James Keelaghan

THE RETREAT EXPERIENCE Please join us at the beautifully appointed Guest House in Chester, Connecticut, a historic inn-turned-retreat-center just 2 hours from Boston and New York City by train/car and one hour from Hartford’s Bradley airport. (And don’t worry – we’ll even pick you up at the train station!) Dar, our team of songwriters and special guest songwriters will be on hand to guide and support your songwriting craft in various workshops and song circles. We’ll offer daily song inspiration, a daily peek into Dar’s songwriting process, vocal coaching, songwriting workshops, your own private song consultation with Dar, evening song sharing with the whole group, collaborative songwriting opportunities (the now infamous “So-Fab Collab”) and coffee, tea and creativity flowing 24/7. Only you know what sort of retreat experience will benefit your songwriting. As a result, we have designed this retreat so you can structure your days as you see fit, making space for solo writing and reflecting time and a daily workshop or two, or hitting all the workshops you can in a day for feedback on a batch of semi-finished songs. We have lots of offerings, but no advance signups are necessary, so you can let the muse be your guide daily. And with regards to your musical level, we will meet you where you are at. REQUIREMENTS The desire to write a song Some musical or songwriting background is helpful, but not required. (Team members and retreaters have collaborated with lyricists before.) A kind and open heart – we do our best to communicate with empathetic, supportive feedback Both novice and gigging songwriters sit side by side in our workshops, united by the desire to keep honing their craft and connecting with others. We’ve had poets connect with musicians struggling for words, individuals who have one song under their belts and are inspired to keep going, prolific songwriters who need to get out of their bubble, and songwriters delving into songwriting again after decades. Wherever you find yourself is perfect and we will meet you wherever you’re at.