Amelia Songwriters Retreat: Where Songs Come Ashore
This October a small circle of writers will slip into a quiet house by the beach for one thing: songs. Time to write. Time to listen. Time to get back to the part of the work that doesn’t need a crowd.
Mornings come easy. Coffee. A guitar case on the table. A few soft chords before the words show up. Most of the week stays inside that house—workshops, co-writes, folks trading lines until they land. Out past the shrimp boats and live oaks, this town moves at porch speed, and the songs follow. Some nights open to the public so the Amelia Island community can hear what’s taking shape.
Public events
Wed, Oct 8 · Erik & Andria · Florida House Inn Listening Room
$25 · Doors 6:00 PM · Show 6:30–8:30 PMFri, Oct 10 · Songwriter Meet & Greet & Jam · Golf Pub Social
6:00–9:00 PMSun, Oct 12 · Writers Rounds · Tigre Island Room
2:00–5:00 PM
The workshop anchor
Thomm Jutz — Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer, Belmont professor. Songs cut by Billy Strings, Nanci Griffith, Del McCoury, and many more. His work appears across film and TV from BBC to Disney. He listens close, doesn’t rush, and points folks toward what the song wants. Friday morning he leads a workshop that favors process over polish.
This year’s writers
Tammy Rogers King (Co-host)
Co-founder of the Grammy-winning SteelDrivers, Tammy’s fiddle and voice helped shape modern bluegrass and Americana. She’s a longtime, in-demand session player and a charting songwriter, including “A Little Gasoline” for Terri Clark. She also co-founded the Fernandina Beach Songwriters Festival.
Eric Erdman
A guitar-slinging troubadour with lyrics that cut deep and hooks that feel like old friends. He wrote the Drag Race High theme; “Stone’s Throw” with Red Clay Strays appears on Moments to Remember and Live at The Ryman; and he co-wrote “Caddo County” for Twisters: The Album. Honors include 15× Lagniappe Solo Musician of the Year, 2021 Southland Music Line Musician of the Year, and 4× TRMA Songwriter of the Year.
Thomm Jutz
Grammy-nominated songwriter, producer, and Belmont professor whose songs have been recorded by Billy Strings, Nanci Griffith, and Del McCoury. His work turns up across film and TV from BBC to Disney. At the retreat he mentors and performs, bringing songs of people and place with a flatpick and a quiet kind of gravity.
Maxwell Sadler
He writes to understand the world and brings a calm that can hush a room. In Nashville he studied under Thomm at Belmont; with Maxwell & The Shakes he won the 2023 Country/Americana Showcase and Best of the Best, made a Bluebird Café debut, and earned indie airplay. Now musical director and guitarist for UMG’s Catie Offerman, he has shared stages opening for Parker McCollum, Ian Munsick, Ashley McBryde, and George Strait.
Brenna Wheeler
On fiddle since three, with classical roots at Vanderbilt’s Blair School and a Commercial Violin degree from Belmont. She co-founded Troubadour Blue with Daniel Ethridge and her brother Eli, writing from everyday life with detail and clarity. Her songs carry porch-light honesty and a steady melodic hand.
Sean McCarthy
Born in Gloucester and raised in Fernandina, he moved to Nashville in ’83 and played rooms like The Bluebird and Douglas Corner. His “Coastal Country” blends country, bluegrass, and salt-air stories about place and memory. He also co-founded the Fernandina Beach Songwriters Festival.
Chris Eitel
Moved to Amelia Island from Illinois in 2012. He is a primary writer for his brother’s band Ghost+Bones. After writing songs for 20 years and being a touring musician for nearly a decade, he took some time off from music. In the summer of 2022 he met a group of local musicians that shared his passion for original music, and can now be found playing local venues with multiple different outfits. He’s also collaborated with Andria Shinn, Monty Smith and Sean McCarthy on several new compositions.
Tyler York
Grew up on the water in Fernandina Beach, Florida, and you can hear it in his songs. After years of playing other people’s music, he started writing in his mid-20s to tell his own stories. Influenced by Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers, and Chris Knight, Tyler leans into plainspoken, image-rich songwriting drawn from real lives and places. With a nudge from his local music community, he’s opened up, sharing work that ties his coast, his people, and his path together.
Brandon Hester
is from the PNW where he fell in love with song writing and music in general. He has been writing original music for the better part of the last 5 years and has some music coming to streaming services soon!
Monty Smith
Monty Smith grew up in the southwest Georgia town of Bainbridge. He's lived in Colorado, Idaho, and has called Fernandina home since 2021. This Singer/Songwriter loves life, loves people, and has a passion for music. His songwriting has influences that can be found in classic country, Rock, Folk, and Americana. He performs with some regularity on the island solo, with Harmonica player Jeffrey Weathers, as well as with the band Andria Shinn and the Loyal Souls.
Andria Shinn (host)
Oregon born and Amelia Island based, she leans Southern rock and country soul. Her debut Lose That Fire tells resilience and healing plain and true, while she builds the local scene through new stages, her Salt Marsh Kids nonprofit, and this retreat. She helps promote the island’s artists and musical spirit all year long.
Fernandina’s emerging music scene
Sit on a front porch at dusk and you can hear it in the tide. Fernandina is becoming a place where songs come ashore. Writers and producers—more and more from Nashville and beyond—are lingering longer, and many are calling it home. The pull isn’t hype; it’s the air and the pace, the way a melody drifts from a screened porch to a stage by night. If you’re looking for kin, think of Key West’s long songwriters tradition, the 30A coastal circuit, late-summer sessions on Martha’s Vineyard, or story swaps on Hilton Head. Fernandina keeps its own lantern, steady and low, and the songs find it.
Details and updates: @andriashinnmusic on Facebook and Instagram.
