The House of Songs brought together 12 artists from six countries to live and collaborate together at the 16th century Alchemists Engelsholm Castle, Denmark. The group of artists performed the new work at Spot Festival; showcased in the documentary film All I Know (Director: Holly Bronko). Over 24 original songs were written and performed over the course of four days; resulting in several new albums and continuous friendships.

 

Participating artists: Troy Campbell, Scrappy Jud Newcomb, Danny Malone, Matt the Electrician and Nathan Felix (Austin, TX) Anna Bell, Ida Wenoe Bach and Vibeke Falden (Denmark), Lara Runarsdottir and Johan Kristinsson (Iceland), Therese Aune (Norway), and Brandur Enni (Faroe Islands).

 

2010, Alchemist Castle, Engelsholm, Denmark

Artists from Austin, Sweden and Denmark traveled to the town of Lulea, Sweden, 60 miles from the Arctic Circle, to live together and collaborate on 11 original pieces of music. The exchange culminated in a stirring, ephemeral and unique performance, in which the musicians performed the works in an igloo on instruments made entirely of ice. This performance, showcased on the cover page of The Wall Street Journal, March 11, 2015, led to years of multiple collaborations involving House of Songs artists in both Sweden and The United States. 

 

Participating artists: Charlie Sexton, Phoebe Hunt and Lindsey Verrill (Austin, TX), Olle Nyman and Rebecka Digerwall (Sweden), Michael Blair (Sweden/USA) and Bo Eriksen (Denmark).

 

2015, Lulea, Sweden

The Inaugural Songwriter Summit brought 14 artists from five countries to live and collaborate with one another at The House of Songs (Austin).  The group then traveled to Kansas City where they showcased the new work at Folk Alliance International Conference. KLRU’s Arts In Context, Austin PBS affiliate station, followed the artists throughout the project. The resulting documentary episode provided an intimate look into The House of Songs and the power of collaborative art. The episode was so well received, that it won a 2016 Emmy Award.

 

Participating Artists: Shawnee Kilgore, Raina Rose, Matt the Electrician, Graham Weber and Daniel Thomas Phipps (USA), Tom Levin, Dennis Kalla and Mariette Hansson (Sweden),  Cris Derksen, Lydia Hol and Paul Pigat (Canada), Gareth Bonello (Wales), and Ida Wenøe (Denmark).

 

2016, Austin, Texas

Three artists from Adelaide, Australia came to the Austin House to collaborate with Texas artists and to create new songs from the unfinished works of famed Ozark songwriter Albert Brumley.  Drawing from handwritten notes and partially written songs saved by the Brumley Family, the group composed seven new songs, traveled to Northwest Arkansas and performed at The Glass Chapel in Bella Vista, AR. Two documentary films were made on the project which debuted at Austin Film Festival and Adelaide Film Festival (Australia). Subsequently, the group performed the new work in Nashville, Tennessee at AmericanaFest, as well as in Australia. This was The House of Songs’ first engagement in Northwest Arkansas. 

 

Participating Artists: Graham Wilkinson, Akina Adderley, Dawn and Hawkes (USA), Dan Cranitch, Kelly Menhennett, and Taasha Coates (Adelaide, Australia).

 

2016, Austin Texas / Northwest Arkansas

The House of Songs founder Troy Campbell, along with Canadian First Nations and U.S. Native American thought leaders, walked the Camino de Santiago trail in Northern Spain. The intention was to collaborate on new music and have a discussion on race; the trail hike evolved into an in depth conversation about the importance of water in the lives of people around the world.  This journey laid the foundation for the first Indigenous Summit at the Folk Alliance International Conference in Montreal (2019). 

 

Participating artists: Digging Roots, Nimkii Osawamick, Aengus Finnan and Cris Derksen (Canada), Professor Gerald Torres and Troy Campbell (USA).

 

2017, Camino de Santiago, Northern Spain

In February of 2017, The House of Songs brought artists from five countries and two separate songwriting retreats together for a Retreat at Mt. Sequoyah in Fayetteville, AR. The first gathering, a songwriting retreat in Northwest Arkansas (pre-Folk Alliance International in Kansas City, MO), featured musicians from Arkansas, Oklahoma, California, Sweden and Ireland. The second group of artists, participants of The Songwriter Summit at The House of Songs Austin, included musicians from Texas, Northwest Arkansas, California, Germany, Sweden and Senegal. The two groups joined forces at Mt. Sequoyah Retreat; exposing The House of Songs to the beauty and possibilities that Northwest Arkansas had to offer, which in turn led directly to the creation of The House of Songs Ozarks.

 

Participating Artists: Bryan Hembree, Bernice Hembree and Ryan Pickop (Northwest Arkansas), Kalyn Fay (Oklahoma), John Elliot (California), Tom Levin (Sweden), Gareth Averill and Steve Averill (Ireland)

 

2017, Mt. Sequoyah, Fayetteville, AR

In February 2018, The House of Songs held the first Songwriter Summit at The House of Songs Ozarks. This date marks the first time both foreign and domestic artists had an opportunity to live in Bentonville and immerse themselves in their surroundings. The Summit facilitated many new songs, friendships and working relationships that continued to grow after it’s conclusion in additional to 17 original works and recordings at Haxton Road Recording Studio. It also signified the first public performance of a Summit work in NWA, with the group performing the new works for a packed house in Fayetteville, followed by performances at Folk Alliance International in Kansas City. As in 2017, the NWA Summit artists teamed up with the Austin Songwriter Summit artists in addition to collaborating with other domestic, Welsh and Australian artists.

 

Participating Artists: Tim Easton (Nashville), Jaimee Harris (Austin), Eric Wittans and Meredith Kimbrough (NWA), Danni Nicholls (United Kingdom), Ida Wenøe (Denmark), Dylan Menzie (Canada)

 

February 2018, Bentonville, AR

The House of Songs hosts its second Songwriter Summer in the Ozarks House, where every artist wrote in a rotation and worked with every one of their fellow artists at least once, as well as with local guest writers. The inaugural NWA Summit in February 2018 resulted in 17 original songs and recordings at Haxton Road Recording Studio. Just six months later, the second Songwriter Summit was held at the Ozarks House and 22 original songs were written and recorded at Haxton Road. This second Summit, followed by performances at Americana Music Awards in Nashville, TN, demonstrated the positive effect of collaboration and the fertile, inspirational environment that Northwest Arkansas provides to multinational artists in the creation and realization of new art.

 

Participating Artists: Bonnie Montgomery (Arkansas/Texas), Cameron Johnson (Arkansas), Bonnie Whitmore (Austin), Robbie Cavanagh and Demi Marriner (United Kingdom), Ryan Cook (Canada), Tom West (Australia)

 

September 2018, Bentonville, AR and Nashville, TN