Gardner-Webb Songwriting Workshop and Concert Scheduled for April 10

Event Features Regional Songwriters, GWU Faculty, Students, Alumni and Local Musicians

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—Gardner-Webb University’s School of Performing and Visual Arts and the Department of Music will present the 2021 GWU Songwriting Workshop and concert on April 10, beginning at noon. Co-sponsored by The Alfred & Shirley Wampler Caudill Fund, the event is part of the Distinguished Artist Series and features award-winning songwriters from North and South Carolina.

Activities will be held in Stewart Hall of Tucker Student Center. The workshop is scheduled for noon to 4 p.m., then the group will break for dinner. A Song Circle will be held from 4:30 to 6:40 p.m. To register for the free workshop, click here.

The workshop includes admission to the concert and will cover several songwriting techniques, such as memorable melodies, rhyme schemes, song forms, chorus, verse, bridge, editing and others. The instructors will also give advice on recording and producing.

The instructors are Steve Simpson, Fiona McAllister, Karen Nason, Aaron Meier, Kat Finnigan, and Jimmy Gilbert. These singer/songwriters have decades of experience as performers and several have recorded in Nashville. They have performed at the prestigious Bluebird Café in Nashville, Tenn., and played on the WSM Radio, home of the grand Ole Opry. They regularly perform at venues all over the Carolinas, and have won numerous songwriting competitions and awards.

Also instructing are Dave Wulfeck, GWU adjunct professor and award-winning singer/songwriter, and Dr. Patricia Sparti, GWU professor of music and chair of the Distinguished Artist Committee.

The public is invited to attend the concert from 7 to 9 p.m. The concert will feature the songwriting instructors, along with Dontavious Lloyd, Harrison Burnette, local rock bands and other Gardner-Webb students and alumni. Admission for the concert is $10 for adults, free for GWU students and faculty, and $5 for other students with an ID. To register to attend the concert only, click here.  

Auxiliary aids will be made available to persons with disabilities upon request 10 working days prior to the event. Please call (704) 406-4270 or email [email protected] with your request.

Located in the North Carolina foothills, Gardner-Webb University is a private, Christian, liberal arts university. Gardner-Webb emphasizes a strong student-centered experience and rigorous academics to prepare students to become effective leaders within the global community. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.