WHAT IS IT?
This will be an outdoor kirtan event with a 5-piece band. The band will feature Douglas Johnson on lead vocals and guitar, Gershone Hendelberg on the keyboard, Rachel Isley on vocals and hand percussion, Michael Wilhelm on bass guitar, and Bob Newton on percussion.
This event will be weather-dependent, so please be sure to give your proper contact information when registering in case of a cancelation.
WHEN IS IT?
Friday, October 1st. Doors will open at 7:30p, and the chanting will start at 8p.
WHERE IS IT?
This event will be held at Bhakti Refuge in Decatur. Please check the Bhakti Refuge Facebook Page for details about the venue and parking.
HOW MUCH IS IT?
This will be a donation-based event with a suggested donation of $25 ($5 per musician). However, the greatest contribution you can make is showing up and sharing your voice and energy. Don’t let finances prevent you from attending!
HOW DO I REGISTER?
Seating will be limited to 40 people with social distancing, so be sure to RSVP here. Please note, if this event sells out and you do not register, you will not be able to attend this event. When registering, please be sure to provide a working email and phone number to be notified of a cancelation due to weather.
WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING?
We suggest you bring the following:
- A non-alcoholic beverage and maybe a snack as there will not be any food vending.
- A folding chair or blanket if you plan to sit on the ground instead of stand.
- The phone with the number you used to register for the event.
- A cash donation if you plan to make one.
- Bug spray to keep the mosquitos away.
- Layers in case the temperature drops.
HOW DO I GET THERE?
The address is 1027 McConnell Dr. Decatur, GA, 30033. Again please check the Bhakti Refuge Facebook page for details about the venue and parking. Please plan to arrive 30 minutes early (7:30p). Chanting starts promptly at 8p.
WHAT IS KIRTAN?
The focus of this event will be Sankirtan or Kirtan for short. Kirtan is the Bhakti Yoga practice of call-and-response chanting using a mantra.
Developed in India by Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in the early 16th century, it reached the West first through the ISKON movement in the ’60s. It then was popularized in the ’90s by artists like Jai Uttal, Krishna Das, and others.
Kirtan started as a counter-cultural spiritual movement against the formality and rigidity that surrounded chanting or mantra practice in India up to that point. Kirtan brought the power of mantra practice to the masses when many traditional spiritual methods were being suppressed by occupying forces in India.
Chanted in Sanskrit – an ancient and sacred Proto-Indo-European language – the practice involves singing the names of the Devas, which represent different aspects of the divine power within and around us. However, the beauty and power of Bhakti Yoga practices are that you can’t do it wrong. It is for everyone. As millions of people worldwide can attest, and preliminary studies find, all you have to do is open your mouth and sing with the group, and you will benefit.
However, we will not be doing just any Kirtan on this event, as this will be East meets West at its best. The musicians will collaborate to mix their shared western musical influences, namely the ’60s and ’70s psychedelic space-rock and jam-band music they grew up with and the ancient practice of Kirtan in several hours of music. Think of the Allman Brothers, Phish, or Grateful Dead playing kirtan, and you begin to get the idea. 😉
I look forward to singing with you! 🙏🏼
