Meet our 2026 Ola Belle Reed Songwriters Retreat Instructors!
GRAMMY Award Winner, Cathy has won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, International Songwriting Competition, Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest and has recorded 48 albums in her 48 year career, mostly with partner Marcy Marxer. Influenced by folks like Tom Paxton, Alice Gerrard, Pete Seeger and Ola Belle Reed, she writes what she wants in whatever style suits her from bluegrass to swing and from folk to rock. She has been nominated for 12 consecutive GRAMMY Awards and her two GRAMMY’s say “Artist, Engineer, Producer”, but the title she likes best is “Social Music Conductor.”
With her powerful voice, captivating melodies and finely-crafted lyrics, Susan Cattaneo is one of Boston’s most respected singer-songwriters. Combining vivid storytelling with a modern songwriter’s spin, Susan’s music blends folk, rock and blues with hint of country. Susan won the CT Folk Festival and has been nominated for five Boston Music Awards including Singer Songwriter of the Year, Americana Artist of the Year and Folk Act of Year. She has been a finalist or winner in the country’s most prestigious songwriting and music contests including being a three-time Kerrville New Folk finalist. In her 20 plus years teaching Songwriting at Berklee College of Music, Susan has helped students work on over 15,000 songs in all musical genres and styles and mentored over 2,000 artists.
Matthew S. Parsons is a songwriter, poet and educator from Olive Hill, Kentucky. He composed the title track on Bronwyn Keith-Hynes’ 2025 Grammy-nominated album” I Built a World.” Parsons grew up in a bluegrass family and has performed widely, both as a solo artist and with his band Whistle & Fish. For more than a decade, he has taught songwriting and traditional music through Morehead State University, Berea College, Hindman Settlement School’s Appalachian Writers Workshop, and community programs across Appalachia, helping writers and musicians discover their voices and hone their craft. He is the author of the poetry books “Mountain Roosters” and “Holy Land.”
You may have seen Parsons perform at Kentucky Arts & Letters Day, Appalachian Songwriters Weekend, The Bluegrass Jamboree, Bernie Sanders’ Fighting Oligarchy Tour, WDVX Blue Plate Special, Country Music Highway 23, The Down Home, The Appalachian Food Summit, or the Ford Foundation Annual Dinner.
He has toured both domestically and internationally with acts like Sarah Kate Morgan, The Local Honeys, The Price Sisters, The Woodsheep, and The Berea College Bluegrass Band, and has performed alongside industry legends like Peter Rowan, Tim Stafford, Al White, Raymond McClain, Dale Ann Bradley, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, and many more.