Sweetwater Partners with SongwritingWith:Soldiers to Empower Veterans Through Music

FORT WAYNE, Indiana. [Tuesday, November 4, 2025] – Sweetwater has announced a partnership with the SongwritingWith:Soldiers organization as part of its outreach program to make music accessible to more people. Guitars and other music gear were provided to SongwritingWith:Soldiers, which specializes in working with veterans to use songwriting as a unique way to tell their stories, rebuild trust, release pain, and forge new bonds. 

One of Sweetwater’s goals as the nation’s leading online retailer for music makers is to open opportunities for individuals to express themselves through music. Partnering with SongwritingWith:Soldiers allows veterans and their families to experience firsthand the power of music. 

“We are honored to partner with SongwritingWith:Soliders in support of their mission,” said Jeff Ostermann, the Chief People and Culture Officer at Sweetwater. “It is our privilege to connect veterans and their families through the power of music, songwriting, and storytelling.” 

The donation from Sweetwater coincided with SongwritingWith:Soldiers’ 100th songwriting retreat, which was held in October 2025 in Texas. These three-day retreats and custom workshops pair veterans, active duty, and military families with professional songwriters to help turn their stories of service and returning home into songs. You can hear these inspiring songs created at the retreats. The entire catalog is available at songwritingwithsoldiers.org/song-search/. 

"One of the most unique and important parts of what we do here at SongwritingWith:Soldiers is to capture the song right after we write them. We have a couple hours to connect with these amazing veterans and help them put a piece of their truth into a song,” explained Jay Clementi, Music Director at SongwritingWith:Soldiers. “We then walk right into our mobile studio, set up by our professional sound engineers, and record it! There’s a magic of capturing these carefully cultivated stories taking their first musical breath. We are so grateful to the folks at Sweetwater for always supporting us with the most amazing gear. They help us capture that raw, authentic spirit of these powerful songs with the technical quality they deserve." 

Musical gear donated by Sweetwater will be used throughout 2026 by the organization. SongwritingWith:Soldiers has announced plans to host 14 songwriting retreats in the coming year, plus an additional 180 songwriting modules, creating over 300 songs. To learn more about these retreats, please visit songwritingWithSoldiers.org/learn/retreats/. 

Based in Nashville, Tennessee, SongwritingWith:Soldiers was started in 2012 near Fort Cavazos, Texas, by eight veterans. The organization’s goal is to empower veterans and their families to express themselves through music.