
The Henhouse Hang - Vancouver
A One-of-a-Kind Recording Experience
The Henhouse Hang is a unique, immersive 3-day music recording event originally launched in Nashville — and now making its Vancouver debut in 2025 at the legendary Warehouse Studios.
Hosted by JUNO Award-winning producer Steve Dawson, this rare experience takes you deep into the art of producing and recording music from the ground up — in real time, with real artists, musicians, and engineers.
What You’ll Be Part Of
You’ll step inside a live recording session as a song evolves from rough idea to fully produced track. Over three days, you’ll witness:
A talented guest artist bringing in two unreleased songs.
This year’s special guest artist is the incomparable Jill BarberNashville Number charts being written
A group of incredible players hearing and playing the song for the first time
Learn how each instrument is recorded, including drums, guitars, pedal steel, bass, piano, organ and more!
Live tracking, refining, final takes and overdubs
Instruction and discussion about mic placement, gear walkthroughs, and recording techniques
Creative decisions around arranging, overdubbing, and mixing
It’s a front-row seat to how music gets made by the pros
Steve Dawson brings 20+ years of record-making experience and a deep commitment to sharing the craft. He’ll be joined by long-time collaborator and recording engineer Sheldon Zaharko, plus a lineup of top-tier session musicians working in the Americana/Roots genre — where recording a live band is not just accepted, it’s preferred.
This is not a lecture, and it’s not just a demo — it’s full access to the creative process with a group of seasoned professionals who live and breathe recording.
Why This Is So Rare
Most people never get to be in the room during a real recording session unless they’re one of the musicians. This event changes that. You’ll learn skills that normally take years to absorb — mic techniques, arrangement, dynamics, chart writing, production techniques — by watching them unfold in a world-class studio with artists who know how to deliver.
Limited Spots Available
The Henhouse Hang is intentionally intimate — designed for a relatively small group of music lovers, aspiring producers, engineers, and artists who want to experience the recording process in a truly interactive way.
Join us for an unforgettable look into the real world of making records — no hype, just the music and the people who bring it to life
“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)
The Henhouse Hang Vancouver - Now Booking for
November 21-23, 2025
Delicious lunches, coffee and snacks provided all 3 days
Hours run 10am - 5pm. There will be coffee and pastries and a casual hang before we start each day
There will be a morning class and an afternoon class
You will see 2 songs come to life and be a part of each step of the process
The basic schedule:
Day 1 - Tour the studio, meet the musicians and learn about their individual instruments and how we record them
Day 2 - Meet our guest artist (Jill Barber) and watch the entire session with the full band go down - from the first listen to the final overdubs
Day 3 - Some final touches get added, and we get right into mixing the songs
Rates for 2025: $1600 CDN (+GST)
If you have any questions about The Henhouse Hang, Contact us here.
($100 deposit required to hold a spot)
“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, this isn’t interactive in that way. You will be around players, and be able to speak with them and ask them questions, but the musicians we hire to come in will do all the playing.
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None. This event is really geared towards everyone from music fans that just want to be around it and see how it’s done, to professionals that just want a fresh perspective on he process. Whether you’ve worked in audio before, or have no experience at all, you will find this event rewarding.
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Yes, while there is a technical aspect to this, we try not to get too deep in the weeds with anything too technical. People that are just music fans will love this experience.
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This is a very real and very legitimate session! We don’t dumb it down and we don’t put it all on for show. We do work slower than we normally would so we can explain things and answer questions, but we are cutting real tracks that could potentially be released in the future (depending on what the artist wants to do with them, of course!)
($100 deposit 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
Our Guest Artist - Jill Barber
Jill Barber is a fantastic singer-songwriter with a 20-year career spanning folk, jazz, and pop. Her smoky voice and unique accent have earned her fans worldwide, and her songs have been featured in TV shows and films. Barber has released 11 albums, including a French album of Piaf and Gainsbourg covers, and an album with her brother Matthew.
Jill has been honoured with many awards and nominations throughout her career, including Junos, East Coast Music Awards, and Canadian Folk Music Awards.
She currently lives and actively tours from her home in Vancouver.
Meet The Instructors
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 he discovered his passion lay in the studio, behind the mixing board.
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, Holly McNarland and The National Film Board of Canada.
About The Warehouse Studio
The Warehouse Studio is a world-renowned recording facility in Vancouver, owned by Bryan Adams.
The main recording studio (Studio 2) is where we will hold our classes. It is located on the second floor of the building. The dimensions of the live room are 32 ft by 58 ft with a 24-ft ceiling and three isolation booths. There is also a lounge area, a long table for dining, full kitchen services, and a small patio.
The massive Neve console installed in Studio 2 is one of the three custom-ordered mixing consoles built for Sir George Martin. Built in 1979, it was installed in AIR Studios on Oxford Street in London. It later found a home in Atlantic Studios in New York, until Bryan Adams bought it in 1991.
The studio is within the Oppenheimer Building, a three-story Victorian building recognized as Vancouver's oldest brick building and a landmark of Vancouver's historic Gastown neighborhood.
We Hope to see you at The Henhouse Hang!!
Book a spot now ($100 Deposit required to hold a spot)
If you have any questions about The Henhouse Hang, Contact us here
Some images from Last Year’s Event in Nashville
Featuring our amazing crew, guests and our incredible special guest artist, Lily Winwood!