Songs in the Wild: What Happens When 12 Songwriters Head Into the Woods
Based on the Podcast Episode: “Songs in the Wild: A Journey of Collaboration and Creativity” – Episode 52, The Magic of Songwriting with Francesca de Valence
Let us take you into the woods; to the stunning World Heritage-listed Border Ranges National Park where Queensland meets New South Wales. Nestled in the rainforest on Mununjali land, join us for I Heart Songwriting Club’s very first songwriting retreat, partnered with our friends at Wild Mountains Songs, in celebration of our 10th anniversary.
We invited 12 songwriters from our community to spend 3 nights and 4 days immersed in nature, writing songs together. Over the next 4 podcast episodes and blogs, we will take you through each day of the retreat.
Listen to the podcast audio to experience a new creation by songwriters Shauna Tohill, Kerrie Gambley, and Stella Di Santa. Or read on to be lured into Day 1 of our retreat experience.
Day One:
We Meet at Bottom Quarry
We all meet at the bottom quarry, a 40-min drive from Beaudesert, 2 hours from Brisbane. It’s the middle of winter but it’s unseasonably hot and dry this weekend.
Maddi and Amanda arrive first. Amanda flew in from Sydney last night and met Brisbane songwriter Maddi this morning. Maddi is young enough to be her daughter and yet they get out of the car, big smiles, laughing, arms outstretched to greet Brisbane songwriter Halimah who arrives right behind them at the Quarry.
Kerrie arrives from down the road and around the corner. She has travelled the short distance but has the biggest reason for coming along. Her cancer diagnosis has inspired life to the fullest and that includes living out all of her songwriting dreams. Kerrie recently celebrated writing 100 songs in I Heart Songwriting Club with a slew of performances of her songs at festivals around Australia.
Stella and Kate arrive in their own cars from different directions interstate. They compare notes on the number of kilometres driven. Stella travelled from Canberra. Kate has not travelled the furthest of the group, but she certainly took the long way to get here – a van from Adelaide.
It’s Shauna who has logged the most miles on her flight from Perth that morning. Perhaps if we count her actual hometown as Belfast, IRE, she’s a very long way from home. Brisbane local, Mona collects Shauna from the airport with the quintessential Queensland greeting – smiles, joy and hugs. They arrive at the Bottom Quarry, good friends already. Cath arrives not long after on her delayed flight from Melbourne.
Travel Together to the Top of the Mountain
The songwriters meet facilitators Emma and Francesca at the Bottom Quarry and we all travel up the mountain in a convoy. The first task, unpacking and then the most important activity that day – LUNCH!
Our soulful caterer, Alannah has prepared a gorgeous and generous vegetarian lunch buffet. Alannah knows touring musicians, having mentored some herself and booked many in her former role as programming manager at Queensland Old Museum.
Into the Woods & Emerge with a Song
Emma and Francesca lead the welcome activities, some songwriting exercises, and it’s time for our first songwriting activity. Small groups trail off into the woods to write songs amongst the trees. And they emerge 3 hours later with a new song created.
We enjoy a meal at a long table under the stars. Then gather around the unlit fireplace in the main hall surrounded by fairy lights. Hands surround cups of hot chocolates as the songwriters share their songs and stories.
It’s a full day. The first pages of our songwriting books are filling up and our hearts and tummies are full. We sleep deeply and dream of all the amazing adventures we will get up to tomorrow.
Join us for Day 2 of our retreat here.
Will you join us?
Join us for our next Songwriting Retreat from July 19-22, 2025. We look forward to supporting you to grow as a songwriter.