Kirtan at the Wanderlust Festival in Mont-Tremblant

Mont-Tremblant is a beautiful ski resort in the Laurentians, about 90 minutes north-west of Montreal. When I think of Tremblant, I think of outdoor sports, like skiing, showshoeing, hiking, mountain biking, and so on. But yoga? Not really. But somehow, it happened. This past weekend, the Wanderlust Festival was in full swing. The village itself was the same, but rather than seeing the usual mountain bikers and hikers, the pedestrian streets were full of people with yoga mats strapped to their backs. There were vendors with coconut water, kombucha, fresh juices, yoga clothes, etc. The whole vibe of the village was quite different from the usual. Tremblant was most definitely transformed.

Big yoga class outside!

I was there to accompany Lea Longo for a kirtan, along with Rad Crasto on guitar, Marcelo on bass, and Genevieve on backing vocals. Though there were numerous yoga classes and activities going on all around, when I walked out in my white kurta-pyjama (traditional Indian clothing) for the kirtan, I could feel that many curious eyes were upon me. I was definitely feeling somewhat out of place, as no one else was wearing Indian-style clothing (aside from a couple of Indian families that joined in the kirtan), but rather, athletic-style yoga clothing was the primary outfit of choice. Aside from the few odd looks I received, people were very open-minded, and there was a very strong sense of community at the festival. During the soundcheck, people started to gather around, and once we started, more and more people came and joined in. After about 30 minutes, I'm sure that there were at least 150 people around the stage, with most of them singing along. Not bad!

Taking advantage of the silence to set up and tune! :)

We had fun, and people enjoyed! Until the next time!

Thanks to Caroline for the photos!

The First Annual Montreal Yoga Music Festival

This past July 14, I had the pleasure of accompanying kirtan artist Lea Longo for the First Annual Montreal Yoga Music Festival, held at the Concordia Loyola campus. This festival was the first of its kind for Montreal, focused entirely on kirtan. The weekend was filled with nonstop kirtan from morning to evening, in addition to various workshops.

I have accompanied Lea a few times over the past couple of years, however for this special occasion, Lea expanded the group with a number of guest artists. In addition to guitarist Rad Crasto and myself on tabla, we were joined by Mandala Kirtan (based in Sherbrooke, QC) musicians Geneviève Grenier on harmonium and vocals and Marie-Josée Veilleux on guitar, tanpura, and vocals. We were also joined by Elsieanne Caplette, who is a fabulous singer with a really unique voice, which you can hear on her two albums with her band Elsiane. I have been a fan of Elsiane since the band's first album, so her participation was a welcome surprise for me.

The Chapel at Concordia Loyola

Rad and Shawn

Elsieanne and Lea

Elsieanne, Lea, and Geneviève

Shawn, Elsieanne and Lea

Lea Longo

The whole gang - Rad, Shawn, Elsieanne, Lea, Geneviève, and Marie-Josée

Lea's kirtan lasted around 90 minutes, which was quite a serious workout in the overwhelming summer heat of the day. Who knew that kirtan could be hot yoga as well? :) I really enjoyed accompanying this particular incarnation of the group, and I hope that Lea will be able to coordinate some other kirtans with this ensemble.

Thanks to Caroline Tabah for the photos!

Kirtan with Hélène and Lea

In the past few months, I have had a great time accompanying kirtan sessions in the Montreal area. Last year, I played on Lea Longo's latest CD, Peace Chants, and just a few months ago, I recorded with Hélène Dalair for her CD, Mantra.

On May 13, Hélène invited me to perform for her CD launch at YogaMonde, a very well established (and beautiful) yoga studio in Sainte-Catherine, Québec. The place was jam packed, and there was a great vibe. YogaMonde seems to have a long tradition of kirtan, and so the participants were really into it. A really fun evening!

Then, on May 27, I accompanied Lea Longo for her kirtan at Vox Populi in Montreal. Again, a great turnout. It seems that Montreal has a small but very devoted kirtan scene! One thing about Lea's kirtans, is that once she starts, she connects all the matras together to form one long performance, spanning one-and-a-half to two hours. It's a great test of my endurance, and a lot of fun. :)

Thank you to Caroline Tabah for the photos!

Live at Zazen with Jonathan Voyer

This past Saturday, I performed with santoor player Jonathan Voyer, as part of the Zazen Live series. My aim with this series is to promote Indian classical music in an intimate setting. All performances are acoustic.

Jonathan Voyer is a disciple of santoor maestro, Pandit Satish Vyas. We opened with Raag Dhani - first an alap, then a gat jhaptaal (10-beat cycle), followed by a gat in drut teentaal (16-beat cycle).

After a short intermission (ie: samosa break), we continued with Raag Yaman - alap, gat in rupaktaal (7-beat cycle), and ending with a gats in madhya and drut teentaal.

I was really happy with the audience turnout for this concert - we were completely sold out. As always, the audience was really attentive. Jonathan performed many interesting (and challenging) rhythmic variations, with much depth and nuance. Looking forward to future performances together!

A big thanks to Jennifer at Zazen, for her continued support of Indian classical music and dance.