ARC Program ‘22
PART I: Songwriting Retreat
Man oh man. The ARC program has my whole heart!! I can’t believe it’s been a full year since we went on the songwriting retreat component of the program, but I am turning back the clock and digging into the archives to bring you with me through one of my favourite music/life experiences.
WHERE: The songwriting camp took place in northern British Columbia, on a gorgeous summer camp property between mountains & overlooking a lake. Think Camp Rock vibes 💯.
photos by Natasha Dion.
WHAT: Our days basically consisted of breakfast, group therapy, workshops, lunch, more workshops, dinner, evening songwriting sessions, and a late night activity; free time was sprinkled here and there and each day was different depending on your individual schedule.
The group really felt like a family after spending every moment together at camp; oh and the GROUP THERAPY?! What a wild (groundbreaking) way to get to know people asap.
Lip Sync Battle. Video by Self Hired.
WHY: I think the reason this program was so profound was that it really opened our eyes as to which areas we could improve on as artists, and where each of our strengths were. Some of the workshops they ran included performance + vocal coaching, branding + marketing; and some evening activities included karaoke, open mic, lip sync battle, and jam sessions.
In my case, I was exposed to other artists who I kid you not were some of the best performers I’d ever seen. This definitely pushed me to want to be a better entertainer, and since then, I think I’ve actually gotten better—funny how your peers can really influence your tastes and goals for yourself.
Photoshoot with Brandon William Fletcher. Video by Self Hired.
WHO: I made some of my most treasured British Columbia-based artist friends on this retreat, and I’m so freaking grateful to have taken part in the ARC program. As you may know, I’m based in London, UK right now and it’s really cool to know that I have a solid community of artists and creatives to come home to if I choose to return :)
One of the participants, Mikey Jose, made a Spotify playlist filled with songs from the artists in our cohort; you can listen to the playlist here.
Songwriting with Zoey Leven. Video by Self Hired.
All in all, I had a wonderful experience and would definitely recommend applying if you are an emerging artist in BC. I will be covering the music festival portion of the program in my next post, so keep your eyes peeled for that! For now, feel free to get an early glimpse of Rifflandia ‘22 through the vlog I made of the festival weekend, below.
With Love x
