Songwriting Is Magic: The Q & A

Hello. You’ve reached Time & Temperature.

I’ve just announced my 2026 Songwriting Is Magic Retreat at Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, NY (in the Catskills!) which will take place September 22-25. The guests are off the hook: Josh Ritter, Amanda Shires and Aaron Lee Tasjan. It’s gonna be beautiful and awesome!

But folks have questions! I’ll attempt to answer some of them here.

Songwriting Is Magic:

The Q & A

with

Rhett Miller

If songwriting is truly magic, how can you even teach it?

When we write songs, we songwriters confront an endless stream of questions: what’s the next chord, the next word, the next note, the next section of our song? I’ve learned over the years that to teach songwriting is not a matter of providing answers, but rather asking questions. The best way to talk about songwriting is to talk about the songs themselves. As we write, we serve as the song’s first audience and we listen closely in order to discover what’s great about our emerging song. We nurture that greatness as we challenge ourselves to build a structure to support it, a world in which it can live.

Former guest-host Rachael Yamagata imparts some wisdom

One of the best-loved daily workshops of the Songwriting Is Magic Retreat, the “What’s Great & What If” Participant Song Workshop, allows guests to share their own songs so that a panel consisting of myself and a guest-host (or two) can work with the fellow attendees to explore what’s great about the song, and offer our own what if’s. This kind of interactive teaching-by-doing has proved an invaluable companion to the traditional lecture-based workshops. After past retreats my guest-hosts have told me that working on the retreat participants’ songs in real time was their favorite part of the experience. I know how much I love it. Songs are communal in nature, and there’s joy in working together to explore the magic behind them.

“What’s Great & What If” Participant Song Workshop is so fun

What kind of activities and events can participants expect?

In 2026 we are lucky to have Josh Ritter, Amanda Shires and Aaron Lee Tasjan joining the Songwriting Is Magic Retreat. We will each host a workshop in which we use examples from our own catalog to share insights into our process. The “What’s Great & What If” Participant Song Workshops allow the hosts to work with randomly selected participants on their own songs. The “Writing in Real-Time” Workshop will see me and a guest-host writing a song together from scratch using prompts and input from guests, and talking through the minutiae of the decision-making and the reasoning behind our choices.

A few years back Frank Black was my guest-host

Every evening after dinner there will be a host performance—on the first night it’s just me, while subsequent nights feature a song-swap format that will offer a peek behind the curtain as my guest-hosts and I share our songs and the stories of how they came to be. Each night will then segue into a relaxed open-mic environment as libations and laughs make The Roadhouse feel like a local pub. The open-mic is always a fun opportunity for me and my guest-hosts to watch y’all sing your songs. And if all of that’s not enough, there’s a late-night campfire for sing-alongs and general merriment.

Open-mic lets you be the star while I sit back and watch

Of course, we will take meals together and soak up the beauty of the Full Moon Resort. I might even sneak in a round of disc golf!

Full Moon has a disc golf course so you know I’ll sneak in a round

Can participants expect to have personal interaction with Rhett and his guest hosts?

I will be interacting with guests all day every day. The guest hosts will be dining, hanging out and interacting with participants as well. It’s songwriting—we are all in this thing together!

The Barn where many of the workshops take place

Is the Songwriting is Magic Retreat a songwriting intensive workshop designed only for aspiring songwriters?

Anyone can be a songwriter. Every year we have a bunch of participants who identify primarily as fans, and inevitably I hear from them that they’re inspired to write their own song. Regardless, the workshops and events at the retreat are fun and inspiring to both aspiring songwriters and curious music fans alike. It’s a blast!

I hope to see some of y’all in the Catskills this fall.

Yrs,

Rhett

PS (Below are some photos from past retreats.)

Leave a comment