If someone had told me back in 2009 that in 5-years I’d be writing a blog post about Dave Stringer’s kirtan concert in Corvallis I would have thought they were crazy. In April 2009 when the podcast ‘Live Kirtan Rocks Big Time’ first posted I had never been to a live kirtan — the show had been up for all of four months and our Corvallis satsang group was still chanting to CDs. I had been emailing Dave about this and that, and when he learned I had never been to a live kirtan he invited me to Portland to see his. Six of us went on a road trip, and my life changed because of his generosity.

Last Saturday the stars aligned and the Corvallis/Eugene kirtan communities gave an open-hearted welcome to Dave, his band – Sheela Bringi & Miles Shrewsbery, and ace sound engineer/tour manager Jason Bailey. We had a wonderful spring-break weekend, and you can see the magic they created at the kirtan with the recording from the live-stream here. We also had a great time on Sunday morning at our sweet neighbor’s house with coffee, croissants and a house kirtan with Dave featuring a talk on the neurophysiology of chanting — really fascinating stuff. The weekend was a celebration of community, service, and outstanding music. Our hearts are full, what could be better?

Thanks Dave. YOU rock big time.

Oh my.  I’ve never been to a concert like this one.  No applause.  Meditation between songs.  Musicians totally accessible.  The loving community created between strangers gathered to sing kirtan together.  Leaving with a feeling of peaceful alignment with what makes life worthwhile.   A rocking value for $20.  Go see a live kirtan concert, go to Kirtan Connection to see live events in your area and go support these artists.  They are changing the world– concert by concert.  What’s in it for you?  It’s a great cure for the recession blues.

If you got the version of last week’s podcast with a voiceover on top of Dave Stringer’s “Hey Shiva Shankara”, my apologies.  I didn’t mute something I was working on in the same session as the podcast.  Sorry about that Dave.  And dear Lord, do you ever sing some kickass kirtan!  The six of us who went from our satsang group totally loved the evening, thank you again for your music.

Regarding the set, it’s a bit short this week because we had a long reading by Adyashanti in satsang.  It’s a great set if you’re in a bad mood, as there are two Sikh chants designed to bring you from pain to peace.  I’ve discovered another artist I love, Gurunam Singh.  He’ll be making regular podcast appearances I think.  Have a great week and enjoy the set.  Namaste.

THIS WEEK’S SET

SONG

ARTIST

CD

SONGBOOK

Mercury Max

The Eternal Om

-

Krishna Das

Pilgrim Heart

-

Gurunam Singh

The Journey Home

-

Satkirin Kaur Khalsa

Lightness Of Being

P. 11

David Newman

Into The Bliss: A Kirtan Experience

P. 15