Capon Springs, WV-- Celebrating its 10th year of music, creativity and community, Cacapehon: A Recording and Songwriting Retreat, will take place from May 3-8, 2026. Located just two hours from Washington, D.C. in West Virginia, the event is an immersive five-day gathering for musicians, producers, engineers, songwriters, and audio professionals seeking inspiration, education, and collaboration in a unique mountain setting.
Held at the historic Capon Springs & Farms resort in West Virginia, less than two hours from Washington, DC, Cacapehon brings together world-class mentors and a limited group of exclusive participants for an all-inclusive personalized, hands-on experience centered on music creation and community. The name “Cacapehon” is derived from a historic Shawnee word associated with the region that has been interpreted as meaning “healing waters,” reflecting the restorative spirit of the retreat and its mountain surroundings.
In contrast to typical music workshops or conferences, Cacapehon focuses on direct interaction, shared experiences, and creative exploration. The event is intentionally limited to less than 50 participants, ensuring an intimate environment and a balanced mentor-to-attendee ratio.
The event evolved from two earlier programs, the Mountain Recording Retreat and the Mountain Songwriting Retreat, which merged after a successful co-located event in
2021. The unified format now allows attendees to explore both the songwriting and recording disciplines while building a broader creative community. Participants spend the week attending workshops, listening sessions, and master classes covering topics in recording, songwriting, DIY gear building and the music business. Attendees can design their own schedule by selecting from concurrent sessions and have opportunities to present their own work for feedback from mentors.
And the retreat extends far beyond formal sessions. Mentors and participants share meals, jam together, and participate in informal discussions that often become the most valuable learning experiences of the week.
Cacapehon is the brainchild of producer/engineer/educator, Ronan Chris Murphy and developed in collaboration with singer-songwriter Dave Nachmanoff and music industry veteran Liz Redwing. Each year features an evolving cast of industry mentors teaching about the technology, art and music business.
“Cacapehon is intentionally not like anything else, it is very much focused on in-person collaboration,” Murphy explains. “In a world that increasingly lives online, this retreat is about real people learning, creating, and celebrating music together in one place.”
The mentor roster for 2026 includes founders Ronan Chris Murphy and Dave Nachmanoff, as well as producer and music business educator Jared Oluwa, synch-songwriting team Tracey and Vance Marino, vocal performance expert Steven Memel, DIY gear building expert Jesse Gimbel, music industry veteran Liz Redwing, and engineer and streaming marking expert Neil McTavish.
Workshops range from recording techniques and songwriting craft to music industry strategy and hands-on DIY recording gear building, offering participants both creative and technical learning opportunities.
The retreat is all-inclusive, with private room lodging, workshops, and three meals per day shared by all participants at the resort. Attendees will also receive a valuable package of digitally downloadable Impulse Responses, courtesy of Celestion. With many attendees’ returning year after year, the retreat has developed a reputation as a close-knit creative gathering where lasting professional relationships and collaborations are formed.
Registration is very limited for this year’s event, register here.