Greg Trooper – A Tribute
Greg Trooper passed away on January 16, 2017. He’d been sick for awhile, but he didn’t let it slow him down that much. He was still doing shows up until a few months ago, and had just recorded tracks for a record with Stewart Lerman, Steuart Smith and Kenny Blevins, all old friends. Trooper and […]
How Do We Acknowledge Veterans Day?
We have learned so much from the veterans who have attended our SongwritingWith:Soldiers programs—the various reasons they joined the military, the struggles they endured, the feats they accomplished, the deep bonds they formed with their brothers and sisters in arms, as well as the pain of loss. We have also learned that many of our […]
What About The Wolves?
By Mary Judd, SW:S Executive Director He stared at me, his eyes silver blue, intense. I could tell he was gritting his teeth behind his slight grin, jaw muscles pulsating. He thought he’d gotten me. I knew this was coming eventually, being cornered and questioned by a combat veteran during a SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreat – and […]
Inspiring and “Outspiring”
At SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreats, veterans talk a lot about being inspired—inspired to share their stories with the songwriters, inspired by each other’s courage in opening up, inspired by the powerful songs written, inspired by a new community of friends. Recently, I heard Megan McDonough, co-founder and CEO of the Wholebeing Institute, speak about challenging ourselves to take […]
One Day…
Our story is simple. One day in 2012, Darden Smith wrote a song with a veteran. The connection was so strong that he thought, What if I got more songwriters to do this? On that same day, Mary Judd watched them work together and recognized the impact of helping veterans transform their stories into songs. She thought, What if I designed […]
Thank You To The Bob Woodruff Foundation!
At 6 o’clock I will defend you At 6 o’clock just call my name At 6 o’clock I’d die for you And I know you’d do the same From I Got Your 6 written at a SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreat by two Iraq war veterans and a professional songwriter If it weren’t for The Bob Woodruff Foundation, the […]
This Holiday Season, We’re Making a List!
WHAT DID WE ACHIEVE IN 2015? Doubled the number of veterans, active-duty service members, and military families served. 6 retreats, including our first for Student Veterans 2 songwriting workshops, at WAMFest Words & Music Festival and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center 2 SW:S concerts open to the public A performance at San Antonio Spurs […]
Working with Others for the Greater Good = Joy
I was honored to perform at the Opry At The Ryman on November 28th, which just so happened to be the Grand Ole Opry’s 90th birthday. I brought some friends with me. Iraqi war combat veteran Josh Geartz (who co-wrote the song we played) and singer-songwriter James House, both of whom I met through SongwritingWith:Soldiers, […]
Guest Blog — Taking the Time to Tell the Story
We were honored to have writer Niva Dorell Smith join us at our November 2014 retreat. She took time to listen, learn, watch, and absorb much of what was happening throughout the weekend and captured it beautifully in her article for Narratively. Read it here: http://narrative.ly/stories/singing-away-the-wounds-of-war/ And read about this powerful journalism site below: Thank […]
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