The Henhouse Hang is a unique 3-day music recording seminar in the heart of East Nashville, focused on recording and mixing Roots & Americana music from the ground up at Steve Dawson’s Henhouse Studio. This is your chance to experience the process of producing music in a room full of well-seasoned veterans. Steve has dedicated the last 20 years of his life to making records, and the skills and experience of working in this style are totally unique. Steve will be joined by his long-time friend and recording engineer Sheldon Zaharko, and a cast of world-class Nashville session musicians. The goal will be to produce and record 2 songs for a guest artist, from the ground up in that time, and showing you recording and production techniques that are instrument-specific, but also ensemble-based along the way. The Americana/Roots genre is unique in that recording a live band performance is an accepted and preferred way to work. We don’t make bed tracks and add instruments one at a time. We get the whole band in the room and play some music! You’ll see how Nashville Number charts get written and used while the band hears the song for the first time, how lyric sheets get referenced, how instrumental parts are developed, and how the band works together to create music that is both respectful to the song but also an inspired performance by all those involved. You’ll see how we get sounds from various instruments and the techniques involved in capturing them in a recording using various microphones and other equipment. All of these skills take a long time to learn and to master, and it’s almost impossible to find a way to experience a recording session like this first-hand without being one of the musicians on the session. We hope to change that by opening the doors to a small group of people who want to learn this engaging, interactive and unique way of making music.
“The entire Henhouse Hang was fantastic! I loved learning about the process of how tracks are produced by actually experiencing it first-hand in the studio, and working through a couple tracks from start to finish. We gained insights into every step from the studio setup to a deep-dive into the gear to the whole musical process.”
- Allan, 2023 attendee
In 2024, we will be holding 2 Henhouse Hangs:
Henhouse Hang - Mixing With Steve (This course is for mixing only) - March 23-24 - Click here for details
The Henhouse Hang (This is the main one!) - September 23-25 - Read on for details…
The Henhouse Hang - Now Booking for September 23-25, 2024
A unique 3-day learning and interactive music recording experience in Nashville, TN hosted by Steve Dawson at his Henhouse Studio - get more info on the actual studio here.
Learn recording and mixing techniques specific to unique instruments and styles of recording based around group performance in the Roots/Americana genre
3 Days of intensive and interactive studio time with some of the best musicians around
See how instruments like drums, upright bass, acoustic and electric guitar, pedal steel, banjo, Hammond organ, Wurlitzer, piano and more are played and recorded
Watch as the session unfolds and the musicians create recordings in real time with the featured artist whose songs we will be working on
Delicious home-made lunches, coffee and snacks provided
Limited to 8 participants
Rates for 2024: $1500 USD
Book a spot now (Deposit of $500 required to hold a spot)
If you have any questions about The Henhouse Hang, Contact us here
Coming from Canada? Let’s meet somewhere in the middle on the terrible exchange rate. Contact us to discuss
Some images from the 2023 Henhouse Hang
“Having the opportunity to see “behind the curtain” of the work of such incredible professionals was a gift (and very rare in my experience). Everyone was generous and open handed with answering any questions we had. Getting to observe the team work through the songs was inspiring. The food/hospitality was first rate as well!”
- Paul, 2023 attendee
FAQ:
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No. Nobody except the musicians we bring in will be playing instruments.
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All levels will be accommodated in this program. We will actually be tailoring it a bit to the people that sign up. Some experience recording would definitely help, but if you are new to the whole thing, you will have an amazing experience being around the session and seeing it happen. We are always able to slow down, answer questions and spend time on things you want to know more about. Basically, as long as you like music and are curious about the process and this style, you will have a blast and learn a great deal. If you are already involved in recording music, this will still be a unique and exciting way to learn, and there will be tons of practical information given out.
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Yes. We predict this will be the case for some people. There will be things that go over your head in that case, but you are going to see alot of action with the behind the scenes setup, and the actual recording sessions happening in real time with really good musicians. You will love it!
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It’s real. It’ll be from the ground up. We’ll bring in an artist with songs that no one has heard before, go through how we make charts and learn the song, arrangements, setup and miking, looking at outboard equipment and its role in the sounds we get, how to get great sounds out of each instrument, all the way through the finished song and the producer’s role in crafting parts. We’ll also look at mixing, but with only 3 days to do all of this, the emphasis of this session will be on the preparation, production and recording of a live group.
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The Henhouse is a professionally designed and built small studio in East Nashville that is used for everything from making records to video shoots to overdub sessions and album mixing. It is in a residential area and housed in what used to be a 2-storey garage. The equipment is a well-curated mix of analog and digital tools. As we like to say here, it’s small, but mighty. There’s plenty of room for all of us at The Hang and a perfect size to get the music made!
Book a spot now (Deposit of $500 required to hold a spot)
If you have any questions about The Henhouse Hang, Contact us here
“Steve Dawson is an extraordinarily gifted and versatile musician. Being as well a songwriter, engineer, and producer allows Steve a broad and nuanced perspective of any project’s scope; and he is an unfailingly inventive and generous collaborator. I find myself turning to Steve less for any particular instrument he might play, and more for the expanse of his experience and humanity that he brings to the table.” - Joe Henry
Meet the participants at the 2024 Henhouse Hang
These are the musicians and engineer who will be taking part in 2024
Steve Dawson - I’ll be playing guitars, steel, etc and essentially running the show
Sheldon Zaharko - Sheldon will be doing the bulk of the engineering and showing you how it’s done!
Dave Jacques - Dave was John Prine’s bassist for 25 years and is an incredible player and positive force in the studio
Jen Gunderman - Jen is an amazing piano and organ player who has toured in Sheryl Crow’s band for many years
Justin Amaral - Justin is a drummer/percussionist with a huge palette of interesting grooves. Justin is a very in-demand player around venues and studios in Nashville
Guest Artist - Each year we bring in a guest artist to work on 2 of their songs from the ground up. Last year we had the incredible Maya DeVitry join us. This year… stay tuned!
“As someone who attended as a casual, curious musician and non-professional, I found the session intellectually and creatively stimulating. I highly recommend the Henhouse Hang to anyone who is looking to dive deeper into the process of producing Americana music.”
- Allan, 2023 attendee
About your groovy instructors and hosts
Steve Dawson
Behind the seemingly endless stream of award winning musical output is one of the hardest working musicians this country has ever produced. Whether he’s turning heads on the concert circuit with his incendiary playing, or pulling the best possible performances out of the many artists that he works with, Steve Dawson is always striving to take things to the next level with innovative slide guitar playing, fingerstyle guitar and songwriting. His work as an artist and producer has garnered 7 Juno Awards (the Canadian Grammy). He has become an in-demand guitarist and sideman, touring and recording with artists such as Birds of Chicago, Matt Andersen, Allison Russell, Bruce Cockburn, Joe Henry, Jim Byrnes, Kelly Joe Phelps, John Hammond, Alvin Youngblood Hart, and many more.
Steve currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee, where he works as a solo artist, sideman, and record producer. He runs the acclaimed independent label Black Hen Music and his recording studio, The Henhouse. Steve also releases a monthly podcast exploring the lives and careers of interesting musicians entitled “Music Makers and Soul Shakers”.
Sheldon Zaharko
Sheldon is a Juno Award winning engineer that has worked with many Internationally acclaimed artists on their recording projects. Sheldon is also the recipient of the Western Canadian Music award for Engineer of the year 2017 and 2021.
Sheldon was born in Vermilion, Alberta and discovered at an early age that music can pretty much save your life. Growing up in a small town, he found refuge in music as a musician and performed in bands throughout the 80’s as a drummer.His love of music morphed into a fascination with the recording process and discovered his passion lay in the studio, behind the mixing board.
In 1991, Sheldon went to Trebas Institute, a prestigious recording school in Vancouver where he gained theoretical and practical experience. After his studies at Trebas, he was hired to work at "The Factory", starting as an assistant engineer working under John MacLean.
From 1993-2011 Sheldon was the Head Engineer at "The Factory", working with a bevy of recording acts like Billy Talent, Robben Ford, Geddy Lee, Simple Plan, Bad Company, Roberta Flack, Michelle Wright, Sheena Easton, Melissa Manchester, Susan Aglukark, Philip Bailey, Jeffrey Osborne, Peabo Bryson, Prism, Rob Halford, Ridley Bent, Jane Siberry, Steve Dawson, Holly McNarland and The National Film Board of Canada.
The Henhouse Studio
The Henhouse is currently in its 3rd incarnation. Originally in East Vancouver, then South Nashville, it has re-emerged in the 5 Points area of East Nashville, one of the most active and artistic parts of town. It is a small, but ideal-sized studio for the times we are working in and the style of music being created there. The facility is 2 floors and has a tracking room, 3 small isolation booths, and a larger mix area that can also be used for further tracking. 7 Juno Award-winning albums have been recorded and/or mixed there and the studio has an incredibly well-curated collection of modern and vintage gear, including microphones, pre-amps, compressors, instruments, amps, effects and other bells and whistles. The centrepiece is a classic API 1608 console, but we’re not here to sell you on gear. There’s lots of cool stuff, and a great sounding space - everything you need to make amazing recordings! Click here for more info on the Henhouse studio, photos, and more.
We Hope to see you in September at The Henhouse Hang!!
Steve and Sheldon at The Hang 2023
Book a spot now (Deposit of $500 required to hold a spot)
If you have any questions about The Henhouse Hang, Contact us here