andreastolpe.com Reviews 

I had a really nice experience at Andrea's songwriting retreat. She was so thoughtful to everyone's unique talents and needs. She encouraged everyone to challenge themselves and get the most out of the experience. I made new friends, had a great time, and left a better songwriter.

I simply loved the retreat and had a such wonderful experience with everyone. It was a real delight learning from Andrea and what she taught us helped take things to the next level. I felt even more confident with my craft and in knowing how to better improve the end result. I am grateful to have learned so much and it was a great learning experience, connecting and co-creating with like-minded talented individuals as well as share the experience together and grow all ways.

The classes and workshops were terrific, but connecting and collaborating with the other attendees was a highlight that will last a long time. My expectations and desire for a much needed shot in the arm (creatively) were more than met.

What an experience this retreat was! I loved the co-writing sessions, Andrea's teachings and the location definitely added a lot to the experience. I've learned new songwriting tools, I've gained more confidence as a songwriter and it ignited a fire inside of me. Just do yourself a favour and do it!

Andrea Stolpe and her team put on a masterful retreat. I learned more than I could have imagined about myself and about how to write songs that are even more true to my heart's journey. She has a great way of leading the group and attending to each person's wish for the retreat in a diverse crowd. I hope to attend another retreat someday soon and would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the art and craft of songwriting.

Most people troll for a 5 star review by providing an easy experience that doesn’t take any risks. This experience was 5 star because Andrea, Madison and their team don’t make it easy.

Don’t get me wrong - they are wonderful, nurturing, incredibly talented human beings.

But they are not there to just pat you on the back and take your money. They will challenge you to wring every drop of your creative juices into this retreat, along with equally talented and nurturing co-writers - hand picked as much for their empathy as their ability.

The mark of leadership is not only to pass on your wisdom, but also to assemble a community ready to resonate and multiply that wisdom. This retreat does both.

I have made connections with a community of songwriters that I will not hesitate to support and am eager to celebrate their victories.

Andrea Stolpe's songwriting retreat is a totally immersive experience from the moment you step into the first evening's group, and everyone shares things like musical history, reasons for attending, and what their hopes are for the week ahead. My take-away:

*You will find an instant community of people from all stages and walks of life with the like-minded goal of creating good music.
*You will learn about the "tools" for good songwriting.
*You will learn the difference between a commercial song and an art song.
*You will learn about yourself as a songwriter and as a human, if you are open to it.
*You will see amazing talent, and you will grow as a musician and songwriter over the course of the week.
*You will forge new relationships with other songwriters, and you will have one-on-one song-sharing time with Andrea, if you choose to do so.
*You will co-write with other songwriters, and you might question whether or not you can do it, and then you and your co-writers will produce a pretty darn good song and perform it that night, and others will be moved by that creation.
*You will get to circle up with other songwriters and share you music with one another.
*You will learn that less is more.
*You will not want to leave on the last day, and when it is time to say goodbye, you might shed a tear (if you are leaky like me,) but you will be hopeful for your songwriting journey ahead, knowing you have learned so much and have gained access to a wonderful community of people.

Other things to know:
We had a wonderful retreat center with three nice meals each day and yummy snacks for the breaks. Our roommates where paired very well with one another. There was some free time to roam the property. A typical day on our retreat was hike or yoga, breakfast, morning teaching session with Andrea, lunch, afternoon co-writes, free time, dinner, free time, evening performances, circle jam session for songwriters to showcase their work, and go to sleep feeling thankful for such a great day.

If you are not sure, just go ahead and send in your audition song. It's an investment of time, money, and emotions that will be well-spent and will be paying off for a long, long time.

Andrea made the experience great.

Andrea is a kind, honest, considerate and thoughtful human being who will give you guidance and encouragement. When Andrea says that she believes in your songs, she really does. She reflects back to you the things that you are already doing well, and lightens the path to help you see the areas where you can grow in song writing. Any amount of time that you sign up to be in this mentorship, I guarantee, will be worth your time and money.

The foundation that music is great but people are more important. I thoroughly enjoyed the camp fires. Was a an amazing experience. The challenges really stretched me. Andreas kindness is addictive of course. I was there to find a piece of me and I did. I am very Greatful for the whole experience. Jays WebEx was wonderful too. Thank you

I admittedly didn't do much research and kinda just said, "this looks cool, I'm going to do it." I was floored by Andrea's talent, teaching ability, support, and creativity. I had no idea she was THAT good. My brain was so full at the end, and it was the spark I needed to get out of my writing rut. I highly recommend for anyone at most stages of songwriting. Some experience is probably necessary, not for beginners.

A welcoming environment surrounded by creative people that opened up new ideas and possibilities of songwriting.

Andrea was incredibly genuine, peaceful, knowledgeable and approachable. She set the tone for the entire retreat and because she exuded these traits, it trickled down to everyone at the retreat. Everyone felt comfortable, I believe, to delve into the craft of songwriting passionately and confidently. I learned so much and believe Andrea has a special ability to understand what I needed and helped me satisfy my goals. She has great interpersonal communication skills and can read a room, which helped I think when she made the co-writing selections. I really enjoyed her thoughtful pairings, and think this allowed me to showcase my unique skills and talents.

Steel sharpens steel, and spending time in a retreat with other songwriters is no different—the result is better songs. Under the wise and encouraging Andrea Stolpe (and team) I was free to learn, challenge, and perform songwriting beyond the perceptions and limitations I brought with me.

This songwriting retreat was hands down the best retreat of any kind that I have ever attended, and I have been to a lot. It was well and thoughtfully crafted and the container that Andrea Stolpe created enabled people to take risks, to learn, to grow, to share, to laugh and have fun, and create amazing music.

This retreat was fabulous. Andrea is a very gifted teacher. For example, of the many exercises we did, one was having one of us come up and play one of our songs (that she had not heard before). With just a few simple changes, she showed how the song could be made much stronger. It reminded me of a master artist creating a beautiful picture with just a few strokes. The retreat was very much "learn by doing", which I loved. No dry lectures, just inspiring discussions. Apart from the exercises, another big plus is meeting a bunch of amazingly talented, kind musicians. There was a big range of levels of accomplishment, but everyone was super nice.

Andrea's style is just awesome. No ego, no dogma, very open and respectful. I understand that people's own work is often very dear to them, so offering criticism here requires real skill. I did notice that Andrea said somewhat sharper things later during the week, as trust had built, and I thought that was wonderful too.

While the retreat was awesome, the accomodations were not. I had to share a room with two extremely loud snorers, one of whom tried to climb into my bed by mistake in the early hours. However, they were nice people, and although I didn't get much sleep, I really didn't feel tired. Adrenaline! But also: I'm gluten intolerant, and the hotel solution appeared to be to just add the label "contains gluten" on everything. The only GF food at one lunch was the salad and the sweet potato fries. No GF desserts were provided at all. But the location itself was nice.

I gave my retreat experience 5 stars because my expectations of what I hoped to gain in the area of songwriting were completely exceeded. Like most, I came for Andrea's expertise and experience in songwriting and I got THAT plus inspiration, community, and clarity about my direction. Plus, you know something was great when you are experiencing complete withdrawal symptoms upon returning. Thank you, Andrea + team!!!

I had an amazing experience! Andrea is a highly skilled teacher of the craft of songwriting. She has a very kind heart and created an amazing retreat experience for a group of songwriters of all levels of experience to learn and grow and create with each other.

I highly recommend Andrea Stolpe's Songwriting Retreat. Andrea is a fantastic and knowledgeable songwriter and educator and you will come away from the retreat with new songwriting tools, valuable experiences in co-writing, and a new community of supportive and talented songwriters to work with.

Andrea puts her all into these songwriter retreats, and as you surely know from her social media posts, that’s an incredible amount of knowledge, and skill at teaching, and leadership in choosing and organizing great people to come together for mind-opening co-writing opportunities.

Wonderful retreat, I had an amazing time! Could have used another keyboard on site. Lol we sometimes were fighting over the two keyboards! Great instructor/instruction. So much fun to write and collaborate, share our songs and jam. The retreat facility was so so. Could’ve used maid service at least for one of the days during the week