DUBLIN, Ireland (Top40 Charts/ IMRO) - IMRO will host a Songwriter Retreat in Co. Donegal in February 2009.
Date:
Thursday 12th - Sunday 15th February 2009 (inclusive)
Venue: The Sandhouse Hotel and Marine Spa, (4-Star) Rossnowlagh, Donegal Bay, Co Donegal, www.sandhouse-hotel.ie
Cost: �365 per person attending (special reduced rate sponsored by IMRO)
Whatever inspired Yeats, you'll find it around here!
The Sandhouse Hotel, described as 'one of Ireland's west coast treasures', is magnificently situated on the sandy shores of the Atlantic Ocean overlooking Donegal Bay. It is a haven of comfort and tranquility amidst the beauty of rural Ireland. The hotel is located in Rossnowlagh, known as 'the heavenly cove'.
This songwriter event will run along similar lines to those previously hosted by IMRO in that it will focus on songwriter collaboration and live performances of new material.
Each morning workshop participants will be randomly paired off together to spend the day co-writing. We will also be running a songwriter master class over the course the workshop session and each evening participants will be given the opportunity to perform newly written material live.
The cost of this workshop includes: 4 nights accommodation plus breakfast, lunch and evening meals at the Sandhouse Hotel. All additional hotel services, meals, phone, etc will be billed at normal hotel rates.
** An evening meal will be made available to participants on arrival on Thursday 12th for an additional cost of �10.
** Arrival at hotel on afternoon of Thursday 12th and departure takes place after breakfast on Monday 16th February.
Workshop participants will be required to pay for the workshop fee on arrival. Extra hotel service charges, if billed, are payable to the Sandhouse Hotel on departure.
There are only 40 places available for this workshop, so early booking is advisable.
We are delighted to announce that the internationally acclaimed hit writer Tom Kimmel will conduct a full day master class at this retreat.
Tom Kimmel is one of those unique singer-songwriters whose heartfelt artistry with words and music is both genre-crossing and timeless. Since 1980, when his songs were recorded by Roger McGuinn & Chris Hillman (of Byrds fame) and Levon Helm (of The Band), dozens of his compositions have been covered by a host of major artists including Linda Ronstadt, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Shawn Colvin, Waylon Jennings, the Stray Cats, Randy Travis and the Spinners. Tom's unique ability to write songs that connect stems from his lifelong career as a touring performer.
Once an eclectic rock and roller, Tom found his voice as a singer-songwriter while opening Nanci Griffith's 1991-92 world tour. A New Folk winner at the Kerrville Folk Festival in '93, he began performing as a solo act, stressing a lean, acoustic-centered approach to his music and bringing a poignant and humorous spirit to his poetry and storytelling.
Tom's peers have joined critics in commending the Alabama native's unadorned stylings as uniquely soulful. Irish songstress Maura O'Connell, who has recorded haunting versions of Tom's The Blue Train and Poetic Justice, says, "Tom is an incredible songwriter... And he seems to be getting better as the years go on." Crow Johnson, former MN publisher, calls Tom a "singer's singer, writer's writer." And according to The Nashville Scene, "Tom Kimmel's moody textured songwriting reaches into soulful realms that few Music Row pros enter."
After releasing two critically praised major label albums (in '87 and '90), Tom made his first independent album in 1994. Bones, a collection of live recordings, was followed by Short Stories, which featured guest performances by Emmylou Harris, The Fairfield Four, Gillian Welch, Jerry Douglas and other friends. Shallow Water, released in 2002, is a collection of spirit-infused songs and hymns, and Light of Day features vibrant, spare voice-and-guitar recordings written and produced by Tom in his home studio. A volume of poetry, The Sweetest & the Meanest, was published in 2005, and Never Saw Blue, an anthology of TK songs featured in film and television, arrived in the fall of 2008.
Featured in motion pictures such as Runaway Bride, Serendipity, and Twins, and in television shows as varied as Captain Kangaroo, Miami Vice and Touched By An Angel, recordings of Tom's compositions have sold millions of copies around the world, achieving gold and platinum sales in many countries.
To reserve your place please send a cheque/postal order for �100, made payable to IMRO (please don't send cash). This deposit will be refunded at the beginning of the workshop session.
Keith Johnson
Director of Marketing & Membership
Irish Music Rights Organisation
Copyright House
Pembroke Row
Lower Baggot Street
Dublin 2
Ireland
P: 353 1 6614844
F: 353 1 6763125
E: [email protected]
