The Gordie Sampson Songcamp is proud to be a recipient of The Ceilidh Cup golf tournament fundraising efforts this year! The tournament takes place in five golf courses across Cape Breton Island, from September 30 – October 2.

Visit the Ceilidh Cup website for more information at www.ceilidhcup.ca

And check out this excellent article about Songcamp on their website, too:

Gordie Sampson’s Songcamp a Huge Success!

Gordie Sampson’s Third Annual Songcamp came to a successful close with a Songwriters Circle on July 12th at the Keltic Lodge in Ingonish, Cape Breton. Gordie and his fellow leaders, Steve MacDougall and Carleton Stone, took turns introducing various groups and duets from the 14 songwriters who showcased their amazing talents.

The eclectic range of songs crossed all genres of music with blue grass, hip hop and blues infused into pop, country and alternative rock performances. With mostly acoustic guitars and vocals along with a banjo and mandolin thrown in there to mix it up, it was a stripped down blend of music that allowed the lyrics and melodies to shine through and demonstrate the stellar talents of these young aspiring artists. The concert closed in summer-camp style with all of the writers singing “Flip Flops”, a catchy tune at the top of the East Coast Countdown chart all summer, written at the 2011 camp and recorded by Steve MacDougall and his band Slowcoaster.

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Another stellar Gordie Sampson Songcamp has come to a close! As usual after Songcamp, I am both exhausted and inspired! Thank you again to Steve, Carleton, Wayne, Krista, Mickey and Mary for helping make things such a success. I know Gordie was thrilled with the results again this year and we are already talking about Songcamp 2013.

– Sheri Jones

The songwriters who took part in Songcamp this summer, from July 8-13, include our fearless leaders Gordie Sampson, Steve MacDougall, and Carleton Stone; returning writers Mo Kenney, Molly Thomason, Barbara Cameron, Dave Sampson, Breagh MacKinnon, Dylan Guthro, Brandon Johnson, Elijah Wohlmuth, Natalie Lynn; and new writers Dana Beeler, Kyle Mischiek, Seamus Erskine, Willie Stratton, and Laura Roy.

Check out this live video from the Songcamp Circle at Ceilidh Hall, Keltic Lodge. All the songwriters came together to perform the last song of the night, “Flip Flops”. Thanks to everyone who came out to see the show!

This will be the third year for the Gordie Sampson Songcamp, which was conceived by Sampson as a way to help young songwriters gain experience and develop tools that will benefit them in their writing careers.

The song camps, facilitated by Sampson and fellow songwriter Steve MacDougall of Slowcoaster, were held in 2010 and 2011 at the Glenghorm Resort in Ingonish. Participating young writers collaborated on more than 10 songs over three days in 2010, and 30 songs over a weeklong camp last year.

Sampson said the song camps are designed for writers and artists “that show promise, candidates most likely to do this for a living.”

“It’s not like we’re looking for people that show some skills and we’re going to teach them the rest. It doesn’t work like that. We’re basically looking for people that are already awesome,” he explained.

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April 21, 2012

Check out this video of Carleton, Dylan, and Mo performing together at the Acoustic SuiteCase during ECMA.

http://gingle.tv/users/#/spincount/3862

Huge thanks to Kimberly and Kevin Sinclair at SpinCount for taking the video, hosting the Acoustic SuiteCase, and supporting our Songcamp artists!

April 20, 2012

I wish Gordie could have been at ECMA this past week in Moncton to see the Songcamp writers showcase their stuff – much of it written during Songcamp 2011 and 2012.

Mo, Molly, and Dylan did numerous performances – acoustically and with accompaniment.

Carleton was the busiest guy at ECMA this year – always running from one show to the next.

First time I’ve seen Dave play with his band – a real treat and a very cool configuration; guitar, stand up bass, and fiddle.

It was fun to see Barb watching as Dylan called Mo and Carleton to the Acoustic SuiteCase stage to sing a song she’d co-written last year.

Breagh knocked them all out at the Cape Breton Embassy.

Evan and the Gloryhound boys played the Rock Stage and ended off the weekend with a Post Awards Show Party performance.

MacDougall, busy as usual with the ever-popular Slowcoaster, took time out to make sure Barb was comfy with her set up as she prepared to rock the house in Molly’s band.

Ran into Brandon and got a copy of his newest work – can’t wait to hear what he’s been up to.

Big thanks to ECMA and SOCAN for showcasing Dylan & Breagh and Carleton & Molly at the SOCAN Songwriter Circle on Sunday. Gotta love those duets! I couldn’t make the show but the feedback has been huge.

I think the best part of all was witnessing the real sense of community that has developed among the Songcamp writers – everyone showing up to support each other and often taking the stage to play together.

As always, thanks to the Province and Music Nova Scotia for their support.

– Sheri

April 4, 2012

At the Gordie Sampson Songcamp, emerging writers come from all over the province of Nova Scotia to collaborate and co-write songs with their peers, mentor with award-winning artists, and learn from music industry leaders.

We are now accepting submissions for songwriters to attend the Gordie Sampson Songcamp, which takes place this year at the Keltic Lodge in Ingonish, Cape Breton from Sunday, July 8 through to Friday, July 13.

To be eligible to apply, you must:

– currently live in Nova Scotia
– be between the age of 15-24
– have links online to where we can listen to 3 songs you’ve written (YouTube, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, or other) OR MP3 recordings

There is no fee to attend the Gordie Sampson Songcamp. Accommodations and meals are provided at no cost to the songwriters. Only 6 songwriters will be selected to attend. Only successful candidates will be notified.

To apply, please send an email to [email protected] with the following information:

– Your first and last name
– City/town where you currently live
– Links online to where we can listen to 3 songs you’ve written (YouTube, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, or other) OR MP3 recordings
– Lyrics, in a Word document, for the 3 songs you are submitting

You have the option to include additional websites like your artist website, Facebook fan page, Twitter, YouTube, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, etc.

Deadline for submissions is: May 1, 2012

The Gordie Sampson Songcamp Song is an annual event, conceived by Gordie Sampson, a multiple-award winning Canadian songwriter and artist, as a way to “give back” to the community that has supported him. The intent is to nurture young songwriters, give them access to knowledge and to help them develop tools that will benefit their writing careers.

Past songwriters include Molly Thomason, Dylan Guthro, Carleton Stone, Mo Kenney, Evan Meisner, Breagh MacKinnon, Barbara Cameron, Brandon Johnson, Elijah Wohlmuth, Jenny MacDonald, Natalie Lynn, and Dave Sampson.

Thank you to our sponsors and partners for your generous support: Music Nova Scotia; Nova Scotia Communities, Culture and Heritage; SOCAN; and the SOCAN Foundation.