Read more in the Biography section. We are opening our wee farm up to give folks a taste of where and how we create music.
Songwriting Escape-Little House Songwriting Workshops offers aspiring songwriters of all levels the chance to co-write with pro writers and learn from watching their process up-close. Songwriting Workshops in the Little House
An exclusive invitation from Donna Ulisse, Jerry Salley and Rick Stanley
Teaching songwriting workshops across the country these past few years has become a great passion fo
r my husband Rick Stanley, my dear friend and co-writer Jerry Salley and myself, Donna Ulisse. In an effort to continue to help songwriters improve their skills we have decided to offer an exclusive opportunity to actually sit and co-write with pro writers in a homey, inspirational setting complete with a field of goats and some comfort food prepared by me and Rick. The incredible bonus of Jerry Salley’s talent makes this a must do weekend. Our next workshop with open seats is October 7 & 8, 2017! The Little House Workshops will be offering limited seating (6-8 students maximum) for a two-day workshop/tri-writing session. We will be pairing two students with one pro writer for a tri-write. At the end of the two days it is our hope that you will walk away with a songs tri-written with one of the pro-writers and ready for commercial exposure. However, there is no guarantee that a song will be completed on your first visit though it will not be for lack of trying. Learning through example and personal involvement with a pro-writer is like pole-vaulting to the next stage in songwriting. The collaborations will be fun and a true taste of what real Nashville co-writing is all about. Enrollment will consist of a $550.00 fee per student for the Saturday and Sunday two-day experience. The tuition will include lunches and dinners, snacks, coffee, water, tea, beer and wine for the evenings. We will also be providing a taste of a songwriting round on Saturday evening. The writing days will start at 10:00am - 5:00pm on Saturday and 9:30am - 5:30pm on Sunday when we break for dinner and give each attendee the opportunity to write with all 3 pro writers. Because we are only offering a limited number of seats at each workshop, your fee will be non-refundable. To book this weekend event please call 615-509-4556! We ask that you come with a song that you have previously written for a full critique and song ideas for the tri-writing sessions. It helps greatly if you bring 3 copies of the lyric of the song you wish us to critique. There is plenty of lodging to choose from, ranging from $45.00 to $145.00. They are located off of I40, exit #238 in Lebanon, Tennessee. Below is a list of some of these Inns. If you choose hotels from this location we will shuttle you from the hotels to the Little House and back to your lodgings at the end of the day for no charge. If you are flying to this workshop we can provide a ride to and from the airport to the lodging area listed above and a guitar for you to use so that you don’t have to worry with an instrument.
Lodging located near the Little House Workshops with shuttle service provided are:
La Quinta Inn and Suites ($95.00 per night)
615-470-1001
Lebanon, TN
Comfort Suites (($99.00 per night)
615-443-0027
Lebanon, TN
Knights Inn ($43.00 per night)
615-449-2900
Lebanon, TN
Holiday Inn Express ($130.00 per night)
615-994-3225
Lebanon, TN
Econo Lodge ($54.00 per night)
615-444-1001
Lebanon, TN
Ramada Inn ($59.00 per night)
615-444-5400
Lebanon, TN
Days Inn ($54.00 per night)
615-449-5781
Lebanon, TN
These are all very closely located to restaurants and the Premium Outlet Mall. If you are looking for a fun way to get to Broadway in downtown Nashville where there is LOTS of great music, the Hall of Fame and plenty of good food the Music City Star train station is also close, an Uber ride away. Menu items we might choose to prepare are;
Roast Beef, gravy, potatoes, carrots and onion in a roasting pan
Beans (pinto and white beans)
Cornbread
Green beans cooked in real butter
Turnip greens done right
Butter Beans cooked in real butter
Fried Green tomatoes
Chicken and Dumplings from scratch made with buttermilk
Baked Chicken and gravy
Italian food ala Donna! Hotdogs and Chili
Sandwiches
Homemade chicken salad
Soups of all kinds
If you have a dietary restriction please let us know and we will have salad greens and baked potatoes available. We will also have Greek yogurts, energy bars and snacks available as writing can be hard work and we will need to keep you strength up! The adult beverages will most likely be good old USA domestic beers and Chianti, chardonnay and Merlot for wine selections. These will be reserved for our Saturday night picking and grinning event. Lil House Workshop Schedule
Saturday
10:00-10:30 meet and greet
10:30-11:30 condensed instruction on co-writing
11:30-1:00 song critiques (15 minutes per song)
1:00-2:00 lunch
2:00-5:30 first co-writing block
consists of 2 attendees with pro writer #1
5:30-6:00 cocktails and appetizers
6:00-7:00 dinner
7:00-9:00 pickin’ party/song round
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Sunday
9:30-10:00 Coffee and recap on previous day
10:00-1:00 2nd co-writing block
consists of 2 attendees with pro writer #2
1:00-2:00 heavy lunch/dinner because of folks who
need to depart right after the workshop
ends
2:00-5:00/5:30 3rd co-writing block
consists of 2 attendees with pro writer #3
5:30 recap on Sundays process and dismiss
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We will be scheduling a few workshops this year and dream of a time where we will offer them once a month. With only six seats offered it will be first come, first served. We are using the Big Lots quote and saying, “When they’re gone, they’re gone!”
Come join us on the farm and see where your song will lead you! Call us to book at 615-509-4556 or email [email protected]
Peace,
Rick Stanley, Jerry Salley and Donna Ulisse
04/29/2026
Coming up in just a week is the launch of a fabulous new Songwriting Workshop at the Steve Sutton Fest May 8th and 9th! Donna Ulisse and Rick Stanley will be sharing tips on how to get your songs to the next level. This two day event is geared for the hungry songwriter and made to order for the festival lover within! This will be a nonprofit event benefiting Haywood County Schools Foundation and Haywood County J.A.M.” Where you can enjoy a 2 day songwriting workshop a FREE square dance workshop on Saturday, listen to an outstanding lineup of talent all in a the beautiful setting of Lake Junaluska! There are early bird discount tickets available along with kids free admission. Oh, and did I mention discounts for lodging at Lake Junaluska Conference Center. Promo code: Steve Sutton Fest! Please visit the website for more information and come join us and this music packed festival full of perks!
stevesuttonfest.com for all the skinny on the fest
Home | Steve Sutton Fest
was a Western North Carolina musician who spent his whole life entertaining audiences, sharing joy and helping others. The Steve Sutton Festival and The Steve Sutton Memorial Charitable Trust (501c3) were created to continue that legacy.
04/15/2026
Hear ye all Songwriters!
04/09/2026
Songwriter Alert!
Songwriters everywhere, especially if you’re anywhere near Lake Junaluska, NC…do I have good news for YOU! Tall Oaks Music and The Steve Sutton Fest are proud to have Donna Ulisse and Rick Stanley from the Little House Songwriting Workshops teaching this year at this picturesque place on the lake. We are excited to be offering the first ever songwriting workshop held at the Steve Sutton Fest May 8-9, 2026…just around the corner on your calender! This will be a two day event loaded with perks for the hungry songwriter. To start off with, if you mention “Steve Sutton Fest” when you reserve your room at the conference center, you will get a discount on rooms and food! Then, to feed the starving songwriter within, Donna and Rick will be teaching on how to get inspired to write, writing once you’re inspired and what to do once you’ve written the song. This will be a whirlwind, 2 day event where the class will vote on the best song written during the workshop and have the songwriters present the song on stage Saturday during the festival. That’s right, you will be performing to the festival audience…exciting, huh? Come join us! The price is just right to write…$250.00 for both days and that also includes festival passes and lots of perks. Go to the stevesuttonfest.com site and sign up for a writing extravaganza.
Home | Steve Sutton Fest
was a Western North Carolina musician who spent his whole life entertaining audiences, sharing joy and helping others. The Steve Sutton Festival and The Steve Sutton Memorial Charitable Trust (501c3) were created to continue that legacy.
02/22/2026
Attention all Songwriters! We had someone who needed to drop out of our Gatlinburg Songwriting Workshop Feb 27th-March 1st at the historic Gatlinburg Inn, opening up 1 seat for a lucky writer. The price is right, the place is right and you know we are gonna write, write, WRITE…for more information on this exciting event check out littlehousesongwritingworkshop.com and come join us in the mountains!
Little House Songwriting Workshop | Nashville, Tennessee
Jerry Salley, Rick Stanley and Donna Ulisse are at the helm in the Little House Songwriting Workshops, instructing inspired songwriters and helping them achieve lifelong dreams in constructing better songs.
02/04/2026
Ooooooooo, look at this GREAT idea for a Valentine gift…nothin’ says romance like writing a love song
10/13/2025
Little House Songwriting Workshop | Nashville, Tennessee
Jerry Salley, Rick Stanley and Donna Ulisse are at the helm in the Little House Songwriting Workshops, instructing inspired songwriters and helping them achieve lifelong dreams in constructing better songs.
10/09/2025
We are happy to post 3 new dates for the LittleHouseSongwritingWorkshop.com for a very productive 2 day workshop about songwriting taught by Jerry Salley and Donna Ulisse and Rick Stanley
Join us for our
March 25-26th 2026
April 15-16th 2026
May 12-13th 2026
We only offer 4 seats per workshop so get your seats reserved before they are gone!
Little House Songwriting Workshop | Nashville, Tennessee
Jerry Salley, Rick Stanley and Donna Ulisse are at the helm in the Little House Songwriting Workshops, instructing inspired songwriters and helping them achieve lifelong dreams in constructing better songs.
03/06/2025
June 15-21, 2025…THIS YEAR I will have the great honor to teach songwriting at Kauffman Kamp. If you would like to be part of this wonderful, week long musical opportunity, check out… flatpik.com
I have been part of this camp before and it’s really exciting to be on this lovely campus just outside of Knoxville, Tn and among all the happy music folks. Come join us!!!!
Bluegrass Week
June 15-21, 2025
Maryville, TN
Flatpik dot Com
Steve Kaufman Flatpik Central
Steve is one of the hardest working people in the world of music. He began producing books and videos in 1989 after teaching private lessons for close to 20 years. His catalog of instructional materials is now over 100 items. His listening CDs and Videos number over 18. Steve began touring the world...
12/01/2024
Good morning to all you wonderful songwriters! We only have 1 ticket left for our January 11-12 workshop here in Lebanon, Tn. Go ahead and ask Santa for the chance to be here with us, to write songs and make great music memories! This makes a PERFECT present for someone who has been dreaming about taking their songwriting to the next level. Jerry Salley - Songwriter-Singer, Donna Ulisse and Rick Stanley will show you how we go about writing songs and then we will sit and write one with you! For more info go to…
Little House Songwriting Workshop | Nashville, Tennessee
Jerry Salley, Rick Stanley and Donna Ulisse are at the helm in the Little House Songwriting Workshops, instructing inspired songwriters and helping them achieve lifelong dreams in constructing better songs.
09/11/2024
Just a heads up to all you songwriters who might want the opportunity to attend our November 20-21, 2024 Little House Songwriting Workshop! We have ONE seat left! This will be the last workshop we offer this year, so don’t miss the chance to grab the seat!
Little House Songwriting Workshop | Nashville, Tennessee
Jerry Salley, Rick Stanley and Donna Ulisse are at the helm in the Little House Songwriting Workshops, instructing inspired songwriters and helping them achieve lifelong dreams in constructing better songs.
04/29/2026
04/09/2026
02/22/2026
02/04/2026
10/13/2025
10/09/2025
03/06/2025
12/01/2024
09/11/2024