Sonoma, CA – March 21, 2016 – Coming off a sold out Kirtan event with over 400 bhaktas at Spirit Rock, Grammy nominated spiritual music pioneer Jai Uttal will perform a more intimate Northern California event to celebrate the release of his acclaimed 19th album Roots! Rock! Rama! in the town of Sonoma April 22 at Sacred Music Sessions. Open to just 50 ticket buyers, these sessions are videotaped for a larger audience online. Tickets are $30 in advance here.

In Sonoma Jai will be joined by noted Kirtanista Prajna Vieira on vocals, bassist Greg Barnett, Radhanath Das on mridangam, and the co-producer of Roots, Rock, Rama! Ben Leinbach on drums and percussion.

Of the album, top music trade magazine Hits says it’s “simply undeniable” and about the live show adds “the mood was as purely positive, inclusive and uplifting as any gig I can recall. And isn’t that exactly what we need these days?” LA Yoga says “There’s no way to sit still as this music plays and it’s easy to see how the live concerts Jai will perform in celebration of this collection will go down as unforgettable.” And the Marin Independent Journal adds, “The production values are impeccable and the call and response between Uttal and his chorus of backup singers is heavenly.”

Common Ground raves “This spectacular DBL CD is a journey through the splendors, riches and tribulations of the India sub-continent, musically, spiritually and globally. Jai Uttal has reigned over the Nor Cal kirtan/chant scene for three decades. His musical monarchy has been a rollicking, beneficent parade of high energy and sacred spirit through 18 albums and countless live shows. While kirtan is not a ‘musical genre’, Jai has infused his world vision with an amalgam of reggae, blues, Indian and Beatles-inspired pop music. All of these have come together on his celebratory Roots, Rock, Rama! — an ultra-dynamic raise the roof high and open the heart wide offering.”

Jai Uttal has been rightly hailed as a world music pioneer. Singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer, he was among the first to hear the universal heartbeat in the variegated rhythms of the globe. But his powerful, plangent voice and panoramic musical vision have also long been at the core of the yoga community’s tradition of call-and response devotional chanting known as Kirtan. While his music is deeply rooted in Indian classical tradition—he studied long and hard under the Indian sarod master Ali Akbar Khan—it is also plentifully imbued with echoes of reggae, rock, folk, Brazilian music, Bollywood and other sounds from across the musical universe. All of these diverse and colorful strands are woven together beautifully on Roots, Rock, Rama! The title is a play on the name of the Bob Marley song “Roots, Rock, Reggae.”

“I feel that this album is the completion of a cycle,” Jai says. “And it’s a cycle of many years. I wanted to put every mood, feeling and experience I’ve had into these songs. I wanted to offer a rainbow of devotional feeling.”

But the centerpiece of the album is Jai Uttal’s amazing voice. With his unique gift for phrasing and melismatic ornamentation he can wrest a thousand moods from a simple Sanskrit mantra.

Jai Uttal’s musical journey began at an early age. Growing up in Manhattan, the son of record executive Larry Uttal, he was ideally suited to absorb pop music’s ‘50s and ‘60s golden age. “Every week my father would bring home the top ten singles and play them for my sister and me,” he remembers. “That was the coolest thing. And I was at the recording session of Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels doing ‘Devil with a Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly.’ That made me totally crazy; it was just so amazing.”

Jai learned to play piano, guitar, banjo and harmonica while still quite young. But a first encounter with Indian music at age 17 proved to be a life-changing experience. He would later say that this music “touched my heart like the sounds of home.” Soon he was studying with Indian sarod virtuoso Ali Akbar Khan. His endeavor to master the challenging Indian stringed instrument also led to the discovery of his singing voice.

“Ali Akbar Khan insisted that all his students study singing as well,” Jai explains. “He said, ‘All music comes from the voice. I won’t teach you sarod unless you also study voice.’ Most of the students just did it begrudgingly. We wanted to be instrumentalists. I was extremely shy and insecure about singing, but I found that when I was at home practicing, I started having glimmers of this deep, deep inner world when I started singing the ragas. But it was years before I took that outside my bedroom. And what took me out of the bedroom was kirtan. I was terrified at first, but somewhere along the line I realized that I couldn’t be paralyzed by fear because singing was my salvation and spiritual catharsis.”

Music and spiritual practice became inextricably linked for Jai when he became a student of Indian spiritual master Neem Karoli Baba in 1971. Maharaji, as the guru is known to his students, encouraged the practice of bhakti (devotional) yoga as expressed through kirtan, the call-and-response chanting of sacred names, over and over again until they become deeply instilled in the consciousness, providing an experience of profound peace and spiritual insight. Kirtan would become the center of Jai’s musical and spiritual life.
But while all this was unfolding, Jai was also exploring other music forms, including a stint as electric guitarist for Jamaican reggae artists Earl Zero. In time, he began searching for ways to integrate all the diverse musical styles and traditions he’d absorbed.

“I felt that the harmonic structure of Western music couldn’t really support the subtlety of the melodies in Indian music,” he says. “That’s where I started on my very first album, Footprints [in 1990]. I tried to make that leap between Indian melody and Western harmony.”

With contributions from jazz trumpet innovator Don Cherry and Indian vocalist Lakshmi Shankar, Footprints was the first in what has become a deep and diverse catalog of Jai Uttal albums that includes 2002’s Grammy-nominated Mondo Rama, 2009’s Thunder Love and the 2011 children’s album, Kirtan Kids. Many of these recordings were produced by his longtime musical associate Ben Leinbach, who also played the main production role on Roots, Rock, Rama!

Roots, Rock, Rama! represents not only a grand summation of Jai Uttal’s musical and devotional journey but also a new chapter in conscious music-making. After all these years and so many recordings, concerts and workshops, he’s still wide open to new musical epiphanies.

“The universe is filled with colors and melodies,” he says. “They’re just everywhere, if only we could see and hear them more clearly. I feel that all art exists to enhance devotional practice and devotional expression. I just try to hear the melodies.”

San Anselmo, CA – March 23, 2016 – While most artists are slowing down at 65, Jai Uttal, the Grammy-nominated Kirtan superstar is revving up his storied career with his 19th album release, the acclaimed Roots, Rock Rama! In just the last few weeks he played a sold out Kirtan event with over 400 bhaktas at Spirit Rock in Marin, and to over 300 people at Wanderlust Hollywood. He also has gigs coming up in Sonoma, Maui, Miami, and his annual headlining gigs in Joshua Tree at Shakti Fest in May, and Bhakti Fest in September.

Last week also saw the release of a music video for the song “S.A.M.B.A (Shiva’s Adoration of Mata Bhavani’s Ambrosia)” shot in January at the Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh, India.

Amazing reviews for Roots, Rock Rama! include top music trade magazine Hits saying it’s “simply undeniable” and about the live show adds “the mood was as purely positive, inclusive and uplifting as any gig I can recall. And isn’t that exactly what we need these days?” LA Yoga says “There’s no way to sit still as this music plays and it’s easy to see how the live concerts Jai will perform in celebration of this collection will go down as unforgettable.” And the Marin Independent Journal adds, “The production values are impeccable and the call and response between Uttal and his chorus of backup singers is heavenly.”

Jai has also recently re-launched his Patreon page with a new welcome video, the “S.A.M.B.A.” video, and more for his supporters. An album as musically ambitious and lavishly produced as Roots, Rock, Rama! is a rarity in our times, when digital downloading has made it hard for artists to earn a living from their music, let alone pay for extensive studio sessions. Jai’s new album was financed by two close friends who contributed the majority of the budget for the project. The remaining sum was covered by fans who donated through Patreon.com, a website that allows music lovers to strengthen their bond with their favorite artists by contributing funds.

When this mode of financing first became available, says Jai, “it felt like a spiritual affirmation.” In the same spirit, Roots, Rock, Rama! was released on the Mantralogy label, an organization that donates part of its proceeds to several charitable causes in India as well as partnering with The Call and Response Foundation which brings scared music to at-risk youth and into prisons. Jai is also partnering with a company called OneTreePlanted. For every copy of the album sold, a tree will be planted to combat deforestation around the world.

Jai Uttal has been rightly hailed as a world music pioneer. Singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer, he was among the first to hear the universal heartbeat in the variegated rhythms of the globe. But his powerful, plangent voice and panoramic musical vision have also long been at the core of the yoga community’s tradition of call-and response devotional chanting known as Kirtan. While his music is deeply rooted in Indian classical tradition—he studied long and hard under the Indian sarod master Ali Akbar Khan—it is also plentifully imbued with echoes of reggae, rock, folk, Brazilian music, Bollywood and other sounds from across the musical universe. All of these diverse and colorful strands are woven together beautifully on Roots, Rock, Rama! The title is a play on the name of the Bob Marley song “Roots, Rock, Reggae.”

“I feel that this album is the completion of a cycle,” Jai says. “And it’s a cycle of many years. I wanted to put every mood, feeling and experience I’ve had into these songs. I wanted to offer a rainbow of devotional feeling.”

But the centerpiece of the album is Jai Uttal’s amazing voice. With his unique gift for phrasing and melismatic ornamentation he can wrest a thousand moods from a simple Sanskrit mantra.

Jai Uttal’s musical journey began at an early age. Growing up in Manhattan, the son of record executive Larry Uttal, he was ideally suited to absorb pop music’s ‘50s and ‘60s golden age. “Every week my father would bring home the top ten singles and play them for my sister and me,” he remembers. “That was the coolest thing. And I was at the recording session of Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels doing ‘Devil with a Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly.’ That made me totally crazy; it was just so amazing.”

Jai learned to play piano, guitar, banjo and harmonica while still quite young. But a first encounter with Indian music at age 17 proved to be a life-changing experience. He would later say that this music “touched my heart like the sounds of home.” Soon he was studying with Indian sarod virtuoso Ali Akbar Khan. His endeavor to master the challenging Indian stringed instrument also led to the discovery of his singing voice.

“Ali Akbar Khan insisted that all his students study singing as well,” Jai explains. “He said, ‘All music comes from the voice. I won’t teach you sarod unless you also study voice.’ Most of the students just did it begrudgingly. We wanted to be instrumentalists. I was extremely shy and insecure about singing, but I found that when I was at home practicing, I started having glimmers of this deep, deep inner world when I started singing the ragas. But it was years before I took that outside my bedroom. And what took me out of the bedroom was kirtan. I was terrified at first, but somewhere along the line I realized that I couldn’t be paralyzed by fear because singing was my salvation and spiritual catharsis.”

Music and spiritual practice became inextricably linked for Jai when he became a student of Indian spiritual master Neem Karoli Baba in 1971. Maharaji, as the guru is known to his students, encouraged the practice of bhakti (devotional) yoga as expressed through kirtan, the call-and-response chanting of sacred names, over and over again until they become deeply instilled in the consciousness, providing an experience of profound peace and spiritual insight. Kirtan would become the center of Jai’s musical and spiritual life.
But while all this was unfolding, Jai was also exploring other music forms, including a stint as electric guitarist for Jamaican reggae artists Earl Zero. In time, he began searching for ways to integrate all the diverse musical styles and traditions he’d absorbed.

“I felt that the harmonic structure of Western music couldn’t really support the subtlety of the melodies in Indian music,” he says. “So that’s where I started on my very first album, Footprints [in 1990]. I tried to make that leap between Indian melody and Western harmony.”

With contributions from jazz trumpet innovator Don Cherry and Indian vocalist Lakshmi Shankar, Footprints was the first in what has become a deep and diverse catalog of Jai Uttal albums that includes 2002’s Grammy-nominated Mondo Rama, 2009’s Thunder Love and the 2011 children’s album, Kirtan Kids. Many of these recordings were produced by his longtime musical associate Ben Leinbach, who also played the main production role on Roots, Rock, Rama!

So Roots, Rock, Rama! represents not only a grand summation of Jai Uttal’s musical and devotional journey but also a new chapter in conscious music-making. After all these years and so many recordings, concerts and workshops, he’s still wide open to new musical epiphanies.

“The universe is filled with colors and melodies,” he says. “They’re just everywhere, if only we could see and hear them more clearly. I feel that all art exists to enhance devotional practice and devotional expression. So I just try to hear the melodies.”

March 30, 2016 – Coming off of two very well attended, incredibly uplifting album release events in Northern and Southern California, Grammy nominated spiritual music pioneer Jai Uttal will bring this unique celebratory Kirtan event for the release of his acclaimed 19th album Roots! Rock! Rama! to The Sacred Space Miami, at 105 NE 24th St, at 8pm on April 28. Tickets are $45 in advance here.

In Miami Jai will be joined by his friend, Maui Kirtan walla, and longtime accompanist, noted singer, harmonica, and India Fulbright Award winning tabla drummer and graduate of the Ali Akbar College of Music Daniel Paul. From his long association accompanying Jai and the exotic global vocalist Gina Salá, Daniel has also toured South America backing the soft prayers of Snatam Kaur and throughout North America contributing to the rocking chants of Dave Stringer and the Guru Ganesha Band. In addition, joining Jai will be married couple Bali and Dhyana Rico. He’s a magnificent Mridanga (2 headed Indian drum) player and she’s a beautiful singer, songwriter, and keyboardist. They are part of the popular Florida based Kirtan band The Mayapuris.

Of the album, top music trade magazine Hits says it’s “simply undeniable” and about the live show adds “the mood was as purely positive, inclusive and uplifting as any gig I can recall. And isn’t that exactly what we need these days?” LA Yoga says “There’s no way to sit still as this music plays and it’s easy to see how the live concerts Jai will perform in celebration of this collection will go down as unforgettable.” And the Marin Independent Journal adds, “The production values are impeccable and the call and response between Uttal and his chorus of backup singers is heavenly.”

Common Ground raves “This spectacular DBL CD is a journey through the splendors, riches and tribulations of the India sub-continent, musically, spiritually and globally. Jai Uttal has reigned over the Nor Cal kirtan/chant scene for three decades. His musical monarchy has been a rollicking, beneficent parade of high energy and sacred spirit through 18 albums and countless live shows. While kirtan is not a ‘musical genre’, Jai has infused his world vision with an amalgam of reggae, blues, Indian and Beatles-inspired pop music. All of these have come together on his celebratory Roots, Rock, Rama! — an ultra-dynamic raise the roof high and open the heart wide offering.”

Jai Uttal has been rightly hailed as a world music pioneer. Singer, multi-instrumentalist and producer, he was among the first to hear the universal heartbeat in the variegated rhythms of the globe. But his powerful, plangent voice and panoramic musical vision have also long been at the core of the yoga community’s tradition of call-and response devotional chanting known as Kirtan. While his music is deeply rooted in Indian classical tradition—he studied long and hard under the Indian sarod master Ali Akbar Khan—it is also plentifully imbued with echoes of reggae, rock, folk, Brazilian music, Bollywood and other sounds from across the musical universe. All of these diverse and colorful strands are woven together beautifully on Roots, Rock, Rama! The title is a play on the name of the Bob Marley song “Roots, Rock, Reggae.”

“I feel that this album is the completion of a cycle,” Jai says. “And it’s a cycle of many years. I wanted to put every mood, feeling and experience I’ve had into these songs. I wanted to offer a rainbow of devotional feeling.”
But the centerpiece of the album is Jai Uttal’s amazing voice. With his unique gift for phrasing and melismatic ornamentation he can wrest a thousand moods from a simple Sanskrit mantra.

Jai Uttal’s musical journey began at an early age. Growing up in Manhattan, the son of record executive Larry Uttal, he was ideally suited to absorb pop music’s ‘50s and ‘60s golden age. “Every week my father would bring home the top ten singles and play them for my sister and me,” he remembers. “That was the coolest thing. And I was at the recording session of Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels doing ‘Devil with a Blue Dress On/Good Golly Miss Molly.’ That made me totally crazy; it was just so amazing.”

Jai learned to play piano, guitar, banjo and harmonica while still quite young. But a first encounter with Indian music at age 17 proved to be a life-changing experience. He would later say that this music “touched my heart like the sounds of home.” Soon he was studying with Indian sarod virtuoso Ali Akbar Khan. His endeavor to master the challenging Indian stringed instrument also led to the discovery of his singing voice.

“Ali Akbar Khan insisted that all his students study singing as well,” Jai explains. “He said, ‘All music comes from the voice. I won’t teach you sarod unless you also study voice.’ Most of the students just did it begrudgingly. We wanted to be instrumentalists. I was extremely shy and insecure about singing, but I found that when I was at home practicing, I started having glimmers of this deep, deep inner world when I started singing the ragas. But it was years before I took that outside my bedroom. And what took me out of the bedroom was kirtan. I was terrified at first, but somewhere along the line I realized that I couldn’t be paralyzed by fear because singing was my salvation and spiritual catharsis.”

Music and spiritual practice became inextricably linked for Jai when he became a student of Indian spiritual master Neem Karoli Baba in 1971. Maharaji, as the guru is known to his students, encouraged the practice of bhakti (devotional) yoga as expressed through kirtan, the call-and-response chanting of sacred names, over and over again until they become deeply instilled in the consciousness, providing an experience of profound peace and spiritual insight. Kirtan would become the center of Jai’s musical and spiritual life.

But while all this was unfolding, Jai was also exploring other music forms, including a stint as electric guitarist for Jamaican reggae artists Earl Zero. In time, he began searching for ways to integrate all the diverse musical styles and traditions he’d absorbed.

“I felt that the harmonic structure of Western music couldn’t really support the subtlety of the melodies in Indian music,” he says. “That’s where I started on my very first album, Footprints [in 1990]. I tried to make that leap between Indian melody and Western harmony.”

With contributions from jazz trumpet innovator Don Cherry and Indian vocalist Lakshmi Shankar, Footprints was the first in what has become a deep and diverse catalog of Jai Uttal albums that includes 2002’s Grammy-nominated Mondo Rama, 2009’s Thunder Love and the 2011 children’s album, Kirtan Kids. Many of these recordings were produced by his longtime musical associate Ben Leinbach, who also played the main production role on Roots, Rock, Rama!

Roots, Rock, Rama! represents not only a grand summation of Jai Uttal’s musical and devotional journey but also a new chapter in conscious music-making. After all these years and so many recordings, concerts and workshops, he’s still wide open to new musical epiphanies.

“The universe is filled with colors and melodies,” he says. “They’re just everywhere, if only we could see and hear them more clearly. I feel that all art exists to enhance devotional practice and devotional expression. I just try to hear the melodies.”

Makawao, HI – March 16, 2016 – Grammy nominated spiritual music pioneer Jai Uttal will appear at the historic Makawao Union Church, 1445 Baldwin Avenue, Makawao HI 96768, on Maui for two events in mid-April. On the 14th he’ll perform a concert featuring songs from his recently released 19th album Roots! Rock! Rama! at 7:30pm. Then on the 15th at 4pm he will lead a Bhakti Satsang that will include live music, kirtan, discussions on devotional singing, stories from the spiritual path, and Hindu texts the Ramayana and the Bhagavad Gita, bringing it all together into a deeper understanding of bhakti yoga.

Tickets for the events are $30 cash in advance (per event). Tickets are available now at: Maui Kombucha in the Haiku Marketplace, MacNet in Kahului at the corner of Dairy Road & Hana Hwy, Monsoon India Restaurant in Kihei at the Menehuene Shores Building, Island Spirit Yoga in Lahaina at 840 Wainee St, behind Ace Hardware. Tickets $40 cash (per event) at the door day of event.

For these gigs, Jai will be joined by his friend, Maui Kirtan walla, and longtime accompanist, noted singer, tabla and harmonica player Daniel Paul. Daniel is an India Fulbright Award winning tabla drummer and graduate of the Ali Akbar College of Music who for more than two decades has been on the front lines of the international kirtan chanting movement as a singing tabla drummer to many of today’s top kirtan singers. From his long association accompanying Jai and the exotic global vocalist Gina Salá, Daniel has also toured South America backing the soft prayers of Snatam Kaur and throughout North America contributing to the rocking chants of Dave Stringer and the Guru Ganesha Band.

Clearly named after Bob Marley’s classic track “Roots Rock Reggae,” this project does celebrate the influence that reggae had on Uttal’s interpretation of classic Indian ragas. However, the title also refers to the practice of kirtan as the root of his life, the rock that is his foundation, and his devotion to Rama (God) throughout his work.

Kirtan is a call and response singing style popular with yoga practitioners who are now over 36 million strong in the US! Jai is a favorite performer on the growing yoga festival circuit, playing to thousands each summer at Bhakti Fests and other events. He also leads his own workshops and retreats that deepen yogis practice of the heart based Bhakti yoga method that is chanting the names of god to further enlightenment.

Co-produced with Uttal in 2016 by noted Northern California producer Ben Leinbach, the album is a double CD/extra-long stream with 12 5-12 minute tracks for about 80 minutes of music (typical of Kirtan, but also of that other California music staple – jam music!). CD 1 or the first 6 tracks are “Rama Sun” and are the more reggae influenced tracks (such as H.A.R.I., please listen here) – deeply steeped in earthy rhythms, hypnotic bass lines, jubilant horn charts and soulful vocal harmonies. CD 2, the next 6 tracks are “Rama Moon” and find Uttal in an entirely different mood. Grounded in the gentle, lilting sway of Brazilian samba, it also touches on the pastoral splendor of the more acoustic tracks from the Beatles’ White Album. The Beatles are another major influence, and Jai has brought their pioneering fusion of Indian music and Western pop into the 21st century.

With a unique boomer upbringing in the NYC music biz of the 50s and 60s (as a child he was at the session where Mitch Ryder recorded “Devil With a Blue Dress”!) Uttal understands true musicianship and has worked with top musicians including Bill Laswell, Don Cherry, and his musical guru Ustad Ali Akbar Khan throughout his career.

Additionally, his story flows with that of his generation – in the 70s he studied with Khan in the Bay Area while making extended trips to the Indian Ashram of Neem Karoli Baba the same guru who influenced Ram Dass’ classic Be Here Now. Maharajji, as the guru is known to his students, encouraged the practice of bhakti (devotional) yoga as expressed through kirtan, the call-and-response chanting of sacred names, over and over again until they become deeply instilled in the consciousness, providing an experience of profound peace and spiritual insight. Kirtan would become the center of Jai’s musical and spiritual life.

The 80s were dedicated to his music career which took off in 1990 with his first album Footprints that featured Don Cherry and other notables, launching him into the exploding world music scene. Now, eighteen albums, marriage, fatherhood, a Grammy nomination, and 26 years of worldwide acclaim later Roots! Rock! Rama! continues his legacy.

Sponsored Vets to Receive Treatments at Event and Future Services

August 18, 2016 – Los Angeles, CA – Heaven and Earth Oasis (HEO), a Los Angeles-based nonprofit (501 (c) (3) that provides an array of holistic treatments by certified, licensed healing professionals at no cost to U.S. military veterans to help recovery from PTSD and related illnesses, is holding their 4th annual fundraising luncheon “Veterans Thrive” on November 5 at Loews Hollywood, 1755 N Highland Ave., Hollywood, California, 90028, at 11:30am. The speaker at the event will be best-selling inspirational author Daniel Gutierrez. Tickets are available at http://heavenandearthoasis.org/.

Founded in 2010 by Valerie Heath a certified holistic/alternative therapy specialist, HEO provides a complete array of customized holistic healing treatments free of charge to veterans to help their healing from the trauma of war. At the event all veterans, who attend at HEO’s invitation for no cost, will receive three free treatments, and funds raised go to providing ongoing holistic treatments including reiki, massage, acupuncture, and craniosacral therapy. Ultimately HEO’s goal is to create a wellness sanctuary retreat center for veterans.

American military veterans return from war zones with physical, mental, and emotional illnesses including post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). Currently, there is a wait to receive treatment at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital (VA). HEO was founded in Los Angeles to address the widespread need for immediate help by offering a peaceful, safe, holistic healing space and customized, effective alternative treatments with top certified professionals free of charge to veterans.

Alternative healing methods are recognized and used by the VA as a protocol for treating numerous health issues. With donations, Heaven and Earth Oasis is having success in restoring energy and aiding recovery in trauma-related issues through an array of alternative treatments.
The U.S. Army studied the effectiveness of complementary therapies in 2007 that are also employed by Heaven and Earth Oasis. These include reiki, found to be effective in treating hyper-arousal, anxiety, panic, and tension induced physical pain. The program was so successful that U.S. Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey said it should be replicated throughout the military.

“I worked with military and veteran groups for 20 years,” said HEO Founder/President Valerie Heath. “I became aware that veterans need the most help to heal physically and emotionally, and I was gripped by a determination to do something for them.”
Tickets for the event are $175 in advance at http://heavenandearthoasis.org/. Tables of 10 are available for $1500. Sponsorships ranging from $150 for simply sponsoring a vet’s ticket including three treatments at the event, to $20,000 for a presenting sponsor are available.
In addition to lunch and an inspiring talk from Daniel Gutierrez, the event will feature red carpet arrivals, a silent auction, a raffle, holistic products booths, musical performances, and presentations by holistic health experts. Treatments will also be available for sponsored vets and to luncheon guests by donation.

New Highlights Include a Sound-bath Dome, Sacred Women’s Tent, Men’s Lodge, and Expanded Family Village, along with Top Kirtan Stars, Sacred Music, Meaningful Workshops and Premiere Yoga Teachers, September 7-12 in Joshua Tree, CA

Joshua Tree, CA – July 7, 2015 – Bhakti Fest, the preeminent sacred music and yoga festival dedicated to bringing spiritual consciousness and earthly freedom to both the attendees, and the global recipients of this nonprofit festival’s charitable endeavors, will be returning to the Joshua Tree Retreat Center September 7-12.

A beloved annual event on the calendars of spiritual seekers, yogis, families, girlfriend squads, and others looking for an end of summer festival to commune with nature, each other and the divine, Bhakti Fest has expanded their offering beyond the top yoga teachers, Kirtan artists and workshop leaders, to include features such as a Family Village for parent and me yoga, kids music and more, as well as a Sound-bath Dome and Sound Healings under the stars, the latest trend in musical meditation. In addition to its always enlightening workshop program Bhakti Fest also hosts a Sacred Women’s Tent and a Men’s Lodge offering gender specific programming covering topics such as Tantra, empowerment, and redefining masculinity.

Known internationally for hosting a massive lineup of Kirtan musicians, master yoga instructors, and spiritual teachers, Bhakti Fest draws thousands of conscious explorers from the U.S. and around the world. Kirtan and reggae influenced singer/songwriter Trevor Hall, known for his hits “Brand New Day,” “The Lime Tree,” “Unity,” and others will headline the event. Other returning headliners include Grammy nominee Krishna Das; Jai Uttal, with his high energy reggae and ska-influenced Kirtan set; revolutionary hip-hop artist MC YOGI; and long-time Madonna collaborator Donna De Lory.

Bhakti Fest offers nonstop conscious music and Kirtan/chanting on two stages, in a wide of variety of musical genres including blues, rock, pop, gospel, traditional, and hip-hop. This year’s musicians also include the Kirtaniyas, Dave Stringer, Sean Johnson & the Wild Lotus Band, Saul David Raye, David Newman, Govind Das & Radha, Gina Sala, Girish, Brenda McMorrow, Gandharvas Kirtan, Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe, Sri Kirtan, Fannah Fi Allah, Shantala and Pranja Vieira.

Several thousand participants will share sacred space with the world’s finest teachers of spiritual knowledge, yoga, and breath-work. The festival will feature twelve hours of daily yoga classes in four venues, facilitated by incomparable teachers: Shiva Rea, Saul David Raye, Mark Whitwell, Kia Miller, Jennica Mills, Laura Plumb, Erica Burkhalter, Jaya Lakshmi & Ananda, Hemalayaa Behl, Mas Vidal, Janet Stone, and Kristin Olson, to name only a few. All levels of students are welcome—beginner and advanced yogis alike are encouraged to join! There is something for everyone.

The Bhakti Fest workshops aim to enlighten all attendees with talks by as Radhanath Swami, a philanthropist and author of The Journey Home, who presents on his incredible spiritual journey; breath-work phenomenon, Michael Brian Baker whose students say his class “provides a life changing experience;” Manoj Chalam, a Murti scholar who uses humor and personal anecdotes in his lectures and workshops to illuminate Hindu mythology; and many more.

Presenters in the Sacred Women’s Tent include Dawn Cartwright, a Tantric visionary, sacred writer, world traveler, and innovator in bio-energetic Tantra fusion; Monika Nataraj, the creatrix of the 200-hour Mystical Dance® and Shakti Spirit® women’s teacher trainings in Thailand who also co-leads the Mystical Yogini women’s teacher training in India; Joanne Ameya Cohen a Certified Women’s Herbalist and Flower Essence Therapist, Plant Spirit Medicine Practitioner, Feminine Embodiment Mentor, Counselor, and Shamanic Practitioner, who is passionate about helping women to let go of past pains and hurts in order to reclaim their Wild Feminine; among others.

In the Men’s Lodge Zat Baraka will help men to step out of the confines of their societal conditionings and into the new masculine way of being; other men’s lodge speakers will be announced. As always the annual festival will deliver an exclusive interview with Bhakti Fest elder, and spiritual icon, Ram Dass, whose book Be Here Now helped bring Eastern philosophy to the West in the 1960s.

Bhakti Fest also offers a healing sanctuary with massage, bodywork, energy work, and other wellness enhancing modalities. In addition, Bhaktis will feast on a variety of raw, vegan, and vegetarian food and beverage options. There is an extensive marketplace with eco-friendly, sustainable vendors who offer yoga gear, clothing, devotional art, musical instruments, CDs, crafts, jewelry and more. Bhakti Fest’s own Bhakti Shoppe will feature highly sought-after items from the bazaars of India.

Bhakti Fest is a vegetarian, family friendly, safe environment, free of alcohol and drugs. Children 12 and under are allowed in for free and there is a specific Bhakti Family Village where children can take part in music, yoga and enlightened play.

The Joshua Tree Retreat Center offers the perfect setting for inner reflection and spiritual reconnection, with its natural high desert beauty. Accommodations onsite include new private apartments, beds in the men’s and women’s dorms, glamping, camping, and RV parking. There are also several hotels within a few miles of the retreat center that offer discounts for attendees. Info on lodging is available at http://west.bhaktifest.com/lodging/.

With a world-class lineup of musicians and yoga instructors, more than 60 conscious workshops, and 100 artisan vendors, Bhakti Fest offers the most heart-opening, consciousness-raising experience of any festival on the scene today. Attendees describe the festival as “being immersed in the greatest conscious party you have ever experienced, filled with music, yoga, dancing, love, light, and heart centered community.”

Tickets for Bhakti Fest West 2016 are available at west.bhaktifest.com. Bhakti Fest is a nonprofit 501c3 organization and accepts tax-deductible donations. The festival donates a percentage of its funds to charities and other nonprofit groups that provide food, education, and environmental beautification programs around the world. These include Food for Life Vrindavan, Love Serve Remember Foundation, Ramana’s Garden, Seva Foundation, Share Your Care, and Woman’s Earth Alliance.

About Bhakti Fest

Bhakti Fest is a festival series which celebrates the devotional path that has its roots in yoga, Kirtan, and meditation. It embraces ancient and modern sacred wisdom and traditional and non-traditional spiritual practices. All the artists, presenters, and vendors embody, practice, and share the spirit of Bhakti through a variety of ways, including continuous Kirtan, yoga classes, meditations and prayer, teachings and workshops, fire ceremonies, an eco-friendly, holistic marketplace, vegetarian, vegan, and raw cuisine, a wellness sanctuary including massage, bodywork, energy work, intuitive readings, and other unique life enhancing modalities. Bhakti Fest encourages the spirit of service and offers a work exchange program. The festival donates monies to a variety of non-profit organizations which provide food, education, and environmental beautification programs around the world.

Bhakti Fest would not be possible without the support of these generous sponsors; I-CODA, Organic India, Jade Yoga, Solti Juices, MindBody, Health Ade Kombucha, Desert Essence, Coconut Bliss, Divinitree Yoga & Art Studio, Shakti Juice and White Swan Records.