Louisa Branscomb
Songwriter. Author. Presenter. Performer.
The Path of a Visionary Songwriter and Performer
An iconic figure among acoustic and folk songwriters, Louisa has spent more than 50 years performing, recording, leading songwriter retreats, and using songwriting to support healing in communities.
Her path traces back to 1971, when she emerged, barely 20 years old, as a full-time songwriter and guitarist, then banjoist. She is widely recognized as a trailblazer for songwriters and women performers in bluegrass and acoustic music. Her song Steel Rails appeared on Alison Krauss’s first Grammy album and John Denver’s last, and “brought an entire generation into bluegrass” (Bluegrass Now). It is said to be one of the longest-running #1 hits and most-played songs in the genre, with over 350 video and album covers by other bands and the 13th most influential song in the 75-year history of bluegrass music.
Louisa’s 2018 Compass release, “Gonna Love Anyway,” broke records by debuting at #1 and #2 on the bluegrass and folk charts, respectively, and continued to chart for 18 months, with 5 top-ten songs. Likewise, her 2011 Compass album, I’ll Take Love, had crossover hits in folk and bluegrass and commanded top chart positions for over a year and a half. Her song, Dear Sister, co-written and performed by Claire Lynch, earned the Song of the Year Award and a longstanding chart distinction in folk, Americana, roots, and bluegrass. She is now setting the stage for the release of her 15th Album, produced in Nashville with Wanda Vick and including a stellar cast of internationally known musicians.
Blazing New Ground in Songwriter Mentoring
Louisa Branscomb has one of the longest-running songwriter retreat programs in acoustic music. Her workshops offer scholarships and ongoing mentoring for songwriters at all levels, often affording bonds that take a writer from inspiration to song to CD to stage.
Her mentoring has included professional and aspiring songwriters, such as children, veterans, college students, high-needs populations, and community interventions.
Lyric Mountain Songwriter Retreats™ est. 1989
Combining a lifelong interest in creativity and human potential with her callings in music and songwriting, Louisa founded Woodsong Retreat, Later Lyric Mountain, to create a new experiential, artist-centered model for facilitating songwriting. Rather than a school or workshop on how to write hit songs, this model was ahead of its time as a relational approach grounded in artistic potential. The Brnascomb Method focuses on the writer's voice, finding the deeper truths that empower great songs, and sculpting the song into its highest form. She uses elements of the natural surroundings and an atmosphere of mutual worth as artists rather than a comparative model. Her approach is conceptualized in the context of the life journey of a creative person, including the use of songwriting for transformation in oneself and others during hard times.
“I hope something in the long journey of these words and melodies finds its way into your heart, and if it does, the song will know it has come home.”
“The most powerful tool we have to move people and bring people together is music. And songwriting is where music begins. The most important skill a songwriter has is not craft or rhyme — it’s empathy, to connect deeply with one’s own soul and to connect to others. Two verses and a little soul can change lives, and when life is changed, the song keeps on going, crossing frontiers in ways we can only imagine.”
“My approach is based on the assumption that everyone can learn the skills that make writing possible, and that finding one’s voice and transforming thought and feeling into a song is a personal and highly individual process. In the same way, the kinds of blocks and fears that stall the creative process are also personal.”
Home of the Branscomb Transformational Songwriting Method™
Lens on Louisa: Snapshots
