(s), writing implements, notebooks, as well as funky clothes or costumes for our performances! Investing in recording devices that aren’t your phone, such as a field recorder, is helpful but not required.

What if someone is creepy?

Registrants will sign a code of conduct. We have a zero-tolerance policy for any harassment, assault, or behavior that violates the code of conduct.

If the code of conduct is not broken but someone behaves in a way that is making others uncomfortable, there will be a two-strike policy.

We will make sure everyone attending the retreat understands that we are here to make music – not find dating partners.

We assume people are coming into this retreat with the best intentions and understand it is possible to misread cues or be misunderstood in a new social setting. Our code of conduct is designed to be clear about what is considered inappropriate behavior and prevent conflict in the first place. We will make sure everyone feels safe and respected at Songs in the Woods.