CANADIAN SONGWRITER CHALLENGE | Manitoba Music Grows Creative Connections with Co-writing Retreat

Manitoba Music is gearing up for the fourth edition in its songwriter development series with the help of a Bell Media national songwriting initiative. Slated for June 10-13, the Manitoba Music Summer Songwriter Retreat will combine co-writing opportunities with creative mentorship, connecting homegrown songwriting talent to strengthen their songwriting chops through collaboration.

Taking place in a tranquil setting in the Whiteshell, the co-writing retreat will incorporate daily collaborative songwriting sessions leading to the creation of nine new songs, with discussions on the business of professional songwriting.

This year’s session brings together producers and performing songwriters spanning the genres of folk and roots, indie rock, R&B, pop, and more. Participants include Micah Erenberg, Ferro Montanino, Tyler Wagar, Sierra Noble, Kenzie Jane, Olivia Lunny, Jacob Brodovsky (Kakagi), Raine Hamilton, and Jeremy Smith (Jaywood).

Manitoba Music has a long history of songwriter development initiatives, including a series of Songwriter in Residence events with the likes of Hawksley Workman and Tom Wilson, producing local versions of the Songwriters Association of Canada's SongWorks, and songwriter retreats at FortWhyte Alive.

This iteration of Summer Songwriter Retreat is part of a national project, dubbed the Canadian Songwriter Challenge. A multi-year partnership between the Canadian Council of Music Industry Associations (CCMIA) and Bell Media, CCMIA's member music industry associations will be organizing songwriter-focused events across the country this summer.