Songwalk

Songwalk was founded in 2020 by Rachel Koster, as an interactive online residency held for songwriters over Queensland. In 2021 a demand for face-to-face songwriting opportunities arose and a live model was created alongside fellow songwriters Boi Crompton & Eskae Van Eck. Songwalk Live has been delivered in a variety of formats to date, over the state, with the team always adding new material and experiences for writers. The professional, yet immersive, relaxed environment allows each musician to let their guard down and really get creative. One attendee said: ‘Participants arrive as strangers but leave as a musical family’.

These fully interactive long-form events provide specific opportunities to co-write with other songwriters, with recurring feedback showing that many writers from the workshops continue to collaborate independently with one-another after attending. The comprehensive sessions deliver hands-on practical tasks covering; list songs, re-writing hits, song breakdowns, prompted songs, group songs and more. Topics also include Q&A and classes about APRA, song form, lyric writing, melodies, toplining, getting unstuck, genres, unlocking the creative process and a myriad of other subjects.

Musicians Boi Crompton, Rachel Koster and Eskae Van Eck collectively have more than 60 years of song writing and industry experience bridging many areas. Each is extremely passionate about the art of crafting songs. The trio’s mission is to nurture songwriting talent at all ages and career levels, and as an aside, foster connections, both for non metropolitan based writers & the mainstream.

Within the music scene Boi and Eskae have worked alongside the likes of U2, James Brown, Dolly Parton, Sting, Tom Jones and The Rolling Stones to name a few, and as their originals duo Skinpop, opened for INXS, Diesel, Hanson, Yothu Yindi, Roachford, Christine Anu and more.

Composing has been Rachel’s strong point for the duration, with 5 solo releases, continuous song commissions, collaborations, her newest pop project Scraffito, and co-writes with artists including Stephen Cummings, Michael Barker (John Butler Trio), Gary Pinto (CDB/The Voice), Steve Romig (John Farnham), Bruce Haymes (Paul Kelly’s Professor Ratbaggy), and long-term collaborator Stuart Fraser (Noiseworks), among others. She has written in almost every genre, and artists such as Vanessa Amorosi have considered her work.

The team urges you to walk this way….and see where your song takes you.

To book a Songwalk event in your region get in touch on the contact form.

REVIEWS:

I have attended a number of the Songwalk workshops and found them to be incredibly valuable. They have helped me learn a variety of techniques to help with inspiration, improving my lyric writing and chord progression creating skills. Another wonderful aspect of these workshops is that it brings a group of people with a similar love of songwriting together. They then use the skills they have learnt during the various sessions to co-write songs together. Providing opportunities for cowriting is invaluable and important for all songwriters. – NH (Gladstone)

Absolutely loved the workshop, it was amazing! Was light and fun but super educational at the same time. Excited for the next one. – ET (Gold Coast)

I have participated in three of these workshops over a period and each one was fabulous. The experience is different each time, but the joy is equivalent in spades. – KN (Bundaberg)

When you’re a songwriter outside the southeast corner, it’s hard to find peers, mentors and the connection to grow that skill. Songwalk live filled that gap, on the surface it was a simple introduction into songwriting from professional musicians. You would pick apart what made a good song, how to write lyrics and how to make music. What it became was a vital peer group of regional and rural musicians, who shared successes and comradery. It did not matter if you had to travel four hours for the meetup. The next option was Brisbane, six hours away. Because of confidence and learnings from Songwalk live, it allowed me to be a performer with the Brisbane Lord Mayors Christmas Carol choir for 2023 and 2024, and a songwriter working on a musical about isolation in regional and rural Queensland. – RH (Bundaberg & Brisbane)

Seriously people, I’ve done this workshop and it’s amazing. If you’re remotely interested in songwriting, just do this. It changed my career. – LW (Goomeri)

Such an awesome experience. Had lots of fun. Informative, and helps with the confidence to go forward with music. – RB (Eidsvold)

That co-write was one of the best moments I have had in music in 50 years of doing it. I felt so heard and valued, thank you to each of you. This new song is going in my setlist. – KM (Didcott)