Some of the region’s best songwriters have set up shop in Ingonish for the week, crafting songs together and learning a few tricks of the trade from each another along the way.

The annual Gordie Sampson Songcamp got underway Sunday at the Keltic Lodge and runs until Thursday when it will conclude with a public concert featuring the camp instructors and participants performing some of their new material.

Led by Big Pond native Gordie Sampson, a Grammy Award-winning songwriter who lives in Nashville, Tenn., the camp is also facilitated by respected Cape Breton songwriters Carleton Stone, Steven MacDougall and Stuart Cameron.

“We try to stay away from preaching about any how-tos because songwriting is a lot like painting pictures, as I’ve said numerous times, and it’s hard to teach somebody how to paint. You have to have a knack for it,” said Sampson. “But there are things along the way you can share with people, that can help.”

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Even in the middle of one of his busiest years, Gordie Sampson can always make time for Cape Breton.

The fringe benefit for fans of the Nashville-based songwriter is that his annual pilgrimage home to host his summer song camp in Ingonish also means he’ll set aside a few days for shows around the Maritimes in July, when he can share some of his latest compositions and stories of his recent Tennessee adventures.

And with his name on tunes for Dierks Bentley — his current single Bourbon in Kentucky — Hunter Hayes, finalists from American Idol and The Voice and the new Keith Urban album Fuse, possibly dropping on Sept. 10, the past several months decidedly go into the plus column.

“This year has been really good, really exciting,” says Sampson, chilling with an iced tea in the backroom at the Carleton, where he performs on July 16.

“With what I do, the peaks and valleys are just incredible. You can go for a year, maybe two, with very little activity and then it will just kind of come, boom, boom, boom, and you’ll be like, ‘Whoa, WHOA, WOW!’

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We are very excited for the upcoming Gordie Sampson Songcamp. Tickets will be available this Friday, May 24 at Doucette’s Variety and Home Hardware in Ingonish for the Gordie Sampson Songcamp Circle at Ceilidh Hall (Keltic Lodge) on June 27th.

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 in Ingonish, Cape Breton in early July 2013 (exact dates to be determined).

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 (on your artist website, YouTube, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, are most common) OR email us MP3 recordings/demos

There is no fee to attend the Gordie Sampson Songcamp. Accommodations and meals are provided at no cost to the songwriters. Only 5 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 (on your artist website, YouTube, SoundCloud, Bandcamp, are most common) OR email MP3 recordings/demos
– Lyrics for the 3 songs you are submitting, in a Word document

You can include 3 additional websites like your Facebook fan page, Twitter, and links to videos and press online.

Deadline for submissions is: March 1, 2013

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, Dave Sampson, Dana Beeler, Seamus Erskine, Willie Stratton, and Kyle Mischiek.

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

We knew Songcamp songwriter Kyle Mischiek had a ton of talent, and now his official video for “We are an Island” Remix ft. Trax Cordero & Taylor Burton is gaining him a ton of new fans, too. With over 20,000 views and counting, we count ourselves lucky to see the beginning of this young artist’s career.

Carleton Stone, Molly Thomason and Breagh MacKinnon are performing a Gordie Sampson Songcamp Circle on Thursday, December 20 at The Carleton in Halifax. The show starts at 8:00PM and tickets are $14.50 (plus HST). Tickets are on sale now, visit www.thecarleton.ca to purchase online or call 902-422-6335.

Songwriters from the Gordie Sampson Songcamp have put on some outstanding Soncamp Circles at Nova Scotia Music Week in 2011 and at The Carleton in 2012. Here are just a couple of fan messages we saw online. Thank you to all the fans for your support!

“Last night I got into the Gordie Sampson Song Camp performance for free because I volunteered to help out at the Art Gallery where the performance was being held. So I got to see talented artists such as Carleton Stone, Molly Thomason, Natalie Lynn, Mo Kenney, Breagh MacKinnon, and many more. It was fantastic! I had to buy Molly and Carleton’s CDs at the end, because I’m in love with them now.” – Tumblr

“It was fantastic to hear some of the fruits of your collective labour at the Carleton in Halifax last night … I think The Gordie Sampson Songcamp is one of the best contributions to music, culture and community on the East Coast. It’s an honour to watch the phenomenal talent that exists in the province’s youth realized. Thank you to everyone who helps make it happen!” – Jennifer Legere

The Gordie Sampson Songcamp Circle is taking place at Nova Scotia Music Week in Liverpool at Lakeside Hall, White Point Beach Resort on Friday, November 9 from 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm. The evening is presented in partnership with SpinCount and features performances by songcamp artists:

• Carleton Stone
• Steven MacDougall
• Jenny MacDonald
• Laura Roy
• Willie Stratton
• Dana Beeler
• Dave Sampson
• Dylan Guthro
• Mo Kenney
• Breagh MacKinnon
• Natalie Lynn
• Barb Cameron
• Elijah Wohlmuth

The Gordie Sampson Songcamp is supported by The Province of Nova Scotia, Music Nova Scotia and the SOCAN Foundation.

“Never Felt A Thing” is the new single by Molly Thomason & Carleton Stone, produced by Joel Plaskett. Listen to the single, here.

The song was written in 2010 during the first Gordie Sampson Songcamp and was one of the very first Songcamp collaborations. Carleton went on to record a solo version of the song on his self-titled album release in 2011. As time marched on, Molly and Carleton continued to perform the song, separately and together, and it became apparent that it has tremendous impact as a duet. In the summer of 2012, Joel Plaskett heard the song and offered to record it, and this single is the result.

Molly & Carleton will perform the song together at the Music Nova Scotia Music Awards Gala, where they are both nominated for Songwriter of the Year for “Never Felt A Thing”.