Susan von Seggern

Public Relations

Bhakti Fest Welcomes Thousands Home for a Transformational Event September 15-17 in Joshua Tree, California

03/07/2023 by Susan von Seggern

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Joshua Tree, CA – February 15, 2023 – Bhakti Fest, Southern California’s popular yoga and kirtan festival will return to the beautiful Joshua Lake & Campground on September 15-17, 2023.

This pioneering gathering, known for non-stop yoga, kirtan, meditation, sound baths, vegetarian cuisine, healing bodywork, spiritual study, conscious community, and transformation, continues to serve as a beacon for spiritual seekers from around the world. After a COVID-driven break since 2019, the festival is excited to welcome its fans home.

Festival producer Bella Silberfein notes, “while we’ve been doing smaller retreat-style events during the pandemic as a way for yogis to deepen their practice and will continue with those as they are very popular, we are thrilled to be back with a full festival in Joshua Tree in 2023. We look forward to bringing our entire Bhakti family together for another amazing weekend of sun, music, wisdom, and yoga.”

The festival returns with all-star yoga instructors, including Yogrishi Vishvketu, Shiva Rea, Kia Miller, Andrew Sealy, Raghunath, Sujala Roy, Tommy Rosen, Govind Das & Jacqueline Michelle, Harpinder Kaur Mann, MC Yogi & Amanda Giacomini, and local favorite, Urban Yoga’s Kristin Olson. From those who have never stepped foot on a yoga mat to those who don’t travel without one, all student levels are welcome and encouraged to attend.

A curator of sacred sound, Bhakti Fest will host non-stop Kirtan and chant across various musical genres, including blues, rock, pop, gospel, traditional, and hip-hop. Headliners include Grammy nominees Pato Banton, and Krishna Das, and MC YOGI. This year’s musicians include favorites such as Ayla Nereo, Desert Dwellers, Snow Raven, Sol Rising, Kirtaniyas, Satsang, DJ Drez & Marti Nikko, David Starfire, Raghunath, Govind Das & Jacqueline, Amritakripa, Nina Rao, Radhika Das, Gina Sala, and many more.

Bhakti Fest provides participants with the unique opportunity to interact and learn from some of the greatest luminaries of our time. Speakers include Radhanath Swami, Sadhvi Bhagawati Saraswatiji, Jai Devi Singh, Krishna Das, Nidhi Pandya, Michael Brian Baker, Nina Rao, Snow Raven, Reginald Hubbard, Marti Nikko, Tommy Rosen, Zoe Kors, Raghunath, and Jacqueline Michelle. As always, Bhakti Fest will screen digital Satsang with the legendary, dearly departed Ram Dass, whose book Be Here Now helped bring Eastern philosophy west in the 1970s.

No family festival is complete without a Kids’ Village! In the cool shade, fun, physical, creative, musical, and conscious activities provide an opportunity to enjoy time together.

Bhaktis will feast on various raw, vegan, and vegetarian food and beverage options. There is an extensive marketplace with eco-friendly, sustainable vendors offering 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.

Accommodations onsite include glamping, camping, and RV parking. There are also several hotels within a few miles of the campground that offer discounts for attendees.

With a world-class lineup of musicians and yoga instructors, conscious workshops, and artisan vendors, Bhakti Fest offers the most heart-opening, consciousness-raising experience of any festival on the scene today. Attendees describe the festival as “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 2023 are available here. The non-profit festival donates a percentage of its funds to charities and other nonprofit groups that provide food, education, and environmental beautification programs worldwide. These include Food for Life Vrindavan, Love Serve Remember Foundation, Ramana’s Garden, Share Your Care, and the Seva Foundation.

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Filed Under: Events, Meditation, Music, Yoga

World Devotional Music Visionary Jai Uttal Walks in the Footsteps of the Ancients with New Album Dust & Tears

02/13/2023 by Susan von Seggern

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While love and spirituality are still the topics, the album moves away from Hindu chants to a more universal direction


Jai Uttal’s new album, Dust & Tears, is a gem. It is essential Jai but in a new dimension, as beautiful as his many other works, but more available to the (my) western ear. On Dust & Tears prayers are veiled, but ever present. “Psalm” is a spiritual and musical blockbuster of melody, arrangements, vocal, and chorus. I’m happy putting the entire album on repeat, which is exactly where it is while I write this.
– Joan Baez

Fairfax, CA – Grammy-nominated world and spiritual music legend Jai Uttal will release his 22nd album Dust & Tears tomorrow on all platforms, linked from https://ffm.to/dust-and-tears. The album is a departure in that it’s mostly English lyrics, as opposed to the call & response Kirtan chants of much of his previous work.

Dust and Tears is one of the most introspective, profoundly personal albums in the vast catalog of the beloved world and devotional musical innovator Jai Uttal. It is also one of his most boldly adventurous recordings—an inspired synthesis of divine poetry and song from across the ages and around the globe. The musical palette is relatively spare but nonetheless sparkling and spellbinding—weaving together myriad world music flavors to create a wondrous, warm tapestry of devotion and love.

Over the course of nine pristine tracks—gorgeously recorded, as always, by Ben Leinbach—Jai invokes and honors the great singer-saints of India’s Bhakti tradition, the beauty of Old Testament palmistry and the heartfelt songs of America’s wandering, folk-singing storytellers.

In creating Dust and Tears, Jai collaborated closely with his wife of many years, the yoga teacher, dancer, and author Nubia Teixeira. She suggested the idea of transmuting ancient mystical songs into the language and music of our own time and contributed substantially to the album’s richly poetic lyrics. “The reality is that Nubia wrote well over 50 percent of these words,” Jai notes. “Sometimes it was a little bit more me; other times it was a little more her. And sometimes, it was both of us. What a fabulous gift to collaborate with my wife in this way.”

Jai’s 17-year-old son Ezra Uttal also played a key role as the album’s keyboardist, creating sublimely layered orchestrations and earthy synth solos.

Along with these family members and Leinbach (who played bass and percussion as well as co-producing the album), Jai assembled a small but gifted coterie of his frequent musical collaborators, including trombonist Jeff Cressman, accordionist Sunniva Brynnel, percussionists Visvambhar and Vrinda Sheth, and backing vocalists Sandy Cressman, Prajna Vieira, Natalie Cressman, Sandy Griffith, Lakshmi DelSanto and Lucía Lilikoi.

A few more musical guests lent their colors, but the production remained intimate, leaving ample space for each individual talent to shine, not least of all Jai. His vocal performance on Dust and Tears hits new heights of ecstatic bliss and plumbs new depths of despair and longing—the voice of a prophet, crying forlornly in the wilderness yet lovingly swaddled in layers of angelic harmony.

“In my kirtan, mantra, and prayer singing over the years, I’ve felt deeply connected with the men and women of the ancient past,” Jai says. “People who invested their hearts and souls in these words—these mantras—and who connect with us today, and lend us their shakti, their hearts, their emotions, and the power of their prayers, to increase the power and potency of our prayers.”

Jai will be doing his annual Valentine’s event at Berkeley’s Freight & Salvage on Saturday, February 11. Tickets are $15-$30 and are available at https://secure.thefreight.org/12070/jai-uttal.

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Filed Under: Events, Meditation, Music, Yoga

Jai Uttal Returns to Marin Center for A Solo Acoustic Concert December 17

12/12/2022 by Susan von Seggern

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San Rafael, CA – November 29, 2022 – Grammy nominated spiritual music pioneer Jai Uttal will perform an acoustic solo concert at The Showcase Theater at Marin Center, 10 Avenue of the Flags in San Rafael, CA 94901, at 7pm on Saturday, December 17.

Stepping into a new and deeper level of vulnerability, Grammy nominee and World Music pioneer Jai Uttal presents an intimate solo acoustic performance of inspiring songs and devotional chants. Jai will accompany himself on a variety of instruments and create a space of invocation, prayer, and heartfelt expression. Join Jai and the Bay Area Kirtan community for this meditative and heart opening event during this special holy season of love. Tickets are $30-$59 in advance here.

Jai Uttal is a Grammy nominated sacred music composer, recording artist (22 albums to date!), multi-instrumentalist, and ecstatic vocalist, combining influences from India with elements from American rock and jazz, along with Jamaican reggae, Brazilian samba, and more, to create a stimulating and exotic multi-cultural fusion that is truly world spirit music.

Having travelled extensively in India, where he met many great saints and singers, Bhakti Yoga became his personal path. Jai has been performing and teaching around the world for nearly 50 years, creating a safe environment for people to open their hearts and voices
Jai is a favorite performer on the yoga festival circuit, playing to thousands each summer at numerous events. He also leads his own workshops and retreats that deepen yogis’ practice of the heart-based Bhakti yoga method, Kirtan, that is chanting the names of God to further enlightenment.

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.

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, marriage, fatherhood, a Grammy nomination, and 32 years of worldwide acclaim later this acoustic solo show in Marin continues his legacy.

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2020 Has Been a Surprisingly Busy Year for Revered Spiritual Artist Jai Uttal, Continuing with New Single “Time and Again” Out Tomorrow

11/16/2020 by Susan von Seggern

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Fairfax, CA – Noted for his heartfelt renditions and upbeat barn burners of classic Kirtans (Sanskrit chants from ancient India), and his first instrumental album Gauri’s Lullaby, currently in consideration for a New Age Grammy, his notable summer single “Behind the Walls” inspired by his work with inmates at San Quentin, and the horrible novel coronavirus outbreak currently taking place there, as well as hosting a sold out online Kirtan camp last summer, Jai Uttal is excited to announce tomorrow’s release of his new single, “Time and Again.” The song is available in all audio formats here.

“Time and Again” is the first single release from Jai’s upcoming album, Songs of the Mystics, that will be coming out next year. “Time and Again” was composed by Jai and his wife Nubia Teixeira, based on a song of the 16th century Indian Bhakti poetess, Mirabai. Though scorned by the presiding culture of the time, Mirabai’s passionate and sensual devotion to her Lord, and her complete disregard for social mores, became a clarion call to the poor and marginalized masses. She was, indeed, a mystic revolutionary!

‘Songs of the Mystics’ will include re-imaginings of songs and poems by many of the Bhakti saints, but Jai thought it appropriate to start with Mirabai. Her message and mood are timeless and resonate even today in the hearts of all devotees. About recording this track in all the insanity that is 2020, Jai notes, “I decided to release this song now because it seems that at this moment in history, more than ever, we are being called upon to act as well as to pray, each in our own way, that spirit will come and lift the mountain of chaos and division and divisiveness and pain from the world so that we can all breathe and our hearts can freely love once again.”

As with everything, the COVID-19 crisis has affected Jai’s recording process, noting that for this single, “My entire recording process has changed during this pandemic. Here in Northern California we’re still mostly in quarantine. So, this recording used pieces from various sources. The lovely background voices by the Pagan Love Choir were from a live concert I did of this song in February, which was multitracked. The accordion was recorded two years ago over a guitar demo I had at the time of the song. The rest of it was produced in Ben Leinbach‘s little studio that is now divided by huge plexiglass walls. Awkward, but we got the job done. I couldn’t let the pandemic squash creativity. Creativity is medicine!”

Besides COVID-19, the intense fires of Northern California and the social and political strife has also affected everything Jai’s life and he notes, “2020 has, indeed, been a year full of challenges, but it has also been a year of deep healing, personal growth and more intimate family interaction. It’s also been a time of deep connecting with my extended family and greater Bhakti community. I’ve been doing weekly live stream concerts and Kirtans, that have been a great point of focus for myself in terms of preparing and creating new songs and practicing my older songs, as well as bringing our extended Bhakti family and community together over Zoom. The pandemic has also pushed us to create online Kirtan Camps. These events have been greatly appreciated, and have enabled people from all over the world, who would never have been able to attend a Kirtan Camp in person, to join us The Online Camps have also helped me organize my own thoughts, experiences and music into a much more potent and accessible way of teaching. We’re in the middle of our second camp now.”

The Hindi verse, of “Time and Again,” ‘Meera Kahe Prabhu Giridhara Nagara, Hey Govinda Hey Gopala’, calls out: ‘Oh Lord of Mira, Govinda, Gopala, lifter of the mountain.’ One might paraphrase this as: ‘Oh my Beloved, please lift this insurmountable mountain of suffering and separation, that I may be yours forever!’

Jai adds, “I hope we all can taste a droplet of Mirabai’s intense, oceanic devotion.”

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DJ Taz Rashid Offers Free Music for Streaming Yogis During Covid-19 Shelter in Place

05/06/2020 by Susan von Seggern

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Chicago, IL – DJ Taz Rashid, one of America’s top yoga DJs, and the programmer for Spotify’s Official Yoga Playlist of the Month, is pleased to announce an offering to the yoga community and the vast number of teachers who have moved online due to Covid-19 shelter in place orders that are keeping the majority of Americans homebound, free music to use for their Zoom, Skype, IG Story, and Facebook Live online classes.

If yogis are using streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple music, etc. to play music during their classes, they can use ANY of DJ Taz Rashid’s music in their yoga classes in their FREE to the public live streaming yoga or meditation classes. Teachers can just play the music in the background of the class. Taz encourages them to share their playlists with their students as well.

All of DJ Taz Rashid’s music on Spotify is at https://open.spotify.com/artist/2XvQyfssNbXYWcOkKaWYlx?si=6ZDuH81JSzGVjbzZhO2v5Q and on Apple Music at https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dj-taz-rashid/996269726. If yogis prefer to create their own playlists from downloads, Taz’s top songs can be downloaded from https://mybestplaylist.lpages.co/dj-taz-rashid-a-gift-of-music-free-music-ig-videos/.

In addition to offering free music, DJ Taz will share classes to his socials when teachers share on their social media and give credit. If teachers share on Instagram or Facebook and tag him under @djtazrashid, he will repost to his over 40k followers. He requests teachers add in the video description “Music used with permission by original artist DJ Taz Rashid” and to be sure to tag him at @djtazrashid. This will ensure that the social media networks will not mute the music or take the class down.

Taz notes, “this is such a challenging time for the entire yoga community between studios on hiatus, and festivals cancelling. I’ve had six cancellations and fully expect 10-20 more so I really relate to what my teaching brothers and sisters are dealing with. We hope this helps at least a little during this crazy time.” Like so many yogis he’s moved his own work online and his schedule is at https://www.djtazrashid.com/copy-of-tour-2020.

If teachers are offering yoga and meditation class videos on paid platforms, or on-demand classes for sale, Taz is offering discounted rates for sync rights for these classes as well. Teachers interested in using his music for paid classes should email taz@djtazrashid.com to discuss.

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Retreat Celebrating Love, Connection, and The Divine Feminine Energy Taking Place in Desert Hot Springs, May 14-18, 2020

03/13/2020 by Susan von Seggern

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Desert Hot Springs, CA – Shakti Fest, the annual yoga and spiritual music festival celebrating the divine feminine energy of the universe will take place in a more intimate “Immersion” format this year. The retreat will take place May 14-18th at Miracle Springs Resort and Spa, 10625 Palm Dr, Desert Hot Springs, CA 92240.

Shakti Immersion is a 3 to 5-day conscious yoga and music retreat, condensing everything attendees have come to love from the festival into an intimate and immersive celebration. The event will be a gathering of like minds and hearts, uniting in consciousness. As always Shakti will feature a wide variety of yoga classes, spiritual workshops, and music, now in a gorgeous resort spa setting, and even closer to the Coachella Valley and Los Angeles!

With this potent design, Shakti Immersion will feature popular yoga teachers from Shakti Fest – Shiva Rea, Saul David Raye, Govind Das and Radha, Hemalayaa, Johanna Beekman, Mas Vidal, Dharma Shakti, Sita Devi, and desert favorite Kristin Olson.

A more intimate setting for spiritual music will benefit both players and listeners with artists including Krishna Das, Amritakripa, DTO Music, Kirtaniyas, Krishna’s Kirtan, Larisa Stowe & Shakti Tribe, Michael Hathaway, and Rob and Melissa.

Similarly, in this year of perfect vision, the workshops bring spirituality into focus with Michael Brian Baker, Dawn Cartwright, Zoe Kors, Dr. Manoj Chalam, Dharma Devi, Josie Keys, Mirabai Devi, Greg Friedman, and Syamarani. Additionally, pre- and post- intensives with Michael Brian Baker, Saul David Raye, and Dawn Cartwright will take place on May 14 and 18.

Nestled in the foothills of Desert Hot Springs, the resort overlooks beautiful Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. Beneath clear blue skies, one can calm the mind, enjoy spectacular landscapes, soak everyday cares away in eight natural hot mineral pools and add on spa treatments to complement this amazing weekend. Discovered centuries ago by the Cahuilla Indians, these springs are known worldwide for their amazing therapeutic benefits. Just miles away from the Joshua Tree National Park, and 12 miles away from Palm Springs International Airport, the 4 star rated Miracle Springs Resort & Spa rooms are fully equipped with free wi-fi, flatscreen TVs, outdoor space, microwaves, and refrigerators. In addition to the regular resort amenities, Shakti Immersion will also feature a curated selection of 30 of Shakti’s most popular clothing, craft, yoga gear, jewelry, and wellness vendors for attendees’ shopping pleasure.

As always, Shakti is an amazing event for families celebrating the divine feminine energy of their own mothers, sisters, and daughters, and people of all ages coming together to connect on a truly divine level.

As festival producer Bella Silberfein notes, “We are so excited to announce this gathering of like-minds and family. A weekend of pure love, ecstatic joy, meditation, sacred music, and all of the offerings we have come to love from our festivals, condensed into its richest form. Namaste.”

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Jai Uttal Returns to The Freight & Salvage for a Valentine’s Day Bhakti Celebration with the Pagan Love Choir

02/12/2020 by Susan von Seggern

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Berkeley, CA – Celebrated Bay Area Kirtan musician Jai Uttal will return to The Freight & Salvage for his 3rd annual Valentine’s Day Bhakti Concert, this time with four amazing local songbirds, Sandy Cressman, Prajna Vieira, Lakshmi Devi, and Sandy Griffith, plus noted NorCal producer Ben Leinbach on bass.

This concert will be a unique opportunity to hear Jai’s music arranged for a heavenly rainbow of five exquisite voices. All veterans of Jai’s full band, The Pagan Love Orchestra, Prajna, Lakshmi and the two Sandys will share their transcendent vocal visions of Jai’s songs and bring the ‘music of the spheres’ to the historic Freight & Salvage. Jai will be acoustic and ‘unplugged,’ creating an intimate and mystical environment in which to share his songs and his soul. This completely new experience promises to be a treat for the ears and the heart.

Jai hosting a Valentine’s Day Concert is appropriate as sacred music is one of the main modalities of Bhakti Yoga, the yoga of love and devotion. As noted in Yoga Journal, “the Sanskrit word bhakti comes from the root bhaj, which means “to adore or worship God.” Bhakti yoga has been called “love for love’s sake” and “union through love and devotion.” Bhakti yoga, like any other form of yoga, is a path to self-realization, to having an experience of oneness with everything.”

“Bhakti is the yoga of a personal relationship with God, At the heart of bhakti is surrender,” says Uttal in the story.

Since its founding in 1968, the Freight & Salvage has been deeply rooted in that aspect of Berkeley’s culture that embraced freedom, justice, acceptance, collaboration, and innovation. The Freight is mission-driven, and has become a world-famous venue for traditional music – music that is rooted in and expressive of the great variety of regional, ethnic, and social cultures of peoples throughout the world.

With the Winter Solstice passing of American Bhakti yoga pioneer Ram Dass, Jai notes, “This concert is especially meaningful, as it’s my first public performance after the passing of my friend and guru-brother, the beloved spiritual leader Ram Dass. I hope that the Bay Area’s Bhakti family can come together to celebrate love and life and our dear friend’s memory. My Valentine’s Day gigs at the Freight & Salvage have been filled with so much spirit and good energy. The Freight is one of the most lovely and important venues in the Bay Area, and I’m always so touched by the care and respect they have for the musicians who perform there. I look forward to a night of joy, celebration and introspection.”

Tickets for the show are $15-$30, and along with a great live video of Jai’s new single “Psalm” with the Pagan Love Choir, are available at https://www.thefreight.org/e/jai-uttal-and-the-pagan-love-choir-77051500111/.

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Revered Spiritual Artist Jai Uttal Announces New Single, Valentine’s Day Sacred Music Concert, and 18th Annual Summer Kirtan Camp

02/12/2020 by Susan von Seggern

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Fairfax, CA – Noted for both his heartfelt renditions and upbeat barn burners of classic Kirtans (chants of the Sanskrit names of God), Jai Uttal is excited to announce the release of his new single, “Psalm”, a modern revisioning of the ancient 23rd Psalm of King David.
The song is available in all audio formats here, and on YouTube here.

Jai will perform “Psalm” at a special Valentine’s Day Concert at Berkeley’s well-loved Freight & Salvage with the Pagan Love Choir. This concert will be a unique opportunity to hear Jai’s music arranged for a heavenly rainbow of five exquisite voices. All veterans of Jai’s many-faceted performances, these four exquisite Bay Area vocalists, Sandy Cressman, Prajna Vieira, Lakshmi Devi, and Sandy Griffith, plus noted NorCal producer Ben Leinbach on bass, and acclaimed trombonist Jeff Cressman, will share their transcendent vocal visions of Jai’s songs and bring the ‘music of the spheres’ to this historic venue. Jai will be acoustic and ‘unplugged,’ creating an intimate and mystical environment in which to share his songs and his soul. This completely new experience promises to be a treat for the ears and the heart. Tickets for the show are $15-$30 and, along with a great live video of Jai’s new single, “Psalm”, is available here.

Part of the Bhakti Yoga path of spiritual devotion, Kirtan has grown along with the explosive growth of the physical aspects of yoga that now has 36 million American practitioners. To share his lifelong journey in this yogic path, Jai has hosted his Kirtan Camps since 2003. The winter camp takes place in various exotic locations around the world, while the summer camp is held in Jai’s hometown of Fairfax, California, in Marin County. Jai will be joined by guest teachers Nubia Teixeira, Daniel Paul, and Prajna Vieira. Many of today’s leading Kirtan artists are alums of Jai’s Kirtan Camp, including Kirtan rapper MC Yogi, Santa Monica Kirtan luminaries Govind Das & Radha, Sean Johnson and the Wild Lotus Band of New Orleans, San Francisco’s own Janet Stone and Stephanie Snyder, and so many others.

Summer Kirtan Camp is a training for those who aspire to lead Kirtan; those who wish to enhance their Yoga teaching with chanting; and those who simply wish to immerse themselves in the vast ocean of Bhakti. In this camp, Jai will share some of the many tools used in Bhakti practice. Attendees will leave this retreat with the inner experience and knowledge that they are able to dive into this world of devotion and sing and share their hearts with others.

More information on Summer Kirtan Camp is available here.

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Thousands Expected to Meditate Together June 22, 2019, at DisclosureFest and California State Parks’ Mass Meditation Initiative

06/05/2019 by Susan von Seggern

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Yoga, Speakers, Workshops, Music, Vegan Food, and so much more!
Gates open 10 am – with a Live Stream Mass Meditation at 2 pm

Los Angeles, CA – DisclosureFest in association with California State Parks present the Mass Meditation Initiative, June 22, 2019, at the Los Angeles State Historic Park, 1235 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Organizers expect upwards of 20,000 people to meditate together at the event and globally through a live stream at https://disclosurefest.org/live/. Additionally, DisclosureFest will host an event from 10 am – 10 pm at the park with a variety of top music acts, internationally known speakers, workshop leaders, and yoga teachers.

DisclosureFest founder Adrian Vallera notes, “We are so thrilled to be back for the third year. We’ve doubled in size each year from 5,000 to 10,000 and this year we are taking up the entire 32-acre park and going until 10 pm with huge music acts, so we are expecting 20,000 people. Our intention is to unite like-minded, heart-centered people in an effort to heal and raise consciousness on the planet with our mass meditation. In addition, we are excited to provide plant-based food, education about health and wellness, uplifting music and art, and inspiration for the creative spark that lives within every individual so that we can consciously create a more harmonious and peaceful world for the following generations.”

The music line-up this year will be a highlight and features headliners: conscious music superstar Nahko, currently on tour with stops including Bonnaroo, Red Rocks, and Glastonbury, SoCal electronic music luminaries Desert Dwellers (Treavor Moontribe and Amani Friend), transformational medicine musician Porangui, and making their return to LA after 10 years, Freedom Tribe. The Ascension Stage will feature top conscious hip-hop, R&B, and electronic acts like Srikala, Kiyoshi, Lizzy Jeff, Nina Grae, Jamie Schwabl, Diva Danielle, MelissFX, and Courtney Kitt.

Additionally, Disclosurefest Foundation has partnered up with Bhakti Fest to host a selection of top Kirtan musicians such as Govind Das and Radha, Sharanam, Jamil Apostol, and Prema Mandali, bringing this increasingly popular yoga modality to DTLA.

A day-long reasonably priced yoga festival in the middle of Los Angeles? YES! Top yogis including Yogi Cameron and Yogini Jaima, Nandhiji, Andrew Sealy, Cheri Rae, Kali Alexander, SuzeQ, Karen Russell, Chutney Berry, and more will teach a variety of styles – hatha, kundalini, flow, acro, and tantric. Early arrival with yoga mats for morning yoga is encouraged!

Workshop topics and speakers abound at DisclosureFest including such notable leaders as Nassim Haremein, David “Avocado” Wolfe, Jimmy Church, Billy Carson, Michael Tellinger (via video), Laura Eisenhower, Clifford Mahooty, Mirabai Devi, Zat Baraka, and more.

Other attractions will include the Wisdome LA Activation Dome for Ecstatic Dance LA, sound healing and immersive visual experiences; the Starseed Children’s Area with yoga, workshops, music and other conscious activities for children (and their parents); an Art Walk and Artist Garden; the SereniTea House and tonic Bar; a drum circle; and so much more!

This event is 100% plant-based and vegan. We are offering a beautiful selection of living, organic, and high-vibration food vendors for attendees to experience the best that LA’s vegan food scene has to offer!

The event has three levels of very reasonable entry:

  • $10 donation Fast Pass that will skip the line and support the amazing work DisclosureFest Foundation is doing in our communities – tree plantings, children initiatives and youth programs, beach and river cleanups, homeless services, and much more.
  • $5 donation that goes to the California State Parks Restoration Program.
  • In the tradition of The Mass Meditation, we also have our Free ticket option (expect long entry lines)
    Tickets are required and are available here.

In addition to the mass meditation event, DisclosureFest hosts monthly opportunities for conscious earth stewards to volunteer for beach and river cleanups, homeless initiatives, conscious children’s programs, tree plantings and much more. For info on their current, future, and past events, please go to https://disclosurefest.org/calendar/.

DisclosureFest promises to be a beautiful day of earth and soul healing in the heart of Los Angeles at the city’s newest state park. Info and tickets are available at https://disclosurefest.org/.

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Join the Shakti Community at Their New Location Come Celebrate the Divine Feminine in All of Us!

03/06/2019 by Susan von Seggern

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Shakti Fest 2019: Yoga and Sacred Music Festival Mother’s Day Weekend May 9 – 13

Joshua Tree, CA – February 20, 2019 – The Shakti Fest community of yogis, meditators, conscious parents, and spiritual seekers comes back together for its ninth season, this year on Mother’s Day weekend – May 9 – 13. The 2019 Shakti Fest is at a new location, on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert – offering panoramic views of the North face of Joshua Tree National Park, exceptional desert vistas, and spectacular night skies at the Joshua Tree Lake RV & Campground, in Joshua Tree, CA.

Organized by Bhakti Fest, recently surpassing 10 years of producing conscious events, Shakti Fest is a unique springtime celebration. Driven by the divine feminine spirit, described in Eastern philosophy as the ‘dynamic force which moves the universe’ Shakti Fest features world famous yoga teachers, sacred music stars, spiritual and emotional growth workshops, sound baths, a healing sanctuary, and much, much more.

“We are so fortunate to be staying in the sacred vibration of Joshua Tree. Shakti and Bhakti Fest are all about heart centered community, a conscious and uplifting experience and the amazing line-up of artists, teachers and presenters in a family friendly drug and alcohol-free environment. We expect to offer the same amazing experience our events have always been known for” noted Sridhar Silberfein, founder of Bhakti Fest.

The Shakti Fest 2019 music lineup inspires attendees to sing, dance and open their hearts. This year’s line up once again includes the best Kirtan (a.k.a. chanting) artists on the sacred music scene: Jai Uttal, Donna De Lory, MC Yogi, Saul David Raye, Amritakripa, Gina Sala, Bhagavan Das, Larisa Stowe & the Shakti Tribe, Govind Das & Radha, Girish, Jaya Lakshmi and Ananda, Gina Sala, Fannah Fi Allah, Kavita Kat MacMillan, Krishna’s Kirtan, David Newman, Sirgun Kaur, and Wicked Hanging Chads, with more to be announced. The centuries-old practice of devotional chanting is considered to connect humans with themselves, the universe, and spirit. The entire Kirtan line-up is available here.

World-class yoga teachers are the heart of Shakti Fest, and spring in Joshua Tree is a beautiful time to practice in nature. With a multitude of yoga venues with classes from sun up to sundown, there really is something for everyone! 2019 Shakti Fest teachers include; Shiva Rea, Mark Whitwell, Mas Vidal, Kia Miller, Georgina Meister, Leeza Villagomez, Carmen Curtis, Hemalayaa Behl, Nubia Teixeira, Dr. Haridass Kaur Khalsa, Lisa Gniady, Dharma Shakti, Hannah Muse, Saul David Raye, Govind Das & Radha and local desert favorite Kristin Olson. Anyone can find their inner Shakti through energy invoking sessions in a wide variety of yoga styles. View the full yoga lineup here.

Shakti Fest 2019 Workshops will cover a plethora of wellness and conscious topics including Ayurveda, spiritual nutrition, tantric energy, breathwork, Sanskrit, conscious relationships, women’s sexuality, bhakti art, and hoop dance, with internationally known speakers such as Michael Brian Baker, Mirabai Devi, Dawn Cartwright, Siva Mohan, Zoë Kors, Lorin Roche and Camille Maurine, Manoj Chalam, Peace Guardians, Sharanam, Josie Keyes, Meghan Mahealani Morris, Rana Nader, Sarah Marshank, Syamarani, Zach Leary, and Dharma Devi. Shakti Fest also offers gender specific workshops for Women and Men, creating dedicated sacred spaces, which allow for a deeper connection and expression with sisters and brothers in a safe space. For further workshop details please go here.

In addition to the music, yoga, and workshops, Shakti Fest also supports a healing sanctuary offering a variety of bodywork and other wellness modalities (what’s a weekend exploring your divine feminine without a massage?!); a sound temple where attendees can meditate to the healing vibrations of top soundbath musicians; plus the younger set can play and explore in the expanded Bhakti Kids Land where families enjoy a huge array of special kids programming daily; a Chai Tea lounge with proceeds benefiting Food for Life Vrindavan; immersive Dome experiences; and Bhakti Kirtan School, where top artists share methods of creating Kirtan for a deeper experience of this increasingly popular genre.

There is no place like springtime in the high desert for a fully immersive, powerful conscious experience. Accommodation options include a huge area for car and tent camping under the amazing Joshua Tree stars. In addition, there are RV Sites with electric and water hook-ups, RV Sites with no hook-ups, Cozy Trailers, Bell Tents with an option to include cot & bedding, and fully styled out Yurt Tent Glamping (emphasis on the Glam in glamping!). There are also several hotels within a few miles of the property. Joshua Tree is also known for its variety of private homes to rent via sites like AirBnB including published modern masterpieces, rustic desert shacks, fancy Airstreams, and more. For info on accommodations please see https://bhaktifest.com/accommodations/.

The Shakti Fest Eco Artisan Village offers vegetarian and vegan food vendors, yoga clothing and gear, jewelry, art and unique collectibles. The organizers pride themselves on running a green event, offering free water and mindful recycling practices.

Early bird festival pricing is still available for Shakti Fest 2019, plus there are discounted tickets available for local residents, veterans, military, seniors, and students. Tickets are available at https://bhaktifest.com/buy-tickets/.

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Filed Under: Events, Music, Yoga

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