Crete Songwriting Retreat

Songwriting retreat with
Eva Hillered
& Robert Carl Blank

– October 11–18 2026 – Crete, Greece

Price: €500

Every songwriter deserves the chance to feel unstoppable — to leave a retreat with new songs, new friends, and a fire that keeps burning.

We would love to see you in Crete this October, where creativity flows as freely as the sea.

Mini-FAQ

What’s included?
Workshops, co-writing, song circles, and a final concert.

Do I need to be experienced?
No – beginners and advanced songwriters are equally welcome.

Where do I stay?
Accommodation available at East Hill (from €22/night) or nearby hotels.

How do I sign up?
Click Sign Up Here and secure your spot with a €100 booking fee.

Welcome to an inspiring, productive songwriting workshop in beautiful surroundings by the sea on south Crete with Swedish Grammy nominated Eva Hillered and Robert Carl Blank – artist, vocalist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer with lots of experience in different genres.

After this week you will have written 5 new songs, learnt fantastic songwriting tools and and gained access to an international community of songwriters, as passionate as you are about songwriting.

We will meet daily for a singing warmup, and then we’ll look into some great songwriting tools and write lyrics from the days assignment. You will use the rest of the day as you please, including writing with a co-writing partner or alone – as you prefer. In the night we meet in a songwriting circle for feedback.

We will give a concert the last night of the workshop, where you have the opportunity to perform new and/or old songs for an audience.

If you play an accompanying instrument, bring it to the course. You can also use a recording program such as Garageband, Logic, or similar. However, this is not a course where we work with recording or production, we create songs based on the basic elements of text, melody and chords. The course is based on the book Lathund för låtskrivare (in Swedish), and as a participant you get a 10% discount. A good idea is to order this in advance, and start working on some of the tasks on your own. Use discount code Crete25 ( The printed book is out of stock but the E-book is avalible). https://www.evahillered.se/lathund-for-latskrivare

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This retreat felt like a wonderful challenge, appropriately risky
and vulnerable in the best way possible! More more more.

Daniel Mandel, USA

The workshop

Sunday is travel day, if you prefer you can arrive earlier. We meet for a song sharing circle at 7 pm (you present yourself with a song) then we go out to socialize with a meal on a restaurant 10 min walk from East Hill. Make sure that you have time for your travel, so you will arrive for the first presentation and the song sharing circle.

The workshop starts on Monday.

Monday – Friday

10 am: Body, breathing and singing

10.30: Sharing circle

11 am – 1 pm: Lectures and writing exercises

1 – 6 pm: Free writing & beach time

6 – 8 pm: Feedback and song circle

Saturday

In the night we arrange a roof concert, where an audience will be invited to listen to some of your new songs! We only have a short program in the morning with a wrap-up and a voice warm-up. The rest of the day is free for excursions, swimming, or preparing for the concert.

Sunday is travel day.

(You can also stay longer if you want, check with your booked hotel that they have rooms available – more info in the booking form.)

Short bio Eva

Eva Hillered is a Swedish Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter and the author of “Lathund för låtskrivare”, Sweden’s bestselling guide to songwriting. With over three decades as a touring and recording artist, she has released 10 solo albums, 16 singles, and 4 EPs. Beyond her career as an artist, Eva is an established vocal and songwriting coach, founder of the Swedish Singing School Online, and for many years the main teacher of Kulturama’s one-year Singer-Songwriter program in Stockholm. Since 1995, she has led numerous acclaimed songwriting workshops and retreats in Sweden and internationally, including her renowned retreats on Crete.

Website: www.evahillered.se
Spotify: Eva Hillered on Spotify

Short bio Robert Carl Blank

Robert has made a name for himself through his numerous performances, both nationally and internationally. His musical journey has taken him across many countries and continents, which is also reflected in his music. His style is a harmonious blend of folk, Americana, and pop, enriched by
influences from blues and jazz. His music is characterized by catchy melodies, profound lyrics, and a special emotional depth.

Website: www.robertcarlblank.de
Youtube: www.youtube.com/@RobertCarlBlankMusic

The price for the workshop is 500 €.

When you book the workshop (se link below) you also pay a booking fee of 100 euros, to secure your place on the workshop. It is a part of the payment for the workshop. We will give you a link to a closed Facebook group, where we also will inform you about several other things good to know about the travel and the workshop.

Rent a room at Lendas East Hill

The retreat center Lendas East Hill is situated in a quiet place between the mountains on the southern coast of Crete, just 400 meters from the sea. On our workshops we can offer accommodation for up to 10 people in our guest rooms. Special price for participants at workshops, from 22 € per night (in shared room) to 30 euros (single room). When our rooms are fully booked, there are many nice hotels nearby.

These are the closest hotels nearby, and the ones that our guest most often choose:
• Filoxenia, https://filoxenialentas.gr/
• Anatoli, https://petrakisbeach.com/en/

You will find more information about our rooms and how to book the workshop and when you follow the sign up link below.

SIGN UP HERE

Food

Meals are not included in the price. The rooms at East Hill have access to shared, well equipped kitchens. In the nearby village Lentas there are two small shops with everything you need. We arrange car transportation to Lentas for shopping. Also, there are many nice tavernas in the area, who serve very affordable meals.

Travel to Lendas East Hill

The nearest airport on Crete is the one in Heraklion, about 1 hour 15 minutes taxi ride from Lendas. A taxi to Lendas costs about 80 euros (one way). We created a Facebook group for the participants, where you can meet and maybe plan for shared taxis to make the trip more affordable: SHARE A TAXI

Another possibility is that you rent a car at the airport.

You can start here: www.holidayautos.com

Or here: Mcar Rental Crete, telephone +30 693 281 4291 (Giannis).

Here you can refill your creativity and learn
to express yourself with writing music and singing.

Antje Zumbansen, Germany

”Do not hesitate if your looking for an opportunity to get in to a creative and inspiring song writing process with likeminded people from different countries and backgrounds, under the direction of experienced and supporting songwriters and artists! Not to mention beautiful sceneries, cool beaches and fantastic food in the many local restaurants! Highly recommended!”