Bhava-Bhakti at Liberate

The 4th annual Liberate Music & Yoga Festival features three kirtans full of powerful positive energy and devotion.  Use your voice as a vehicle to move outward and inward simultaneously and merge with the voices around you- this is a form of union in honor of the divine nature of the Universe.  Dancing, chanting, singing music!

Being in the Bhava, Vrindavan Kirtan and teachings with Shyamdas Devotional practitioner, author, and musician Shyamdas specializes in Indian classical Haveli Sangeet music and the mystic poets of North India. His programs combine ecstatic kirtan singing with stories and teachings from the path of devotion. He speaks from his background as a Vedic scholar and Sanskrit translator to share the philosophy of non-dual reality. Shyamdas gives performances and workshops internationally and at venues such as Omega Institute’s Ecstatic Chant, Ananda Ashram, Yogaville, Bhakti Fest, Jivamukti Yoga, etc. and collaborates and performs with Krishna Das, Deva Premal and Miten, Durga Das and Mira, and many others.  Shyamdas travelled to India in 1972 to meet Neem Karoli Baba, and then continued to explore the devotional Bhakti lineages of India under the tutelage of His Holiness Goswami Shri Prathameshji, his guru in the Pushti Marg: the Path of Grace. Shyamdas has lived in Vraj, the sacred lands of Shri Radha Krishna, for most of his life and has written and translated many books on devotional subjects.

Tribal Yoga & Kirtan with John de Kadt
John de Kadt is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist as well as an Ayurvedic Consultant and Living food Nutritionist. He has been in the holistic medicine field for over 20 years and specializes in fatigue, stress, anxiety, menopause, digestive issues, PMS, inflammation, cancer, asthma, allergies, and muscular skeletal issues. He has been a senior practitioner at Canyon Ranch in the Berkshires for 11 years. John is also a professional percussionist and spoken word artist who has played ethnic hand-percussion instruments from around the globe for almost 30 years. John has performed on NBC and PBS, and has played with Steve Gorn, Glen Velez, Subash Chandran, Jai Utal, Robert Bly, Krishna Das, Baba Olatunde, and many others others. He tours nationally and his CDs This Rhythm Is Not Mine, released in 2005, and Rhythms of the Infinite, released internationally by Sounds True in 2010, have received great reviews. www.johndekadt.com

Kirtan with Dave Russell
Dave Russell leads ecstatic chanting throughout the Northeast and nationally. He is a regular performer at Kripalu and also teaches kirtan workshops there. He first led kirtans for Swami Satchidananda’s Integral Yoga Institute in 1972 before taking a hiatus filled with explorations of many spiritual methods. Dave’s group bundles devotion, humor, Eastern-Western rhythms ( from gentle to rocking out ), and superb musicality to create an energy for all to connect to divine bliss. His first CD ‘Dancing in the Heart’ was released in 2009 and a second CD will be released later this year. Dave sings and plays harmonium and is joined by Holly Hartmann ( vocals ), Charlie Braun ( guitar and vocals), and Deorsha McQuade ( percussion ). Please visit www.daverussellkirtan.com for CD & video clips, and much more.