The Song School
The Song School
The Song School
The 2025 Song School Instructors
Vance Gilbert
If Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens had a love child, with Rodney Dangerfield as the midwife, the results might be something close to the great Vance Gilbert”, says Richmond Magazine.
Vance’s new album, “The Mother Of Trouble”, features Grammy winner Lori McKenna on background vocals, Juno award recipient and Bonnie Raitt Grammy hit song co-writer Joey Landreth on guitars, and Americana-Roots master mandolinist Joe K. Walsh. With 4 bullies, 4 deaths (3 of them murders), 3 moms, 2 accidents, 2 Black people, 2 dogs, 1 dog ball, 1 gay kid, and 1 missed flight thanks to gas station sushi, this album benefits from the gifts of time and experience honing songwriting skills that put this most vital of acoustic storytellers at the top of the game.
Oh, and Management wants to make sure to tell you that this is the 14th release for this acoustic stalwart.
30 years into his career, the songwriter’s influence can be felt all over the contemporary Folk and Americana realm as he has helped pave the way for many of the BIPOC artists who have followed.
Vance was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. Starting out hoping to be an R&B and jazz singer once at college, there he discovered his affinity for the storytelling sensibilities of the acoustic singer-songwriter thing. Word spread like wildfire about Gilbert’s stage-owning singing and playing, and Shawn Colvin invited him to be special guest on her 1992 Fat City tour where he took much of America by storm and by surprise. “With the voice of an angel, the wit of a devil, and the guitar playing of a god..” wrote the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Noted not only for being the ever consummate performer, Gilbert has recorded 13 albums, including 5 for Philo/Rounder Records. Along with being opener of choice for artists as varied as Arlo Guthrie, Anita Baker, The Milk Carton Kids, and Southside Johnny, the mid 2000’s found Gilbert opening 150+ shows for comedian George Carlin.
Gilbert has also been a prominent presence at some of the world’s most prestigious gatherings and halls, among them the Newport, Winnipeg, Rocky Mountain, Calgary, Ottawa, and Falcon Ridge Folk festivals, the Kate Wolf Music Festival, and Australia’s Woodford Folk and Mullum Music Festivals, Mountain Stage, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Nashville’s Lyman Auditorium, The Barns at Wolftrap, and a private party for his veterinarian where there was terrific lo-mein.
Most recently he’s been the opener of choice for Mad About You/Stranger Things star Paul Reiser’s stand-up shows (50 +) for the last 7 years, along with his own busy acoustic music touring and coaching schedule. That current schedule includes Vance’s Monday Night Acoustic Pajama Party on YouTube. Having started the first week of the pandemic in 2020, Vance has played a live, themed, weekly 90 minute mixed bag of originals and cover tunes to a rotating following of about 200 folks. 10 to 20% of his weekly tip jar is donated to a local 501(c)3 of his choice. At the time of this writing, having done 155 of these shows has become newsworthy in itself.
Gilbert has been a songwriting, performance, and voice coach all around the world, kinda, from Australia to Winnipeg, at all the festivals above plus The Kerrville and Rocky Mountain Song Schools, he is currently on staff as Instructor/Professor at the University Of Colorado Denver and has a decade worth of summer programs at the Berklee College Of Music under his belt. What? Private coaching? Yes, 6-10 students weekly too.
Considered by many to be an integral part of the national folk scene, his previous record “Good Good Man” features an eclectic roster of musical types including rocker Mike Posner, world renown Celtic harpist Aine Minough, bluesman Chris Smither, and Al Green’s organist Stacey Wade.
Gilbert runs 3 to 4 miles ever so slowly 5 days a week to stay sharp for the road and does historical aviation research and model building just for great nerdy fun.
He even has a tune on a Grammy Nominated children’s album. How rounded is that?
Sadie Gustafson-Zook
“She uses her voice with the precision of an instrument, leaping between registers and outlining jazz chords, all with grace and ease…” - No Depression
With a pure and agile voice reminiscent of Joni Mitchell, Sadie Gustafson-Zook’s hummable melodies balance with witty lyrics and intricate guitar playing to create charmingly honest and relatable music. A skilled performer, Sadie’s writing tackles internal and taboo subjects while holding the audience with warmth and levity. Sadie’s songs have been endorsed by some of the most respected songwriting contests in the country, winning the Acorn Theatre’s 2024 Singer Songwriter Competition, Kerrville Folk Festival’s 2022 New Folk Contest (as well as placing as a finalist in 2020), earning second place at the Rocky Mountain Folk Fest’s Songwriter Showcase, and winning first place at the 2022 NewSong + LEAF Songwriting Contest.
On Sadie’s most recent album “Where I Wanna Be” (2024), Sadie takes the listener along on an intimate analog-recorded journey as she decides where to call home.
Bonnie Hayes
Bonnie Hayes is a songwriter, recording artist, musician and record producer. She has released 5 records as an artist, including a stint at Chrysalis Columbia and the early Slash/Warner’s record Good Clean Fun. Her songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Bette Midler, Booker T & the MG’s, Adam Ant, David Crosby, Huey Lewis & the News and many others. Hayes also toured as a keyboardist/vocalist with Billy Idol and Belinda Carlisle world tours and has shared the stage with Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bonnie Raitt, Tower of Power, Don Was and countless others.
An experienced and adept producer and arranger, she has recorded her own demos as well as producing records for many indie artists and songwriters. Her most recent gig as chair of the songwriting department at the Berklee College of Music ended this year; she currently is building a youth songwriting program at the Blue Bear School in San Francisco, serving on several non-profit boards, and enjoying the California sunshine.
Phoebe Hunt
On the heels of 2021’s acclaimed “Shanti’s Shadow”, Phoebe Hunt is excited to release “Nothing Else Matters” in July of 2023 (Thirty Tigers). The album of solo fiddle and voice marks a departure for Hunt, whose previous projects have showcased her skill as a bandleader and collaborator. Yet it is also a joyful return to her foundations.
When the pandemic changed the world, Hunt, like all touring artists, was taken off the road. Feeling for the community of artists she had met over 15 years of touring, she realized that it would be beneficial for professional artists and music dabblers alike to experience community through dedication to the study of music.
She started a movement for people to “point their minds to practicing” during the lockdown. The result was 27 online courses serving over 200 students and offered 33 musicians gigs in 18 months.
She has also developed a program to help parents to Plant The Seeds of Music in their homes and communities called ukulele sprouts (ukulelesprouts.com).
Pat Pattison
Pat Pattison is an author, clinician and Berklee Professor of Lyric Writing and Poetry whose students have composed for major artists and written number one songs. At Berklee, he developed the curriculum for the only songwriting major in the country. In addition to his four books, Songwriting Without Boundaries, Writing Better Lyrics, The Essential Guide to Lyric Form and Structure, and The Essential Guide to Rhyming, Pat has developed three online lyric writing courses, one on poetry, and one on creative writing available through Berkleemusic.com.
He has filmed a series of lectures and masterclasses, available through Songwork.com and has written over 50 articles for various magazines and blogs. Pat continues to present songwriting clinics across the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UK. Several of his students have won Grammys, including John Mayer and Gillian Welch.
Steve Poltz
Some people start life with a plan. Not Steve. He opens himself up to the universe in a way most of us will never be loose enough to achieve, and the universe responds with a wink, a seemingly bottomless well of inspiration, and the talent to truly connect with an audience. While 2021 could have found him adrift, faced with a tour moratorium the likes of which he hadn’t experienced in decades, it opened a door — literally, his friend Oliver Wood of The Wood Brother’s door — to creating an exuberant, thoughtful batch of songs that celebrate life in all of its stages.
The resulting album is called Stardust & Satellites [Red House / Compass Records].
“I just make stuff up,” he exclaims, quipping, “it sounded good to say that.” Steve is the sort of prolific writer and collaborator who downplays what seems like a non-stop geyser of creativity. “I have no rhyme or reason for what I do. It’s all magic. I go by instinct. It just felt right, so I went with it.”
Paul Reisler
Paul Reisler is a composer, songwriter, recording artists, performer and teacher. He is the founder and artistic director of Kid Pan Alley, co-founder of Trapezoid, as well as his current bands, Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions featuring Howard Levy, and Three Good Reasons. Over his almost 50-year career, he has performed in over 3,000 concerts, recorded close to three-dozen albums, co-written Aesop’s Fables for Orchestra and Narrator, music for theatre, dance and film, as well as the script and songs for two musicals—Bouncin’ and The Talented Clementine.
He’s written more songs than the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Stephen Foster combined—somewhere north of 3,500 compositions thanks in no small part to his army of 80,000 kid co-writers as well as his many adult collaborators. Artists including Sissy Spacek, Raul Malo, Darrell Scott, Cracker, Corey Harris, Jesse Winchester and many others have recorded his songs.
At this stage of his life, he’s committed to inspiring the creativity of others through his songwriting workshops as well as through Kid Pan Alley. A few of the places he’s taught include Rocky Mountain Song School (26 years), Utah Song School, New Song Academy, Swannanoa Gathering, Augusta Workshop, Hollyhock, Kerrville, NSAI, Berklee College of Music, and he will be co-founding a new annual Songschool in Italy in October.
Daniel Rodriquez
After Elephant Revival disbanded in 2018 after playing their last show to a sold out Red Rocks, Daniel Rodriguez set out as a solo artist.
“Daniel cements himself as a solo performer with forthcoming album Sojourn of a Burning Sun.”- ROLLING STONE
Daniel released his debut collection of songs as an EP titled Your Heart, The Stars, The Milky Way on February 15, 2019. His debut full-length album, Sojourn of a Burning Sun, was released on August 28th, 2020 on BMG Records. Both albums, produced by longtime friend and bandmate, Darren Garvey.
The Lumineers recorded and released Daniel’s song “This Is Life” after adding the words “Merry Christmas” to the chorus, turning it into an instant dark humored Christmas classic. “This is Life (Merry Christmas)” feat. Daniel Rodriguez was released in December of 2021.
Rodriguez and his band supported The Lumineers on their BRIGHTSIDE World Tour in July and August of 2022, playing to sold out arenas and stadiums across North America, with a special homecoming show in front of 40,000 fans in Denver, Colorado.
He has also performed with some of his talented friends and heroes such as Gregory Alan Isakov, John Craigie, Todd Snider and many more.
His second full length LP, Vast Nothing, is set to be released on March 1st, 2023.
Steve Seskin
Steve Seskin is a successful songwriter who has written seven number one songs, including Grammy-nominated “Grown Men Don’t Cry,” recorded by Tim McGraw, and “Don’t Laugh at Me,” winner of NSAI Song of the Year and Music Row Magazine Song of the Year in 1999 as recorded by Mark Wills. His other #1 hits are “No Doubt About It” and “For a Change,” both recorded by Neal McCoy, “No Man’s Land” and “If You’ve Got Love,” both recorded by John Michael Montgomery, and “Daddy’s Money,” recorded by Ricochet.
Other chart toppers include “I Think About You,” recorded by Collin Raye, and “All I Need To Know,” recorded by Kenny Chesney. The video for Raye’s “I Think About You” single was named the Academy of Country Music’s Video of the Year in 1997, and the song and video were also given an award by the Tennessee Task Force Against Domestic Violence.
In 2014, 2018 and 2020, Steve was nominated to the NSAI Hall of Fame. Recent recordings of his songs include “Pictures,” by John Michael Montgomery, “We Shook Hands,” by Tebey, and “I’ll Always Be There For You,” by Brian McComas, “This Too Shall Pass,” by Sinclair and “Standing Still”, “Proof”, “Lift You Up” and “Electricity” by Seth Glier.
While Steve is best known for writing hits, he is also a successful performer and recording artist. His 20th album, Some Sunsets, released in 2014, is filled with inspiring, hopeful songs, and features Steve and the talented Julia Sinclair. “Don’t Laugh at Me” was recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary and became the impetus for the Operation Respect/Don’t Laugh at Me project, a curriculum designed to teach tolerance in schools. This program has already been implemented in more than 20,000 schools across the country. Steve now enjoys performing at school assemblies in support of this program. The song is now available as a children’s book, Don’t Laugh At Me, which was featured on PBS’s Reading Rainbow in September 2002.
Anna Tivel
Living Thing, the newest full-length album from Oregon-based songwriter Anna Tivel, is an arcing dive into the existential. Written through the tumultuous eyes of 2020 and recorded in Eau Claire, WI in profound collaboration with long-time friend and producer Shane Leonard, these are songs of struggle and aliveness expressed with great joy.
“I wrote feverishly in the strange chaos of that year, suddenly out of work and attempting to understand the shifting human fabric, the depth of desperation, and the overwhelming tenacity of spirit. The resulting songs felt rhythmic and vital, with more melody and soaring chorus than I’ve explored in the past.
There was no way and no means to gather a full band, and I brought the songs to Shane’s doorstep knowing and fully trusting the skill and exuberance of his creative imagination. Shane stripped everything down to the studs and we rebuilt it together, just the two of us for a month in his garage studio, Shane dreaming up each sonic layer while I chased the lyrics to one last double chorus.”
Bandits on the Run
Adrian Enscoe, Sydney Shepherd, and Regina Strayhorn
Bandits on the Run is the musical trio of Adrian Enscoe, Sydney Shepherd, and Regina Strayhorn. Formed upon a chance encounter while busking in the subways of New York City, the Brooklyn based outfit has gone on to receive accolades from NPR Music’s All Songs Considered, American Songwriter, NPR Weekend Edition, and the Johnny Mercer Songwriters Project. 2020 found them busy writing and recording their EP “Now Is The Time” with producer Ryan Hadlock (Brandi Carlile, The Lumineers) and producing a short musical film “Band At The End Of The World” commissioned by NYC based Prospect Theater Company. 2022 saw them composing music for the Netflix children’s animated series “Storybots” and scoring the movie “The Same Storm”.
They have been touring the globe with appearances at the Cambridge Folk Festival, Floydfest, Milwaukee Summerfest, Americanafest, the Folk Alliance and the F1 Singapore Grand Prix. Their next release will be their most collaborative yet: a self-produced EP featuring various and sundry bandit friends that explores the tensions of a world that has been broken open but is putting itself back together; it is slated for release mid 2024.
Ryan Benyo
Ryan Benyo is a Los Angeles based, Gold-Record Award-Winning producer, engineer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist with credits including Parachute, Sheppard, Baker Grace (Bitter’s Kiss), Lisa Loeb, Lime Cordiale, Alberta Cross, Through Fire, Vusi Mahlasela, and Caro Emerald. He has also worked on a variety of music and sound design projects for visual media including for Carl’s Jr/Hardee’s, NBCUniversal, and many others.
In addition, Ryan works at Kid Pan Alley as the Director of Music & Technology where he records, arranges, produces and markets their growing catalog of songs. He is a member of the Audio Engineering Society, is a self-published writer through ASCAP and is a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (GRAMMY Organization). Ryan brings an array of musical experiences and expertise to the table giving each project the utmost amount of attention and creative options.
Mai Bloomfield
Mai Bloomfield is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and cancer survivor. She’s traveled the world partnering with musical greats such as Jason Mraz, with whom she has co-written many songs, including “A Beautiful Mess” and “Have It All.” As a solo artist, she’s received songwriting awards from the Kerrville, Telluride, and Rocky Mountain Folks Festivals. As a cellist, she has played on over 100 records, including Leonard Cohen’s final album, You Want It Darker. Working with various artists such as Mraz, Sara Bareilles, Adam Cohen, Willy Porter, she has toured the world, playing stages from coffeeshops to Royal Albert Hall, and performed live on many TV shows, including The Today Show, The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel, and American Idol.
Mai is driven by a love of songwriting and a desire to support others in the creative process. In 2010 she helped start Rock ‘n Roll Camp for Girls LA, a non-profit dedicated to empowering girls and gender-expansive youth through music. She teaches songwriting there and serves as Art Director. She has also led songwriting workshops at the Song School in Colorado, Rain City Rock in Seattle, and The Americana Song Academy in Oregon. Mai has also worked with the American Music Abroad Program through the U.S. Department of State, facilitating songwriting workshops and cultural exchange with groups in Pakistan and Zimbabwe.
Whether performing, writing, or mentoring, Mai brings a combination of strength, vulnerability, and wisdom to her work. Her songs often speak of the pursuit of finding the light inside the dark–a theme magnified in her own life when she became a breast cancer survivor. Writing and touring between chemo treatments, Mai learned first-hand that music is medicine. She does inspirational speaking engagements and is writing a memoir, hoping her story will encourage others on their creative paths.
Ron Browning
Ron Browning is internationally known as the “Voice Coach to the Stars.” Alison Krauss, the most celebrated Grammy Award winner (27 wins), recently praised him in the New York Times, USA Today, BBC News, the Tennessean, and The Sun in London, where she called him “a genius” after he saved her from a debilitating case of dysphonia and brought her back into excellent voice where singing felt effortless.This restored the confidence needed to finish her Windy City album, which won her 2 Grammy nominations. She was then able to move on with her singing career.Ron accompanied Alison Krauss on the Red Carpet for the 60th Annual Grammy Awards in Madison Square Gardens.
Ron has been seen and heard on Entertainment Tonight, The Voice, Oprah Network, and BBC’s Simply Classics, to name a few.His clients include all levels of singers from beginners to award-winning celebrities in all genres of music.The National Association of Teachers of Singing has celebrated Ron in a lengthy tribute for “World Voice Day” in the Journal of Singing.He has had articles published by NATS, as well as The Voice Council in London, where he served as Artist in Residence two consecutive years.Other artists on his roster of clients include Wynonna, Amy Grant, Jamey Johnson, Patti LaBelle, John Hiatt, Lake Street Dive, Keb Mo, Carrie Underwood (Sound of Music Live NBC), Greta Van Fleet, Vanessa Carlton (Beautiful—the Carole King Musical in NYC), The Ace of Cups, Dailey and Vincent, RaeLynn, Chris Lane, Langhorne Slim, Steve Conn, and the international Broadway star, Pia Douwes, to name a few.He teaches privately in his Nashville studio and via Skype. Ron is also a songwriter and jazz pianist. His solo jazz piano CD, In a Sentimental Mood, is available on iTunes and CD Baby.
Megan Burtt
A few years back, Megan Burtt hit on something that fundamentally changed her approach to songwriting. It wasn’t so much a new method as giving herself permission to get even closer to the truth. In short, she allowed herself to stop dancing around what she really wanted to say.
“I discovered a side of myself that I liked in terms of songwriting,” says the Colorado-based performer, who’s been named a winner at the Kerrville NewFolk Competition and the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival. “Like, ‘Whoa, this is different.’ It’s become a sensibility that I know how to rest in. It’s almost like an instrument in and of itself, like I’m learning how to play my honesty.”
That change is evident on Burtt’s new album Witness, her first solo release since 2015’s The Bargain. The 12-song project had been underway for years, but was delayed by false starts and illness. Burtt also took a hiatus to form the all-redhead roots group Gingerbomb before getting back to her main project. It’s been a long time coming, but it is worth the wait. With Burtt serving as her own producer for the first time, the album showcases a singer-songwriter who has a deep understanding of how to mix serious pop instincts and groove with honest songwriting.
The song that unlocked this new era for Burtt was “Drugstore Brand,” which opens Witness. Written while she was still residing in Brooklyn, it features Burtt taking stock of her aspirations and wondering why putting them aside or lowering the bar even slightly feels so scary. “I gotta say, I thought it would be different by now,” she sings, enveloped by a swirl of electric guitars and loose-armed drumming.
“We make these goals for ourselves and measure our worth on whether we’ve made it to the goal line,” Burtt explains. “It’s about ladder climbing. If I intentionally get off the ladder or purposefully stay on any particular rung, can I still call my life worth something? It’s an exploration into what is success?’ It’s probably a function of me getting older and my expectations evolving that this is shifting—you sort of learn to become okay with where you’re at.”
There’s a feeling of movement in the songs on Witness, of rhythms that uplift and convey a sense of progress. “Slow Motion” comes off slyly funky with its single-note guitar riff and restrained drumming, with vocal melodies that turn in unexpected ways. “Electricity” is all slow-building anticipation from a warmly spacious arrangement that finally gives way to a shuffling breakbeat in its final vamp—mirroring the embrace of desire she’s describing in the song. Burtt sees this rhythmic approach as drawing on a family tradition.
“My grandfather was a big band drummer in the Forties and Fifties in Kansas City’s jazz scene,” Burtt says. “It’s quiet, understated groove in my case, but it’s a very important part of my enjoyment in songwriting. That probably came from genetics.”
Even when Burtt explores more difficult subject matter in her lyrics, these moments are almost always buoyed by groove on the bottom end and an array of melodic hooks—a little spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down, if you like. For example, “Family” looks at a fractured relationship with pointed honesty—“I didn’t pick you, you didn’t pick me,” she sings at one point—but the funky drumming and slippery bass line in the chorus give it more a sense of hard-earned resignation than outright acrimony. Likewise, “I See You” has a lyric about reminders of a painful relationship, but cleverly chops up its rhythm with syncopation and then drops an earworm chorus hook on top. “Everyone’s got a metronome inside their bodies,” Burtt says. “It’s primal. It’s doing a service to people’s humanity to provide rhythm, because everyone has a heartbeat and knows it instinctively.”
Several songs on Witness take stock of a relationship that ran its course. In “Unfinished Business,” which inspired the album’s title, Burtt asks for closure that’s been denied. The surprisingly breezy “Other Woman” and gentle “Good for You” mine the complexities of dating someone with kids, and then suddenly no longer being able to see them when the relationship is over. “Good for You” offers a message of support from afar.
“We all remember people in our youth who were older than us and had an influence,” Burtt says. “I just hoped that their memory of it was positive. It’s like, I’m still thinking of you, even though we’re not in each other’s lives.”
“Family” also figures into one of the most searingly personal songs on Witness. “Little Girls,” which touches on Burtt’s relationship with her mother, looks at generational trauma. “We just pass down our bullshit from generation to generation until someone decides to look at it,” Burtt says. “That song is almost embarrassing for me. It’s like saying ‘I have issues,’ and that’s not fun to admit. But it’s also a way to say there’s a problem and it’s bigger than just me.” Rather than lean into bitterness, Burtt opts for empathy.
Close listening to Witness will reveal an abundance of hope—not in some unrealistic, borderline-toxic way, but in the sense of being curious to see how things play out and even being willing to cheer for a good outcome. “Dare You” entreats a would-be suitor to keep wearing away at her defenses, and “The First Time” describes letting someone go gently in sincere hopes that they’ll both find their way to the right person. Even the album’s closing song, the piano ballad “Alone,” finds quiet acceptance in the idea that, ultimately, we are all alone inside ourselves.
“To me, these songs are real because hidden within them is the belief that there’s a silver lining,” Burtt says. “I’m not ignorant to the shitstorm you have to endure to get there. I am a little jaded, but I am really hopeful too. I enjoy the pursuit of it all.”
It took a longer time than she had planned, but completing Witness kicked off a prolific period for Burtt. There are more new songs and album projects already in the works. When she decided to stop treading lightly and live in her truth, Burtt’s artistic voice was liberated.
“Witness feels like I’m becoming a witness to my life in a way that I never have before,” she says. “I’m willing to see things for what they are. It’s about looking at things dead on, and telling the truth about what you see.”
Sarah Clanton
Sarah Clanton is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter, cellist, and the founder of Tunedough®, a platform dedicated to helping independent music makers unlock their earning potential when it comes to streaming royalties. As a career musician herself, Sarah knows firsthand how overwhelming the business side of music can be. After discovering thousands of dollars in unclaimed royalties, she turned that frustration into action — creating Tunedough® to simplify royalty collection and empower artists to take control of their careers. Known for her soulful voice, electric cello grooves, and playful stage presence, Sarah blends her passion for music with a mission to help others thrive. Whether performing on stage or teaching songwriters how to secure their earnings, Sarah brings warmth, humor, and a belief that “this is figureoutable” to everything she does. Learn more at tunedough.com or sarahclanton.com.
Ellis Delaney
There’s just something about Ellis, who is at once funny and wise, thoughtful and uninhibited, with a captivating voice that is matched by their uplifting lyrics. Ellis has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion four times and has been voted “most-wanted-to-return” performer at festivals including Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, Moab Folk Festival, Kerrville, and Sisters Folk Festival. Ellis regularly receives h messages from strangers including, “you exude pure joy”, “I heard you and fell in love” and “I was stopped in my tracks by your music and captivating laugh” as well as “Yours is a voice we all need to hear.”
Ellis’ annual closing set on the Wildflower Stage is the last day of Folks Festival. Ellis is available for mentoring sessions and is interested in helping others to find their mission and artistic voice.
Terri Delaney
Terri Delaney is a Minneapolis-based social worker turned booking agent turned trauma therapist. After running a booking agency for many years, Terri then re-focused her career onto trauma therapy and helping people heal using mind-body approaches. She still collaborates with her spouse, contemporary folk musician Ellis, co-managing their record company Singing Crow Music.
Terri is a jane-of-all-trades, acting as vocal producer with Ellis in the studio and on-hand co-writer when needed, and teaching classes on time management, work/life balance, and nervous system regulation. Terri is known for her passionate commitment to helping artists reach their full potential and she is available for mentoring sessions during Song School.
Shanna in a Dress
Shanna in a Dress is a clever millennial who sucks at dating, a masterful storyteller, and as candid as it gets! Her show will take you on an emotional roller coaster with as many ups and downs as the hills she bicycled on her 2021 musical-bicycle tour across the US, “Tour de Dress.” Shanna’s quirky, fearless songs will make you laugh out loud, then punch you in the gut. This playful, witty free spirit from Boulder is a Kerrville New Folk winner, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival crowd favorite, and is one to watch as her career is taking off.
Her debut album Robot was released in May 2022 and she has graced the stage at Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, Kerrville Folk Festival, Black Bear AmericanaFest, and more. She recently relocated to Nashville and is maintaining every ounce of her Colorado hippie soul among all the country cowboy boots. Shanna is obsessed with neuroscience and mindset tools and brings that toolbox to the songwriting students she mentors to bring the encouragement that all her insecure artist friends need to KEEP CREATING!
Rebecca Folsom
Rebecca Folsom is an award-winning songwriter, a national touring performer, a teacher, and a coach of transformational creativity. Dubbed “The Creativity Shaman” Rebecca has been coaching individuals and groups in transformational creativity for over 27 years. She offers a toolbox of simple and potent embodiment exercises, both traditional and non-traditional to help singers/writers/performers open streamlined vocal, songwriting, and performance flow.
Rebecca is a national touring artist with 27 years of experience on the road performing for audiences ranging from 1 to 2 ½ million people. Along with being a prolific songwriter, she is also a published author of two books, and a fine artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.
Rebecca’s music is about liberation. Her agile voice traverses a four-octave range. KUNC describes her voice as “knock-you-to-your-knees.” The Daily Camera describes her music as “shining…with lush harmonies,” and Westword Magazine says, “Her songs hit like little earthquakes!” While her range is impressive, it’s the expression in her voice that rivets attention. She sings with both a simple storytelling purity along with a gritty blues prowess. Her voice pours from an inner spring, flowing with lilting tenderness to fully liberated, unbridled release.
Rebecca’s performances include Opryland, Red Rocks Amphitheater, and BBC Radio and Television, Kerrville Folk Festival, Falcon Ridge Folk Festival and Planet Bluegrass’s own Rocky Mountain Folks Festival. Sanctuary, her most recent single released in 2020 was a semifinalist in the International Songwriting Competition ISC. Her songs have charted at #1 on the National Folk DJ Charts, #4 on the National Americana charts, and multiple times top 40 on the National Americana/Country charts.
“I am delighted to assist people in breaking down inner barriers, freeing themselves to live in the bullseye of their dreams.”
Arthur Lee Land
Lyons Colorado based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Arthur Lee Land is known for his joy filled, innovative live performances, his mad guitar and live-looping skills, Arthur’s hands are full theses days writing, recording and performing with multiple projects. First as a solo artist, you have his unforgettable one-man act employing the Art of Live-Looping to create his Electro-Americana BAND of ONE featured in his last studio album release Cracked Open featuring songs co-written by his wife and songwriting partner, clairvoyant lyricist Carol Lee. In late 2014, Arthur replaced Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon in the veteran Colorado Americana Jam-Band Great American Taxi.
The Arthur Lee Land TRIO is crushing it live and gearing up for a new original studio album. The TRIO’s unique Grateful Dead Tribute: Twang Is Dead has been a festival favorite. On top of all that, Arthur has been bringing his melodic guitar skills touring with String Cheese Incident’s keyboardist’s solo project the Kyle Hollingsworth’s Band, as well as the Elephant Revival family side projects featuring Daniel Rodriguez and Bonnie Paine that also became folk rock icon Donovan’s band for a headline festival slot in 2016. Other fun projects find him teaming up with Brain McRae’s gogoLab and Tyler Grant’s band Grant Farm for the “GRANTful Dead Revue.” Arthur’s Art of Live-Looping Educational Outreach Programs have reached 50,000+ students in 27 states and he’s been an advocate for Reframing ADHD as the gift of the “HUNTER” Brain Wiring. Arthur has been a member of the Song School instructor staff since 2003.
ArthurLeeLand.com | GreatAmericanTaxi.com | ArtOfLiveLooping.com
Pamela Machala
“Pamela Machala artfully turns a phrase and yet still manages to make us dance…[her] piano-rich gems are in the storyteller vein of Ben Folds and Sara Bareilles, yet they are distinctly hers.” - Colorado Daily
Colorado-based singer, songwriter, and pianist Pamela Machala (“MOCK-uh-luh”) is known for her finely crafted pop-folk songs. With influences ranging from jazz and soul to musical theater, Pamela’s songwriting combines boldly vulnerable lyrics, clever turns of phrase, feelgood funky grooves, and a distinctive blend of melancholy, hope, and goofiness.
Pamela’s song “Bleeding Me Dry” received the Grand Prize in the 2019 SongDoor International Songwriting Competition, and her recent single “Me and Marie” received an Honorable Mention in the 2024 Rocky Mountain Folk Festival Songwriter Contest. Pamela has performed at venues ranging from The Bitter End in NYC to The Hotel Utah in San Francisco, and has opened for artists including Lisa Loeb and Danielle Ate The Sandwich. Her all-female backing band creates a dynamic and memorable live experience, featuring Mary Claxton on drums, Adrienne Osborn on bass, Amanda Morin on electric guitar, and Kate Farmer and Lyla Yaner on vocals.
Pamela is currently working on an acoustic EP with award-winning songwriter, audio engineer and producer Kyle Donovan, due out in fall 2025.
Clare McLeod
Clare McLeod, Harvard EdM, is an Associate Professor in the Voice Department at Berklee College of Music, where she is the principal author of the Minor in Teaching Contemporary Voice and Berklee Online’s Essentials of Teaching Contemporary Voice. A certified Estill Master Teacher, Clare also trained at the National Center for Voice and Speech, and is a member of the Voice Foundation, the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the Pan American Vocology Association. In addition to teaching at Berklee, she presents voice clinics regularly around the world and continues to contribute to developments in voice research.
Halley Neal
Halley Neal is an award-winning folk-Americana singer and songwriter whose crystal-clear vocals and honest storytelling lie at the heart of everything she creates. Widely recognized for her vocal abilities, Halley’s voice has been praised as “angelic,” “effortless,” and capable of moving audiences to tears. A graduate of Berklee College of Music with a degree in vocal performance, she was selected to perform at Berklee’s prestigious 2019 Commencement Concert, honoring Missy Elliott, Justin Timberlake, and Alex Lacamoire. Shortly after, she co-wrote and released the viral hit “Lover” with Plot Twist and her former band Rose & Kennedy, a song that has since amassed over 80 million streams across audio platforms and earned her global recognition.
Halley’s discography includes her 2021 self-titled debut album, which features collaborations with Zac Brown Band guitarist and John Mayer collaborator Clay Cook, and Beautiful and Blue (2022), a tender and personal collection dedicated to her late grandmother that explores joy within sorrow. With layered harmonies, classic folk production, and deeply emotive lyrics, her music embraces connection, peace, and the full range of human emotion - all carried by the grounding beauty of her voice.
In addition to performing, Halley is a passionate educator with years of experience teaching private voice lessons. She’s especially known for her ability to guide and inspire other singers, having taught stage performance techniques and songwriting at Kerrville Folk Festival Foundation’s Summer Music Camp for Teens and led vocal/stage performance workshops at various venues across the USA.
Praised for her masterful melodies and standout vocal presence, Halley’s live shows are interactive, emotional, and unforgettable. As Heather Mae puts it, Halley is “every gal’s best friend and every guy’s secret crush.” With influences ranging from Sara Bareilles to Joni Mitchell, she continues to craft music that is both deeply personal and universally resonant - songs that invite listeners into moments of reflection, connection, and musical magic.
Justin Roth
Justin Roth is a singer/songwriter, fingerstyle guitarist and teaching artist based in Fort Collins, CO. Acoustic guitar has been the root of his musical world since he was 17, after witnessing the expansive sonic palette of guitarist, Michael Hedges. As an artist, Justin weaves alternate tunings, partial capos, innovative techniques, effects pedals and more into his songwriting and performances. His guitar playing has been described as, ‘more than just an instrument, but an extension of himself.’ As a teacher, he loves to share his passion of getting the most out of your instrument, creating compelling guitar arrangements, and how to enhance your playing without complicating it.
Justin has toured with John Gorka and David Wilcox, as well as opened for some of the finest singer/songwriters on the acoustic music scene, including Shawn Colvin, Martin Sexton, Willy Porter and Darrell Scott.
Equally, his guitar playing has earned him shared stages with some of the greatest fingerstyle players, such as Tommy Emmanuel, Andy McKee, Billy McLaughlin and Pat Donohue. Justin’s self-produced and fan-funded album, Now You Know, was voted as one of the Top 100 Folk Albums of 2011, and has had songs featured on TV. “Fans of Leo Kottke or Michael Hedges will find themselves right at home with [Roth’s] intricate guitar work…beautifully written lyrics.” - San Francisco Art Magazine.
He also is a lead songwriter with Kid Pan Alley writing songs with kids in schools, a creator of YouTube guitar tutorials and transcriptions for viral music phenom, Jacob Collier, as well as an online teacher for TrueFire.com, JamPlay.com
Amy Speace
“Amy Speace has one of the richest and loveliest voices in the singer/songwriter genre and her songs are luxuriously smart…she’s profoundly personal yet also a bit mythic. The imagery and the careful use of language is stunning and more evocative of classical poetry than most contemporary Americana peers” – Craig Havighurst, author & host of Nashville’s “Music City Roots”. Baltimore born, NYC bred and Nashville based, Amy Speace has been making critical waves since Judy Collins discovered her in 2006, releasing “Songs For Bright Street” on Collins’ own Wildflower Records. A logical protégé to classic singers like Collins and Baez, Amy’s brand of folk comes with a bit of grit and soul.
Each release since her debut more personal, more crafted, her voice deepening with intimacy and authority. The critics followed with increasing notice. 2009’s “The Killer In Me” had NPR likening her to a younger Lucinda. 2013’s “How To Sleep In A Stormy Boat,” a song cycle conversation with Shakespeare’s characters, brought her national recognition with a feature on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and acclaim from famed rock critic Dave Marsh.
Her most recent release, 2015’s “That Kind Of Girl,” was lauded by The New York Times’s Jon Pareles and marked her 4th appearance on “Mountain Stage”. Judy Collins has recorded her songs, as well as the late Memphis Hall of Fame member Sid Selvidge and other folk and jazz artists. Just recently she released a trio record with Amber Rubarth and UK-based Emily Barker called Applewood Road, which got 5 star reviews in England including The Sunday London Times writing “a flawless set that has to be the most haunting release of the past year”.
But all this is not what she had planned. After graduating from Amherst College with a dual degree in English and Theater, she moved to NYC to study acting at The National Shakespeare Conservatory, fully intending on a career as a playwright, director and actress. She spent a few years doing just that: a member of a few classical repertory companies, a founding Artistic Director of Off-Off Broadway’s Five Points Theater Company – until a borrowed guitar and a spectacular break up led to her penning her first few songs. It was only a few years later that a demo of hers was brought to the attention of Judy Collins who was in search of talent for a fledgling record label.
Amy has taught performance and songwriting at Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Song School for over a decade and been on staff at The Kerrville Folk Festival Song School, Swannanoa Gathering, Sister’s Folk Festival & Americana Academy, Berklee College of Music (Summer Session), her own Songs From The Well Writing Retreats and is honored to work with Songwriting With Soldiers.
Moira Smiley
Moira Smiley is a Grammy-nominated singer, composer, and educator renowned for her mastery of the voice and ability to inspire singers of all levels. Moira is a celebrated educator, teaching at leading musical institutions and inspiring singers of all backgrounds. She’s published over 100 choral works that are sung by millions of singers worldwide. With a deep respect for the cultural roles of singing, Moira blends teaching, composing, and performing to empower communities and celebrate the transformative power of music.
Known for her rich voice and dynamic stage presence, Moira has collaborated with some of the most celebrated names in music, including Tune-Yards, Eric Whitacre, Chris Thile, Hilary Hahn, and Morten Lauridsen. As a member of Tune-Yards, she has performed on major platforms such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and the UK’s Later… with Jools Holland. Recently, she performed & recorded for Chris Thile’s project ‘Attention!’ and Laurie Anderson’s ARK.
Jayme Stone
Jayme Stone is an instigator. He has made seven albums and produced over 500 songs — from Gullah spirituals to Indie-pop songs, Trinidadian calypsos to Indian rāgas. “A consummate team player” (Downbeat), Stone has developed a process of trawling for understudied sounds in the more arcane corners of the world. His cross-continental collaborators have included Margaret Glaspy, Julian Lage, Tim O’Brien, Bassekou Kouyate, Yacouba Sissoko, Dom Flemons, Ranky Tanky and many more.
Stone is a searchlight. He has made albums like the Lomax Project, which re-imagines songs collected by American folklorist Alan Lomax; Room of Wonders, a collection of folk dances from around the globe; Folklife, which plants the seeds of folk songs in modern soil; and AWake, a stargazing indie-pop album exploring the white-hot core of love and loss. Stone is known for sharing stories of the people and places behind the songs — a 13th century Bambara queen, the rutted roads of eastern Kentucky, a symphony inside a lightbulb, the Sea Island coastline. These narratives help situate the songs in their wider cultural, spiritual and ecological contexts.
Stone is an educator. He has been on faculty at the Silk Road Global Musician Workshop, Rockygrass Academy, Rocky Mountain Song School, Sierra Fiddle Camp, Banjo Summit and more. Fellow musicians frequently seek Stone’s advice, keen to discover how he crafts a career that hews closely to his creative vision while finding success in the world. He mentors artists through organizations like WOMEX, APAP and OneBeat and led the Artist Accelerator program at Folk Alliance. He coaches artists 1-on-1 and co-founded an online course that teaches “businesscraft to musicmakers” called Compose Your Career.
Stone is a galvanizer. He has produced over 400 songs; is the creative director of Folkalist Records (a 21st century label centering music from the global south); and co-facilitates a traveling global music retreat called Sonora Expeditions. Other career highlights include winning two Juno Awards, three Canadian Folk Music Awards; being featured on NPR, BBC, and CBC; and performing thousands of concerts including venues like the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers, Library of Congress, Rockygrass, Celtic Connections, Vancouver Folk Festival, Chicago World Music Festival, Montréal Jazz Festival, and more.
PRESS QUOTES
“Groundbreaking.”
SONGLINES
“A musical evangelist.”
EDMONTON JOURNAL
“A fresh contemporary take on musical treasures.”
NPR
Mentoring
Bill Nash
Bill Nash has been a musician all his life. He was a 5-year-old boy soprano, a 4th grade french hornist (played horn all through college), a 15-year-old beginning guitarist and then an 18-year-old guitar teacher, and a graduate of Bradley University’s School of Music, majoring in composition studying under the tutelage of Professor Dean Howard, and an almost master’s degree from time at the University of Colorado (just one semester short!). Bill began writing music and lyrics in his early teens and his roots are firmly embedded in what is now known as the singer/songwriter acoustic music genre. He has performed styles as diverse as rock ‘n roll, fusion, country, polka, folk, and even old-time western music, ala the Sons of the Pioneers.
Bill has 3 albums currently available, Mostly True Stories (1996), Runs With Scissors (1998), and Dreaming Again (2010), containing mostly original songs and a few cover tunes from some of his favorite songwriters. His songs range from love songs to heartbreak songs, from true stories to completely imaginative fabrications, from protest songs to environmental songs, and he even wrote a tribute song for Uncle Calvin’s Coffeehouse in Dallas (“… the best coffee and hugs in town!”), where he has been a volunteer almost every Friday night since 1993.
On “Runs With Scissors”, Bill was delighted to be joined by the likes of Dana Cooper (harmonica), Chris Gage (honky tonk piano), Marsha Webb (classical piano), Denny Allen (bass guitar and recording engineer), and Don Conoscenti (practically everything, from wailing guitars to drum set to flute to dumbeck to metal chair!), and a very special group of 6 lady singers he affectionately calls “The RollAides” (referenced from his song, “She Rolls”, for which they sang beautiful backup harmonies).
The new CD “Dreaming Again” was a 10 year effort, containing 12 songs previously unreleased! This album starts out with Bill’s newest instrumental “Night Ascent”, then cycles through favorites “Come Home, “When I Was in Love”, “Mirror Deep”, and many others. This CD was 10 years in the making due to Bill’s physical limitations, money issues, and then Tom Prasada Rao came along and said “Let’s finish this!”, and so it was! Also joining Bill on this CD were Pat Wictor (dobro), Chris Gage (guitar and accordian), TPR on a bunch of instruments, and Cary Cooper on background harmonies. These songs are among the best Bill has ever written, and it is sure to become a classic in the indie/folk music arena!
Bill has been invited to sing background harmony on mainstage at the Kerrville Folk Festival many times, with fine musicians from Anne Hills to Michael McNevin to Tom Prasada-Rao to Jana Stanfield to Albert & Gage to Josh White Jr to Jon Vezner to the Rhythm Angels, and was 1 of 4 invited singer/songwriters at the Dallas Campfire show hosted by Emilie Aronson on the Threadgill Theater stage at Kerrville in 1996.