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Dar Williams Retreat

ANNOUNCING:  2025 Writing A Song That Matters In Person Retreats

July 7 – 11, 2025
August 4 – 8, 2025

Writing A Song That Matters 2025 at Guest House - picture of dar talking to retreaters

Please join us at the beautifully appointed Guest House in Chester, Connecticut, a historic inn-turned-retreat-center just 2 hours from Boston and New York City by train/car and one hour from Hartford’s Bradley airport. (And don’t worry – we’ll even pick you up at the train station!)

Dar, our team of songwriters and special guest songwriters (TBA), will be on hand to guide and support your songwriting craft in various workshops and song circles. We’ll offer daily song inspiration, a daily peek into Dar’s songwriting process, vocal coaching, songwriting workshops, your own private song consultation with Dar, evening song sharing with the whole group, collaborative songwriting opportunities (the now infamous “So-Fab Collab”) and coffee, tea and creativity flowing 24/7.

Only you know what sort of retreat experience will benefit your songwriting. As a result, we have designed this retreat so you can structure your days as you see fit, making space for solo writing and reflecting time and a daily workshop or two, or hitting all the workshops you can in a day for feedback on a batch of semi-finished songs. We have lots of offerings, but no advance signups are necessary, so you can let the muse be your guide daily. And with regards to your musical level, we will meet you where you are at.

Three images of retreaters gathering in circles, playing guitar, and meeting in a classroom
And the blessings were like poets that we never find time to know,
But when time stopped I found the place where the poets go.
And they said, "Here have some coffee, it's straight, black and very old, "
And they gave me sticks and rocks and stars and all that I could hold,
I had the blessings, a moment of peace even when the night ends,
Yeah, the blessings, can we meet? Can we meet again,
At the crossroads of disaster and the imperfect smile,
With the angel in the streetlamp that blinks on as I walk on a mile, the blessings.
– Dar Williams, The Blessings