Feedback from songwriters 2013:

Songcamp is always such a learning experience for me. Being able to collaborate and learn from such talented writers is an absolute honour. I look forward to Songcamp all year long and having attended the camp since it’s inception, I can confidently say this year’s camp was the best one yet! – Barb Cameron

I’d like to start by saying thank you so much for such an amazing time this past week in Ingonish. What an experience. I discovered so much about myself as an artist, while also slightly confusing myself, as I realized my musicianship and writing ability spans even further than I knew into genres I do not always write in, and what a great place to be, really! I plan on continuing to co-write with my fellow Songcampers and other artists in the future and seriously pursuing songwriting as a career alongside my own personal music. I also learned so much about the industry through just being around people at later stages in their careers with so much experience. I hope we can all get together again soon and always stay in touch. – Nicole Curry

Thanks for an utterly fantastic week! – Jenny MacDonald

I just wanted to say again how much I appreciated Everything this week, You took care of us all with great food and great planning. I had an amazing time and learned so much once again. It was an honor to be invited back. – Mark Boutilier

Thank you so much for everything you and the song camp family have done for me and everyone over the last few days. I have been walking on cloud nine since I got home. I hope you get a chance to hear the demo Steve and I recorded. Stuart  was so fun to work with and Gordie made the demo sound even more incredible by just turning some knobs :)  It sounds awesome and I am soooo excited about it. This past week was  one of the best experiences of my career. Song Camp was EXACTLY what I needed, I feel brand new. Thank you for taking such good care of everyone.  We are all so lucky to have you guys looking out for us. I am forever grateful and I hope to come back next year :). – Carmen Townsend

Songcamp was everything I wanted it to be, and it still had surprises for me, and I had surprises for Songcamp when I proposed, on stage, to my girlfriend at the end concert… she said yes :) –Chris Brown

Just wanted to drop you a line and thank you guys for another stellar experience at Songcamp. The songs were all such high quality and I left Ingonish feeling super inspired as I have every year I’ve been a part of the camp. It’s amazing for to see how everyone is evolving as songwriters and to see how much the newcomers take away from the camp when they leave. Truly a special experience. Much love and thanks to Gordie, Sheri, Wayne, Krista, Mickey, Mary, and of course all of the campers! – Dylan Guthro

feedback from the songwriters 2012

GOOD LORD. That was one week I’ll not forget. I laughed, I cried, and I made some connections that I’m sure will last a life time. Nestled in the mountains of Ingonish, one can not help but to feel extraordinary inspiration and deliverance from every day life. And having everything prepaid, lovely free meals, and lots of juicy minds to work with; it’s any artist’s dream come true. – Willie Stratton

Thank you again for inviting me to the camp! This experience was so inspirational! I learned a lot and feel like I got to connect with a lot of people I wouldn’t normally connect with. I had a ridiculously good time and hope to keep in touch with everyone involved! I’ll see you at music week for sure! and hopefully before! Thank you a million times for this opportunity! – Dana Beeler

My time at the Gordie Sampson Song Camp was one of the most fulfilling and inspirational music experiences I have ever had. It felt amazing to have the opportunity to meet and write with young artists from across Nova Scotia. I’ve been writing my own music for six years and I can easily say that I learned more about songwriting in that one week then I have in my years writing alone. To have Gordie Sampson, Steve Macdougall and Carleton Stone as mentors throughout the week was a dream come true. I was blown away by the talent of all the campers and the best part was that every artist had their own individual style which added to the richness and diversity of the songs that were written throughout the week. I feel truly privileged to have attended the Gordie Sampson Song Camp and can’t wait to use the connections and writing tools that I learned during my week in Ingonish! – Laura Roy

Song-camp was a life changing experience that gave me so much to utilize for a career in music, best week ever! :) – Kyle Mischiek

My time at songcamp was really special and a lot of fun. Thanks to Gordie, Steve, Carleton, the songwriters, and all who toiled over the barbeque, this will be a week not soon forgotten. – Seamus Erskine

Songcamp is by far the best week of the summer. It’s literally a week off with my favourite people, doing something we all love, in a gorgeous place. And we get fed!! If Songcamp could last all summer, I’d be there every day. – Molly Thomason

This was my third and final year attending The Gordie Sampson Songcamp. Over the past three years I have established lifelong friendships with some of the most talented musicians in the province and seen, first hand, over 100 songs coming to life – all while learning from the very best! In addition, I have collaborated with artists I would never have ended up collaborating with had I not attended the camp. I am SO grateful to have had the chance to take part in such an amazing project that I truly believe in and which has had such an impact on songwriting in our province. Songcamp has been the best week of my summer for the past three years – and I truly mean that! – Barbara Cameron

Thanks again for having me this year at songcamp! Just wanted to say I was blown away with all of the songs written this week by all of the artists. It’s not hard to see that everyone stepped up their game this year and produced quality songs. I couldn’t think of a better week to send me off to Europe for the next few months. Thanks again for another great year! – Dave Sampson

After being blown away in 2011 by how amazing my first experience at The Gordie Sampson Songcamp was, I certainly had some high expectations for 2012. Getting the chance to write and make friends with like-minded people is something I always look forward to, but the quality of the songs written in Ingonish this year is incredible. The pressure of time restriction and the level of talent that we’re all surrounded by seems to make everybody step up their songwriting game. My songwriting mentality has been in full force since I left and I wouldn’t have it any other way! Thanks so much to the entire crew of people that make this camp possible, the songs, connections, and friends I’ve made have changed my life for the better. – Dylan Guthro

feedback from the songwriters 2011

I can undoubtedly say that song camp was the highlight of both this year and last years summer! It was great to reconnect with the writers, now friends, from last year and to meet and make friends with six new talented writers! The amount of creativity flowing throughout the week was absolutely astonishing and resulted in so many great songs. This just goes to show what talented young songwriters we have here in Nova Scotia. I am so thankful to be a part of this project and can’t wait to see it expand in the future! – Barbara Cameron

Excited to hear about Songcamp next year:) I wanted to say what an amazing experience I had at Songcamp this summer. It got me thinking about songwriting in a completely different way, and I learned so so much from Gordie, Steve and the other campers of course. I’m already planning to get together later this month with Carleton, Dave, Dylan and hopefully Molly and Mo to do some more writing!

It was great getting to know you, Wayne and Krista too..(and enjoying the amazing feasts you guys prepared for us)

Just wanted to say thanks again for letting me be apart of this amazing project. It was definitely a highlight of my summer:) – Breagh MacKinnon

Songcamp helped me refine my style of songwriting by showing me slight changes that can be made during the writing process to allow the songs to connect quickly and easily with the listener. Also learned that co-writing with others can be the key to not getting hung up on one specific idea and stalling the writing process. Very grateful that I was a part of this, can’t wait for next year! – Carleton Stone

I just wanted to send you an email to thank you for the amazing week I had at song camp in Ingonish. It was honestly one of the funnest/enlightening weeks that I have had in a long time, and every who was involved contributed to that experience perfectly. Everyone who was there was so talented and easygoing it made me love writing music and co-write with other musicians , which was something that i wasn’t too familiar with before attending this retreat. It taught me to open my mind, think creatively and changed the way I write songs for the better, for that I’d like to thank You, Gordie, Steve, Wayne and Krista! – Dave Sampson

My time at Songcamp was amazing. Everything from meeting and getting to know everybody, to writing, to hanging out and hearing everybody’s songs at night; they were all experiences that I will never forget. After being invited to spend time in Ingonish and write songs for a week I was immediately excited to see how it would go. Having the opportunity to write with and learn from Gordie was something I knew I couldn’t pass up. As incredible as I expected the camp to be, it totally exceeded every expectation. I learned so much, met some amazingly talented new friends, wrote some great songs. – Dylan Guthro

I wanted to thank you for this week and giving me the opportunity to be apart of this. I learned a lot more about song writing then I expected I would :) and I had an awesome time! Thanks so much for everything. – Elijah Wohlmuth

Just wanted to say thanks again for the fun week in Cape Breton. Going to try and work some of the new songs into gloryhound’s set. – Evan Meisner

Just wanted to say thank so so much for having me this past week. It was an amazing opportunity and I met such great people and made really good friends. Its the best thing I have done all summer!

Really, really enjoyed myself, I’m so happy you guys thought of me! Hope we can do it again. – T Thomason

This was the highlight of my summer! I don’t think I’ve learned so much in such a short amount of time before. Thank you so much for giving me that opportunity. It was perfect, but maybe it can be longer next time? I didn’t want to leave! It was really a turning point for me as an artist. So much appreciation for everyone who put this on. – Mo Kenney

I just wanted to tell you that I had an amazing time during the week that had just passed. It was by far the best experience of a life time and I feel so honoured to have been able to get the oppourtunity to meet you, steve, wayne, and gordie for the first time. I am definitely going to take all the advice you have all given me throughout the week. I still can’t believe that I sat at the same table as sheri jones, helped write a song with steve macdougall, and had a demo produced by gordie sampson in 5 days! That was definitely the icing on the cake for me. Also the last night that we all spent together was magical and a lot of fun! I’m just so glad that everyone clicked like they did. I’m going to try to keep in touch with everybody. Thanks again for even considering me to apart of the “camp song camp.” Safe trips back to nashville to you all! I hope to see you all again.

Had an Amazing Time Sheri couldn’t have been any better. Thanks so much for the chance to go :) have a great day. – Mark Boutilier