I ❤️ Songwriting Club + Wild Mountains Songs present a new Songwriting Retreat
Aug 31 – Sept 3, 2024
Develop your songwriting skills and collaborate with peers amongst the beautiful rolling hills of the Border Ranges National Park.
Restore your wellbeing, develop your creativity and songwriting skills, and collaborate with peers in this nourishing 4-day / 3-night songwriting retreat, set amongst the beautiful rolling hills of the Border Ranges National Park.
“Emma Bosworth and the team at Wild Mountains have put together an experience that is real magic. Being away from technology and the city was so welcome in this day and age of computers and iPhones to rely on for writing. Being able to write on an acoustic guitar while everything else was taken care of was a really great way to connect. All the people who were a part of the workshop were super special and I’ve made 12 new friends now that I hope our paths will cross more often in the future.”
Join Wild Mountains Songs and I ❤️ Songwriting Club for a weekend of nature, songwriting collaboration and friendship in the Rathdowney Hinterlands, bordering the World Heritage listed Border Ranges National Park on Mununjali land, in Regional Queensland, Australia. This event is presented by I ❤️ Songwriting Club in celebration of their 10th year anniversary, and Wild Mountains Songs.
This 3-night creative development retreat from Saturday 31 August to Tuesday 3 September is for 12 songwriters who are seeking connection with like-minded creatives, to develop songwriting skills and craft, and reconnect to self and nature.
If you’re coming to Brisbane to attend Australia’s biggest Music Industry Conference BIGSOUND (3-6 Sept), extend your trip by a couple of days to include this opportunity, and get more value out of your trip. This is a great inclusion for any grant applications too.
To register your interest to attend, please complete the following expression of interest form and we will be in touch with you by phone or email to discuss this with you.
For Media Enquiries, contact Emma Bosworth, 0477 454 540 or Francesca de Valence, 0412 101 911
Retreat Facilitators
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Singer-Songwriter, Wild Mountains Songs producer, and National Project Manager of Green Music AustraliaSinger-songwriter, environmental activist and Music Industry project manager Emma Bosworth, is a long time friend of Wild Mountains Trust. In her teenage years, she attended multiple earth education camps managed by the Trust, and she says it was a major turning point in her life.
In 2016, Emma had a yearning to create time and space to create new music; she knew Wild Mountains could provide a space with big creative impact. Using her collaborative heart, she asked friends Benjamin Hale, Megan Cooper, Tim Steward, Kahl Wallis and Kellie Lloyd to join her on a weekend away amongst the trees to co-write and take some deep breaths. It was the start of something really special.
Emma purposefully creates co-writing collaborations in a way that is supportive of artists’ background and aspirations. Artists are able to strengthen existing and create new relationships with songwriters from across the country and informally learn about other artists’ creative process and new ways of co- writing. The event provides multiple opportunities for artists to connect to the land and encourages recognition of Australian songwriting talent through promotion of the project and resulting collaborative releases.
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Founder of I Heart Songwriting Club, Co-founder Whitsundays Songwriter Festival, Songwriter and Educator
Francesca de Valence is a multi-award-winning songwriter, founder of I Heart Songwriting Club, and co-founder of Whitsundays Songwriter Festival. She has been acknowledged by the Los Angeles Music Awards with an International Songwriter of the Year Award and also holds an Australian Songwriting Award. Francesca has supported artists including Jimmy Webb, her music can be heard on ABC radio around Australia.
With a heroic song catalogue of over 700 songs, 2023 saw Francesca co-writing with USA superstar Toni Childs, Aussie Bull sisters, Vika and Linda, and EMI sweetheart Mark Sholtez, as well as many cuts. Based in Brisbane, Francesca has been published by Songwriting Magazine UK, has taught at the Qld Conservatorium of Music, and has facilitated songwriting workshops worldwide with APRA AMCOS, Irish Music Rights Organisation, and Folk Alliance International.
Francesca also hosts the inspiring podcast “The Magic of Songwriting” with over 20,000 listeners. Through her visionary work as founder of the online songwriting club – I Heart Songwriting Club – Francesca is revolutionising the songwriting space, helping birth 25,000 songs and changing the lives of thousands of songwriters worldwide.
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Co-founder of Wild Mountains and Environmental Educator
Richard emigrated from The Netherlands to Australia with his family when nearly 4 years of age. He grew up and was educated in Toowoomba. He received an Associate Diploma in Graphic Design from the Queensland College of Art in 1975 and since then has travelled extensively. From 1981 Richard worked with many conservation groups using his graphic design skills in Brisbane to save the Franklin River, the Daintree rainforests, Fraser Island and other important environmental campaigns. He was instrumental in setting up The Wilderness Shops in those areas.
Richard was co-founder and president of the Logan and Albert Conservation Association and a Community Advisory Committee representative for the Gondwana Rainforests of Australia. In 1986 Richard co-founded Wild Mountains and became president of the Wild Mountains Trust. As a current director Richard lives and works full-time at Wild Mountains education centre. He has over 30 years of experience in environmental education including the acclaimed YES high school programs during the mid 90s to ongoing programs for primary schools at Wild Mountains since that time to the present.
