10th Anniversary Gordie Sampson Songcamp Show to be part of Nova Scotia Music Week in Truro

TRURO, N.S. — There will be a musical celebration when performers and fans gather for the 10th Anniversary Gordie Sampson Songcamp Show.
“It’s hard to believe it’s 10 years since it started,” said Sampson. “It’s been a lot of fun and we’ve all learned a lot from being part of a collective think tank.”
The founding of the songcamp came out of a conversation Sampson and his manager had during a plane trip.
“We wanted to see something that would nurture young songwriters in Nova Scotia,” he said. “Established songwriters acted as mentors at camps in Cape Breton each summer and it was amazing. This summer alone there were over 100 songs written in four days and the quality gets better and better.”
A 10th Anniversary double-album, featuring 29 songs written at the camps, was produced this year.
The anniversary show will include performances by Sampson, Cameron Nickerson, Carleton Stone, Dave Sampson, Kayleigh, Makayla Lynn, Quake Matthews, Willie Stratton and Maura Whitman.
“The songcamp provided me with my first opportunity to write with other artists and really opened my eyes to the world of co-writing,” said Whitman, who has taken part the last two years. “My skills and my confidence grew, and I formed new relationships. It was a great experience.”
While still writing music and performing, she is now studying psychology at Acadia University.
“Song writing is definitely my outlet to express things I’m going through,” she said. “It’s a stress reliever and allows me to learn more about myself. It’s something I’m really passionate about.”
Whitman started performing when she was five, joining other members of her family on stage in church.
“I’m so used to it I’m not nervous,” she said. “I’m really comfortable but there’s an excitement, and when you connect with the audience it’s a really thrilling feeling.”
Sampson said it took him a long time to get to the point where he could rely on songwriting to make a living, but he feels very lucky to be able to do it.
“It’s not for the faint of heart,” he said. “You live in a world of mostly rejection. You get up and compose music that will probably not be heard, then do it again the next day and the next. Once in a while it works, and that’s pretty wonderful.
Hearing something you’ve pulled out of thin air performed on radio by a major artist never gets old.”
The 10th Anniversary Gordie Sampson Songcamp Show will be staged at the Marigold Cultural Centre on Saturday, Nov. 9 from 2 to 4 p.m. and is an all-ages event. Guaranteed entry tickets are $30 and can be purchased on TicketPro at https://secure.ticketpro.ca/
Tickets for Maura Whitman’s performance at the Holiday Inn on Friday, Nov. 8 , from 10:30 to 11 p.m., are $15 and can also be purchased through TicketPro. 
Nova Scotia Music Week runs Nov. 7-10.