Art is Work. To Sell it is Art. I can't think of a better way to begin or give a boost to your creativity. Andrea is a great communicator. Even so, there's no magic wand that will make you write better songs, but you'll learn how to write songs better. And unless you're a genius like your mama told you, you need to understand the rules of writing songs that stand a chance of being shared.

NY Catskills (in person) Retreat At the NY Catskills Retreat, I found it to be incredible how quickly and gracefully Andrea created a sense of safety within our group of 31. We were mostly introverts, yet because of the container set, we were able to bring our artistic nature forward so we could work. And it was fun. :) Andrea is an intuitive, shrewd, kind, experienced leader. Given her years of experience deep in the craft of being a songwriter herself, she understands how to meet her mentees exactly where they are, and she knows how to elevate them/ their songs to the next level. The tools Andrea shares are practical for all levels of songwriting. At the live retreat, I found the variety of age, skillset, and genre to be interesting and conducive to creating outside of my norm. The live aspect was also an excellent way to gain understanding for co-writing in person. This was new for me. It turned out to be far more fun and do-able than I expected. Whether our partners played an instrument or were primarily a vocalist or lyricist, everyone was able to create a piece of music they could be proud of by the end of each day; everyone contributed, and many of us stretched outside of our comfort zones. I came home even more inspired, with more tools, and a solid group of songwriting comrades with whom I plan to continue co-writing and cheering on. Thank you Andrea, Madison and Myles! I look forward to next year’s retreat.

It was more people than I was… It was more people than I was expecting. I found the amount of people a little overwhelming and it was difficult to connect until late in the course. Perhaps better 'break the ice' exercises at the beginning instead of all introducing ourselves in such a big circle which was quite daunting. Not enough breaks to just take it all in. 14 hour day with only breaks for meals felt very intense. My accommodation was a long walk away from the main venue so the round trip meant I had to take everything I needed at the start of the day and did not really get a chance to go back to my room unless I missed the communal meal experiences. I had not expected to do so much cowriting with people who were quite inexperienced . That made the experience quite difficult to be really thoughtfully creative and became more about working on one's levels of patience and tolerance. I found Andrea captivating, sensitive and very knowledgable.

Experience was beyond phenomenal Experience was beyond phenomenal. Anyone who is on the fence (as I was) JUST GO!!! Andrea knows her stuff and Madison was super organized. Musical and friend connections for life…

No joke, this is the one. Exceptional experience. Andrea has a particular gift for creating an open and expansive space for writers to delve into what makes them authentic artists. This retreat met and exceeded my (somewhat lofty) expectations, and if it sounds even remotely like something you might be interested in, you should sign up. So fun, so enlightening. Exactly what I was looking for, and a heavy dose of clarity around what I didn't know I was looking for. I will be back!