News recently broke that the 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."
According to a statement, "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."
Ronan Chris Murphy, event founder, spoke to MC about Cacapehon.
MC: Who is the event for? Who will benefit the most?
Ronan Chris Murphy: The Cacapehon retreat is intended for a wide range of people – for everyone from students and novice recording devotees to working professionals and top industry leaders from across the globe. This is an all-inclusive five days with instruction, meals and accommodations.
The benefit for attendees at every level is not only the educational experience, but the benefit of sharing the days and evenings together with their peers and the mentors, talking about music and technology. The participants and the industry experts study together, eat together, and jam together. In our online world, this is a rare opportunity. The community aspect has actually become a huge benefit of the event, and to many the most important part.
The event is for a wide range of people, we have had everything from novice recording enthusiasts to top industry professionals, including one year where we had the Head of Audio for one of the biggest Game Development Franchises as an attendee, who came to study music recording. Songwriters, engineers, etc.
The people who get the most out of it get not only an educational experience, but the benefit of sharing time together with their peers, talking about music and technology. In our online world, this is rare these days. And a majority of people return from year to year. Some of our attendees have been coming almost every year for a decade.
Jesse Gimbell, who runs the DIY gear-building workshops at Cacapehon, describes it as a great chance to disconnect and focus on music, sound and community in a rural, old school, mountain resort.
One thing that is unique about this year is that we are offering a wide range of workshops on the professional aspects of songwriting and recording. We are covering everything from synch and publishing to steaming strategies and networking.
In previous years, who has attended / performed? Any major successes?
All of our mentors are experienced professionals in their respective fields. The Head of Audio for a leading game company, in charge of Call of Duty, was an attendee and later become a mentor. We have had attendees and mentors such as popstar/folk icon Michelle Shocked and podcaster Joe Gilder. John Rodd who is one of the top music engineers for film and video games, worked for Disney and Star Wars, etc., has mentored many times. Of course we have singer-songwiter Dave Nachmanoff and producer-engineer Ronan Chris Murphy who co-founded the event. All of the mentors are working industry professionals with major credits.
Can we get some info on the musicians / hosts attending this year?
The list of mentors and their credits for 2026 is here: https://cacapehon.com/mentors/. John Rodd as well, who is mentioned above.
Registration is very limited for this year’s event, register here.
