Here in Corvallis we just had a Solstice weekend jam-packed full of great kirtan. Atlanta-based Blue Spirit Wheel played a Yoga class & a kirtan concert as part of their six-week tour, which includes a set Saturday noon at Midwest Bhakti Fest. The band st

The delightful Ms. Ragani & I have some history. When I first started singing kirtan, the Yoga teacher used CDs. We chanted to a lot of different artists, Indian & American. One evening the teacher played a new artist, and my eyes kept being drawn to the

I've heard Dave Stringer perform live numerous times, and several things continue to impress me --  his energy (off the charts), his sharp wit, the  power of his vocals and his musicality. Each set is different --  this time he did a version of Sar

After a festival like Shakti Fest, returning to the world takes a while. Always I feel as though the cells in my body have been shaken up & put back together in a different way, and it takes time to integrate this new way of being into the flow of daily

Donna De Lory loves to dance -- on stage she is a whirling dervish, literally dancing through her entire set. Her harmonium is on a stand, so she never has to sit down. It's also a kinesthetic activity for the listener, because it's impossible to watch he

At long last, it's here. The time when those of us who hear Joshua Tree calling throughout the winter can pack our bags and go to the desert to reconnect with the Bhav we find there. Shakti Fest is happening next week, May 17-19, and it's a celebration of

The first time I saw Larisa Stow & Shakti Tribe perform at Bhakti Fest my eyebrows were about singed off with the energy. Larisa's unique blend of mantra-infused rock is designed to "wake, shift, shake and lift humanity" , and it certainly had that effect

Years ago I was doing Yoga to a CD by Shiva Rea, and the background music caught my attention. It was the the purity of the voice -- who was the artist and what was she singing? That was my first exposure to chant, and also to Deva Premal's Gayatri Mantra

Lately I've been listening to a lot of Krishna Das. As a singer I appreciate the deep resonance of his voice -- it's an amazing instrument. But it's more than that. His voice is a mighty river, and when you enter the flow Krishna Das will take you to the

This week’s set brings us back to the magic of the Denver Chant Fest. C.C. White was the picture of grace & beauty that night -- she had just lost several people close to her -- Shyamdas & her father -- but called on her enormous strength & talent to to