Podunk Bluegrass Songwriters Workshop

Inspiration to Stage: Songwriting Master Seminar
By Instructor: Louisa Branscomb, Songwriter
August 6 and 7, 2011
Workshop Registration Fee: $25.00 (Does not include admission ticket to festival)

Songwriting is not just a discipline and craft, but an attitude toward life that fosters creativity, a set of skills applied to a good idea, and a process of refining the song, with the goal of working with an artist toward arrangement and performance.

In this special Master workshop, nationally known songwriter Louisa Branscomb will facilitate an experience designed to help you add to your skills on building songs from inspiration to artist. The workshop is limited in number to create a hands-on, interactive, lively atmosphere designed to foster group and individual creativity.

A special feature of the workshop will be the creation of a “group song,” which we will work on together. Participants will then have the opportunity to actually see the song come to life, by working with national recording artist Donna Ulisse, to arrange the song for performance. The song will then be performed on the main stage on Sunday afternoon.

The workshop is appropriate for all non-professional songwriters, including those who have never written a song! Workshop goals are designed for those with an interest in bluegrass, country, or Americana/roots songwriting.

Please bring: Note pad, instrument if you play one, and an open mind!

Limited to 15 participants
Workshop Schedule
Saturday, August 6, 2011
10:00 AM to 12:00 Noon - Introductions - Songcatching: Finding and fostering inspiration
12:00 to 12:30 PM - Lunch Break at Workshop Site
12:30 to 1:30 PM - Creative Crafting: Taking Your Song to the Next Level
1:30 to 2:20 PM - Demonstration and Discussion
2:30 – 5:00 PM - Group Songwriting
We will work together to find a theme, hook, and style for the group song, then craft the song, using individual and group exercises and discussion along the way.
Sunday, August 7, 2011

10:00 - 11:00 AM - Prepare for takeoff: Refining the song
11:05 AM – 12:00 Noon - Collaboration with the Artist
The group will interact with Donna Ulisse to make final edits, and observe how the artist takes a song and arranges it to best present the song and the artist.
3:15 (Main Stage) - Touchdown! The Song Arrives - Donna Ulisse will perform the 2011 Master Class Song on the Main Stage during her set.


Workshop Leader: Louisa Branscomb

Louisa Branscomb is a "household word" in bluegrass and acoustic music, and credited with bringing a "whole generation of young women" into bluegrass via her classic composition, "Steel Rails," as recorded by Alison Krauss. A few honors garnered by Steel Rails are recordings on two Grammies (Krauss, and John Denver), SPBGMA song of the year in 1991, and the distinction of the longest running chart hit in Bluegrass Music. 2009-2010 saw her song "Don't Turn Your Back," the title track recorded by Dale Ann Bradley on Compass records, hold a place on bluegrass charts for nearly a year, and win a fans' choice CMA video award as well.

Nominated for 2011 SPBGMA Songwriter of the Year, Louisa has over 90 cuts by artists including Krauss, Denver, Dale Ann Bradley, McPeak Brothers, Lonesome Redwing, Janet McGarry, Fontanna Sunset, and others. Her soon-to-be-released Compass project, "I'll Take Love," pairs world-class vocalists with Branscomb creations that span country to bluegrass to swing, including Dale Ann Bradley, John Cowan, Claire Lynch, Alison Krauss, Steve Gulley, and mega-players Alison Brown, Josh Williams, Alan Bibey, Missy Raines and others. Besides her 2 Grammy cuts, Louisa has earned two IBMA Recorded Event of the Year trophies, "Tribute to Women in Bluegrass," (Mark Newton, producer) and "Daughters of Bluegrass." Louisa hosts a songwriter retreat center at her North Georgia farm, Woodsong, and has served as a mentor for songwriters for several decades, through private workshops, festivals, and working as a founding member of the IBMA Bluegrass Songwriter Committee.