Alam Khan • Riffat Sultana & Party • Youssoupha Sidibe
Vagabond Opera • Shantala • Scott Huckabay • Kirtan Rabbi
Jaya Lakshmi • The Total Experience Gospel Choir
Vagabond Opera • Geoffrey Gordon • Sara Tone
The Khyal Ensemble • Within Sound Healing
Cheb i Sabbah • Ganga Giri • Kaya Project
Heavyweight Dub Champion • Gaudi • MC Yogi
Lulacruza • Anjali & The Incredible Kid • Outersect
Everyone Orchestra • Devon • GlobalRuckus • Sasha Rose
We are delighted to present the musical treasures offered at Beloved 2010!
Carrying the lineage of their renowned fathers into this century, Vieux Farka Toure, Alam Khan and Riffat Sultana each share a priceless heritage of musical tradition while blessed with their own powerful gifts. Guiding us into deep dance immersion, Cheb i Sabbah, Kaya Project, Gaudi and Ganga Giri, are major innovators in the emergence of global electronic fusion. The ancient devotional art of call and response chanting will be discovered anew as MC Yogi and Kirtan Rabbi each lead us in their own unique and refreshing journey with Kirtan. Meanwhile, Jaya Laksmi and Shantala revive the art with the strength of their musicianship.
This year, we aspire to open our embrace to include even more of the spectrum of sacred music. We welcome Hassan Hakmoun, Total Experience Gospel Choir, Jack Falls-Rock and Vagabond Opera who represent the cultural streams of The Gnawa, Gospel, the Dance and Song of the First Nations and European Jewish Tradition respectively.
Vieux Farka Toure Having a famous dad can be more of a curse than a blessing. For every Barry Bonds or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, both of whom overtook t
heir fathers in the family business, there are thousands of sons who follow their dads with little success. (Franz Xaver Mozart, anyone?) But Vieux Farka Touré, the son of the great Malian guitarist Ali Farka Touré, has already stepped out from his late father’s shadow. Ali Farka Touré proved – in case anyone ever doubted it – that the soul of the blues could be found in West Africa. His son Vieux is turning heads with a more radical idea: that those western Saharan roots can be heard in everything from the jam band scene to Jamaican dub.
Vieux Farka Touré’s career in music would never have happened, if his illustrious parent had his way. Ali felt that the music business was a harsh place to work. But young Vieux found a mentor in Toumani Diabate, and his own guitar skills eventually convinced the elder Farka Touré that a second generation of family musicians was inevitable. This is music from a contemporary Africa – urban, sophisticated, globally connected but deeply proud of its ancient heritage. This is the old/new Africa that Vieux represents. Fondo is the music of an Africa that rocks, and yet still hears the camel’s tread in the sand. vieuxfarkatoure.com | back to top
Hassan Hakmoun Hassan Hakmoun was born in Marrakech in 1963. At the age of seven he began performing tagnawit, the Gnawa related arts and lore, 
under local Gnawa Masters. Starting with a few dances and songs, he gradually moved on to learn drumming, sintir playing ( sintir is a three-stringed long-necked lute), litanies, chants, costume and knowledge of the spirits. Hakmoun began to play for the Derdeba (Gnawa ceremony), which can last from ten in the evening into the next day. It is believed to release spirits that have inhabited a person or place. At fourteen, Hakmoun left school to pursue a less formal education on the road. He traveled throughout Morocco, Spain and through all of Europe, learning from his experiences and from the Gnawa masters he visited on his journey. Returning to Marrakech, Hakmoun continued to work as a Gnawa, performing as an entertainer on Jamaa el-Fna, the town square and working as a m'allem (master musician) in the Derdeba.
Along with other young musicians in Marrakech, he has begun to broaden the repertory of Gnawa entertainment songs by performing Arab and Berber tunes in the Gnawa style. Whether onstage, or visiting with friends in a small apartment, as Hakmoun sings and plays himself into a trance, people around him seem not too far from a trance-like state themselves. The pentatonic scale and driving rhythm of the Sintir are instantly appealing and familiar to Western audiences; music of the Gnawa, like much American popular music, is built from elements borrowed from West Africa.
Hakmoun made his U.S. debut in 1987 at Lincoln Center and has been living in New York City ever since. In 1989, he made his television Debut on David Sanborn Show "NIGHT MUSIC", sharing the stage with Miles Davis. He performed at Woodstock '94 and on the WOMAD '94 tour. Hakmoun was also a guest on Jay Leno's "TONIGHT'S SHOW" in 1994. Besides performing traditional Gnawa music he has performed and recorded with jazz musicians such as Don Cherry and Adam Rudolph, pop stars like Peter Gabriel and Paula Cole, and world beat artists like Jamshied Sharifi and many more. In the year 1999, Hassan moved from New York to Los Angeles. He was married to pop singer Paula Cole, and had a baby girl, "Sky Hakmoun". They moved back to NYC in 2005, a year following their return to NYC, Hassan filed for divorce and after fighting 2 1/2 long, hard and devastating years, now, 2010, Hassan has begun altogether new projects. Look out world! hassanhakmoun.com | back to top
Cheb i Sabbah Musical adventurer, global spiritualist and producer extraordinaire has returned to the Indian subcontinent for Devotion, his seventh 
album on Six Degrees. Hundreds of artists...have come and gone like bottle rockets, but Cheb i Sabbah's light keeps burning and it is his bhakti (devotion) to the spiritual essence of music, and to truth and humanity, that is responsible for his longevity.
Devotion (his most recent album) was produced in the past year or so but has been in the making for at least nine years. With each journey [to India] he has excavated an aspect of its culture and spirituality, with respect and taste, to produce sublime albums...considered gold standards by classical music purists and casual listeners alike, and remixes from these projects are club staples around the world. In the past, Cheb i Sabbah produced trippy and mellifluous prayers to the Hindu goddess Durga and sung beatific stories of Lord Krishna, but with this fantastic new record he gets to the center of the universe itself and investigates the nature of devotion. chebisabbah.com | back to top
Heavyweight Dub Champion Sonic Shamanistic Alchemy - Founded in a log cabin at 9,000 feet in the mountains of Colorado, and now based in 
San Francisco, California, Heavyweight Dub Champion is a movement of interdimensional warriors representing the Army of the Last Champion. Firmly rooted in hip hop, dancehall, dub and electronic music, and performed on more than 50 channels of vintage analog and digital gear, HDC has gained much notoriety and a growing following from its high-intensity and visually captivating live performances.
Heavyweight Dub Champion creates aural mandalas with the purpose of restructuring and inspiring energetic communion in audiences to bring forth transformational awakening. HDC will be unveiling a new project featuring all shaman singers from Shipibo tribe in Peru... strictly focused on healing and light body restructuring. heavyweightdubchampion.com | back to top
Razia Said Singer and songwriter Razia Said’s nomadic life has taken her across Africa to France, Italy, Ibiza, Bali and New York City, but despite these 
wanderings, her heart and soul remains inexorably tethered to Madagascar, the land of her birth. Her musical explorations have also been wide ranging, and over the years Razia has experimented with French chanson, rock, jazz and even smooth, Sade-style R&B. But it took reaching back to her cultural roots for Razia to uncover her true artistic calling as one of African music’s most promising talents.
With the album Zebu Nation, Razia has created an inspiring collection of songs that draw deeply on the music she heard growing up in the town of Antalaha in northeastern Madagascar. The source for the world’s most prized Bourbon vanilla, Antalaha is one of Madagascar’s wealthiest communities, although there remains a great gap between rich and poor.
At age eleven, Razia was uprooted from the world she knew and traveled on an epic journey through Dar Es Salaam, across the Congo River to a new life and family. In Gabon, Razia discovered that the local church had a choir, but one had to be Catholic to join, and Razia was raised a Muslim. Music was far more important to her then the details of which God she prayed to, so she begged her mother to allow her to convert…which she did.
Eventually, Razia met and married Jamie Ambler, a musician, filmmaker and advertising creative director, and he worked with her to record her first album. While Razia was happy to have gotten some of her songs recorded, the pop-oriented, English-language R&B and jazz direction left her unfulfilled. Razia had been traveling often to visit her family in Madagascar, and after she had a chance meeting with members of Njava, one of the country’s best bands, she decided that she needed to record songs in the Malagasy language and inspired by the rhythms, melodies and instruments she fell in love with as a young child.
Thus began the long and challenging process of recording Zebu Nation. Work began in 2006 In Belgium, where Njava was based, but Razia felt that the only way to truly capture the sound she was looking for was to bring the producers to Madagascar to record with local musicians in the right setting. For six weeks, they traveled around the island, and discovered along the way the environmental damage taking place as the result of unfettered slash and burn agriculture and climate change. Razia’s longing to protect and preserve the environmental and cultural heritage of her homeland permeates the songs on the album, and gives Zebu Nation a powerful, real-world significance. raziasaid.com | back to top
Ganga Giri (with full band) Ganga Giri's mix of red natural elements with fat tribal beats and dirty funky bass lines creates a unique tribal-technological deep earth dance experience. His 2 -4 piece 'club' lineup has wowed audiences throughout the US for several years. This 
August will be the first ever stateside 'full show' appearance. This will be an awe-inspiring 5-piece ensemble blending an array of tribal percussion, including Ganga's percussive style didj playing, congas, djembe, bougarabou, Nigerian talking drum, mbira and authentic indigenous moves and chants with aboriginal dancers and songmen.
Explosive and pulsating, at times ambient and flowing, the music is a pumping percussive multi-layered experience of complex grooves and raw, deep natural sound. Ganga himself is a rhythmic didjeridu virtuoso and percussionist-- an inspired music creator who's passion brings people together in celebration of nowness in newness, a modern day corroboree for all!
Ganga Giri's music has been widely & wildly appreciated by music lovers in many countries across the globe including Australia, Japan, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands, New Zealand and the United States, igniting audiences in clubs, world music festivals and outdoor dance events. watch video | link to gangagiri.com
Kaya Project (w/ Irina Mikhailova) KAYA PROJECT is the latest musical incarnation from Seb Taylor, who has released as SHAKTA, DIGITALIS and is also a co-founder of ANGEL TEARS. Based in the UK, the duo has achieved worldwide renown name via their 4 albums 'Walking Through' , 'Elixir', ‘…& So It Goes’ and 'Desert Phase'.Self-taught on the guitar, flute and cello, at age 16 Seb heard the album Songs From the Victorious City, a collaboration between ANNE DUDLEY and JAZ COLEMAN (KILLING JOKE), and became fascinated with the fusion of Middle Eastern music and Western production. Since his first electronic music release in 1995, Seb has recorded under many different names in many different styles. In 1997 he 
signed his first record deal with Big Life/Dragonfly Records and the success of his recordings with the groups SHAKTA and DIGITALIS led to Seb performing around the world on a regular basis, which gave him the opportunity to absorb different musical cultures.
In Israel he met Momi Ochion, and together they formed ANGEL TEARS, recording a variety of musicians from the Middle East and melding these sounds into their own unique electronica. These tracks subsequently ended up on many well-regarded compilation CDs- including CLAUDE CHALLE's Buddha Bar series-and were heard in a number of hit TV shows, such as HBO's Sex and the City. While on tour in Mexico, Seb met Irina Mikhailova singing with MEDICINE DRUM, and on a subsequent trip to London Irina recorded vocals at Seb's studio. The resulting track, "Labess," sung in Moroccan Arabic, became the first KAYA PROJECT song. Seb later returned the favour by remixing one of Irina's tracks Nightflower which we are grateful to include on Walking Through.
Seb has collaborated on new Kaya Project material with Johnny Kalsi (AFRO-CELTS/DHOL FOUNDATION) and has also recently finished remixing eight tracks for the BLACK ONYX, with orchestral pieces written by JAZ COLEMAN and played by the London Symphony Orchestra, a dream come true. Seb and his twin soul Natasha who is an accomplished DJ, are constantly travelling around the world recording musicians for new Kaya Project material. kayaproject.com | back to top
Alam Khan is the son of the late and great Swara Samrat Ali Akbar Khan and grandson of Acharya Baba Allauddin Khan. With such an impressive pedigree it was important for Alam to take the family business seriously. In a world of quick a
ccess and speed, learning a craft that takes at least 12 years to understand, and considerably more years to master, was not an enviable task. As a young boy growing up in America with a famous, world-class musician for a father, Alam had to make some big decisions at a young age. For his father to be Ali Akbar Khan, one of India’s legendary icons and master of the 25 stringed sarode, the decisions were all the more difficult. Here was a young boy in America being immersed in a tradition, dating back to the 16th century musician Mian Tansen, court musician of Emperor Akbar, handed down through an unbroken chain of musicans, most of which were family, as was common in those days.
Alam began studying sarode at the age of seven, but the lure of friends, western music, video games, and the typical American life made it difficult for him to devote himself fully to studying. When he was ten, he was given his first electric guitar for Christmas by his mother. His parents decided to keep his fingers moving on strings until he was a bit older. He had a rock band by the time he turned eleven. He still studied with his father and at his father’s music college, the Ali Akbar College of Music, but western music had taken hold of him. For the next few years Alam toured with his father playing the tanpura or drone instrument used by all Indian musicians. By the time he turned thirteen something had changed and his work on the guitar had opened up a new level of interest in sarode. His parents encouraged him to enroll in an independent high school so he could have the time to direct his energy into his classical music training.
He continued studying and practicing many hours daily for the next few years and finally made the leap to accompanying his father on sarode. At his first sarode performance he accompanied his father at a private recital in Portland, Oregon and received blessings from Swami Chetanananda at the Nityananda Institute. Alam’s first public performance was in 1998 at the Spirit of India Festival that celebrated the Ali Akbar College of Music’s 30th Anniversary in America. He was sixteen years old. In 1999, Alam accompanied his father in India at the Jodhpur Palace for the King and Royal Family, the prestigious Dover Lane Music Conference in Kolkata, as well as several full-length performances in the United States. In 2001, Alam and his father completed a rigorous tour where they performed in Europe and India followed by a 3 month tour of Europe and India, in 2002-2003, where they performed to sold-out audiences. He also received a prestigious Individual Artists Grant from the Marin Arts Council in June, 2003.
Since 2004, Alam has played numerous solo concerts throughout the United States and has established himself as a solo artist in India. 2006 began a new stage for Alam as he travelled to India for the first time without his father for solo performances in Kolkata and Bombay. In 2009, Alam followed in his esteemed grandfather’s footsteps, as well as his father, by playing at the All Bengal Music Conference and performing at the prestigious Dover Lane Music Conference as a soloist. Alam continues to perform in the U.S., India and abroad and teaches at the Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, CA. alamkhan.com | back to top
Gaudi London based producer and solo artist Gaudi's latest project, 'No Prisoners' comes to us after a very fertile year in which the renowned artist toured the world, rocking dance floors and gathering fans with his unconventional innovative performance style and irresistibly floor friendly tunes. It was also a year where Gaudi was nominated for a BBC World Music Award for his Six Degrees release, Dub Qawwali (in which he added all new reggae & dub 
production to rare and previously unreleased tracks by the revered Pakistani vocalist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan). That album’s success extended Gaudi’s fan base substantially, particularly in America and Canada, reaching #2 on the iTunes World Chart in the US and #1 on Amazon.com's Electronica charts.
On his previous releases, Gaudi has worked to create his own unique synthesis, using elements of dub, electronica and world music producing tracks that have been mostly down-tempo in nature. No Prisoners is a very different and definitely up-tempo creation. Stylistically its primary energy comes from breakbeat influences underpinned with fat basslines and subtle live world instrumentation such as Oud and tribal percussion. The performances of many fine musicians on the album bring a human touch; with live bass and guitars, percussion, melodica, highland bagpipes and piano amongst others. The electronic elements, as per all of Gaudi’s albums, come from his beloved analogue equipment - vintage synthesizers, tape echoes and moog. The result gives No Prisoners the warmth and authenticity of sound which has become synonymous with Gaudi’s music.
A highly respected line-up of featured guests add their international appeal and individual flavors to the album, amongst them; California’s conscious political lyricist and founder of Spearhead Michael Franti, who lends his emotive voice to “There’s Enough” and long established Brooklyn based reggae artist Dr Israel (of Easy Star All Stars’ “Dub Side of the Moon” fame) who features on “No Time”. Multi-million selling Italian singer-songwriter Elisa brings a feminine edge to “Brainwashed Again” and Jamaican Reggae vocalist Kenny Knots goes deep with the ecclesiastical “Strictly Goodness”. Other notable guests include pioneering down-tempo dub producer Dub Gabriel on “Barracudub”; UK Breakbeat duo Far Too Loud and emerging electro-breaks producer Tom Real; who contribute to “No More Blood” and “Bad Boy Bass” respectively. gaudimusic.com | back to top
MC Yogi MC Yogi grew up painting graffiti & listening to hip hop. Inspired by artists like The Beastie Boys & Run DMC, he began writing raps and freestyling for friends at house parties. spending most of high school in a group home for at-risk 
youth hip hop culture provided both a soundtrack and a creative outlet. Then at age eighteen, he discovered yoga.
When he was 18 he joined his father for a meditation intensive with a spiritual teacher from India. Deeply moved by this powerful experience, MC YOGI devoted himself to learning everything he could about the ancient discipline. He began studying the physical forms of yoga, as well as meditation, philosophy, and devotional chanting. It was at a yoga teacher training at It’s Yoga in San Francisco that he met and fell in love with his wife, Amanda. After there first trip to India, they opened Yoga Toes Studio in Point Reyes, California.
By combining his knowledge of yoga with his love for hip hop music, MC YOGI creates an exciting new sound that brings the wisdom of yoga to a whole new generation of modern mystics and urban yogis. mcyogi.com | back to top
Riffat Sultana & Party Riffat Sultana channels the musical wisdom of 500 years and eleven generations of master musicians in her family in India and Pakistan. 
But in all those years, she is the first woman in her family to sing in public. Perhaps one reason her performances today have such overwhelming emotional power is that she sings for all the woman in her distinguished family who never had that chance before. For Riffat, it took coming to America to free her musical soul, but now that she has, her amazing voice is being heard around the world.
Where doors were always closed to her, now they are opening everywhere, and Riffat has collaborated with singers and songwriters from all over the world. At last free to create and perform as she pleases, Riffat now leads a unique, intimate acoustic ensemble featuring tabla, world percussion, and Richard Michos on guitar. This Party is the perfect vehicle to showcase one of the most passionate and exciting new voices in world music. watch video | riffatsultana.com
Outersect is Rob Rayle, a San Francisco Bay Area based composer and producer of genre-bending psychedelic electronic music that synergizes psychill, techno-bluegrass, and 70s progressive rock styles. Inspired by sights and sounds from around the world, Outersect fuses acoustic instruments with digital production to 
emerge with his own unique sonic experience. His music inspires ecstasy on the dance floor and auditory bliss.
Outersect began training as a classical pianist at age 10 before graduating to synthesizers at age 16. He spent years composing and performing in rock bands before the Burning Man festival altered his musical direction to electronic music. Outersect’s live productions, performances, DJ sets, and his collaborations with other local artists and collectives have created memorable musical events across the West Coast, USA. Outersect spends many happy hours playing with his wide collection of sound equipment in his converted garage studio where artists including Perry Farrell, Bassnectar, An-ten-nae, and Goa Gil have mastered tracks and CDs.
In addition to synthesizers and keyboards, Outersect also plays the guitar, drums, shakuhachi, and many other instruments.. When he’s not making music, performing or producing events, Outersect can be found walking his dog at the local off-leash dog park, practicing soto-zen meditation, pumping iron, or making a yummy latte (extra hot!) at home. Outersect is an animal lover who once had 20 pets under one roof including a rescued lemur. He still proudly rocks tie-dye like it’s 1969. outersect.com | back to top
Youssoupha Sidibe The music of Youssoupha Sidibe is deeply infused with a longing for the full realization of divine love in this world. Youssoupha’s musical career began over twenty years ago in his home of Senegal, West Africa, where he was trained as a Kora player at the National Music Conservatory of Senegal. 
His music fuses traditional West African sounds on the Kora, with the Sufi devotional chanting of the Senegalese Baay Faal community. The angelic sounds of the Kora, an indigenous harp, soulfully carry Youssoupha’s devotional lyrics sung in Wolof, Arabic, French and English.
Since his arrival on the international music circuit, Youssoupha has recorded, performed, and/or collaborated with artists such as India Arie, Bela Fleck, Charles Neville, Future Man, Michael Franti, and Matisyahu. Youssoupha’s music has served to invoke the divine through Sufi sound in the presence of many large and diverse groups of people. Youssoupha has performed, recorded, and led healing music workshops throughout the United States, Europe, and Africa. youssoupha on myspace | back to top
Kirtan Rabbi Rabbi Andrew Hahn (Reb Drew) combines a variety of tools to introduce Jewish Wisdom to an increasingly global, religious village.
He holds a Ph.D. in Jewish Thought from the Jewish Theological Seminary (Conservative) and received rabbinic ordination from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (Reform). He has also studied at the feet of Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, founder of the Jewish Renewal Movement. Dubbed “a Shlomo Carlebach for the twenty-first century,” he weaves traditional Jewish liturgy and 
musical modes into the increasingly popular call-and-response chant technology from India, known as Kirtan.
A more quiet side of his personality, Rabbi Hahn has also been teaching martial arts for more than thirty years. Packaging these skills together, Rabbi Hahn travels extensively bringing Hebrew Kirtan, Jewish meditation and Torah learning to Jewish institutions and yoga studios around the world.
His main vocation is to make Torah accessible, deep and fun, — to Jew and non-Jew alike — in a way that is participatory and memorable. David Leipziger Teva, Rabbi and Director of Religious and Spiritual Life at Wesleyan University, recently wrote to Rabbi Hahn, saying, “You have enlightened our community in countless ways. I am envisioning your coming back every eighteen months or so. We should not let students graduate without being exposed to your Torah.”
Kirtan Rabbi’s music is characterized by great energy, passion and melodic flow. His recent CD, Kirtan Rabbi: Live!, already has a growing, devoted following. Two forthcoming recordings, Amidah and Yamim Noraim, will offer new avenues for religious seekers to participate in the traditional Jewish liturgical practices. kirtanrabbi.com | back to top
Shantala Benjy and Heather Wertheimer lead kirtan (sacred chanting) worldwide as the duo Shantala, with soul-stirring vocals, sacred lyrics and exotic instrumentation. The weaving of Benjy’s Indian classical singing and instrumentation 
with Heather’s soaring vocals is freshly original and profoundly moving. Together they create music with beauty, passion, and reverence.
Shantala has performed and recorded internationally with such sacred music luminaries as Krishna Das, Deva Premal & Miten, and Jai Uttal. In summer 2008, they were named as one of the top “Wallahs to Watch” by Yoga + Joyful Living. Kirtan is a celebration of spirit through the chanting of sacred names, carrying the audience into a state of heightened awareness, bliss, and devotion. The audience is invited to participate fully through call-and-response chanting, dance, and meditation.
shantalamusic.com | back to top
Jaya Lakshmi Inspired by the deep devotional mood of Indian singing and music, Jaya Lakshmi began leading kirtan with harmonium and 12 string guitar and writing her own devotional songs in the early 1990's on the island of Hawaii, shortly after receiving harinam initiation from Srila Govinda Maharaj, a great Vaisnava saint from West Bengal, India, who graciously bestowed on her the name "Jaya Lakshmi", 
which means "victory to the goddess Lakshmi", the Hindu goddess of fortune and spiritual wealth.
Her ecstatic singing and kirtan leading, often accompanied by other talented artists, has had a powerful effect amongst various communities in the islands of Hawaii, the West Coast, and Europe, always creating a deep sense of intimacy with the divine. She has a unique style that blends beauty, power and purity to create a truly transcendental sound driven by her deep connection with spirit. Singing mostly original and some traditional chants and songs in Sanskrit in the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition of ‘harinam sankirtan’ (call and response chanting of the Holy Names), she includes chants from other Vedic traditions in her kirtans as well. She also performs her original songs in which Sanskrit is woven in with English lyrics. Because of her pure mood, deep sincerity, passion for God and remarkable musical talent, Jaya Lakshmi is rapidly becoming well known and loved as one of the few touring female kirtan leaders in the West.
Jaya Lakshmi is also well known as the lead singer and songwriter for the band 'Lost at Last' (renamed 'One at Last' in 2004) a popular high energy tribal trance experience that toured extensively in the western US from 1997- 2005. In One at Last, Jaya Lakshmi expresses many singing styles and honors diverse spiritual traditions, singing prayers in several languages, including Native American, Arabic, and Sanskrit. jayalakshmi.net | back to top
Vagabond Opera Vagabond Opera was created in 2002 by European-trained opera singer and composer Eric Stern. Then disillusioned with the classical opera world, Stern created a new context for opera: Performance on a more intimate 
scale incorporating not only opera but elements of Weimar Cabaret, Arabic and Balkan forms, and the original music that springs from the ensemble’s fertile creative work. This is not your granny’s opera, but a visceral artistic ensemble that features powerful instrumental and vocal performances coupled with a highly eclectic and theatrical experience.
Bohemian Cabaret ensemble Vagabond Opera is described by the Washington Post as “A band of ceaseless charisma, boundless energy, impeccable musicianship and more than a little touch of both the naughty and exotic.” The group delivers passionate offerings of Bohemian cabaret for young and old. Paris hot jazz, gut bucket swing, tangos, Ukrainian folk-punk ballads, klezmer and vigorous originals meet a world of riverboat gambling queens, Turkish belly dancers, and the enigmatic Marlene Dietrich. Weaving elements of Kurt Weil, Duke Ellington and Edith Piaf with absurdist flair, theatrics and an old world mood, Vagabond Opera presents the new wave of opera–lusty voices singing in 13 languages and presenting a cabaret of rich musical phrasing, sparkling lyrics and indomitable stage presence, all played with exuberance, skill and a gritty Vagabond edge. This is Opera liberated and reinvented for everyone!
Vagabond Opera is at the vanguard of a growing popularity in the Neo-cabaret phenomenon, and through their theatrical performances, lyrics in 13 languages, and an eclectic repertoire, they liberate opera from its usual construct, expanding musical and theatrical biodiversity. Vagabond Opera has performed all over the USA and in Europe. They have been featured on NPR, in the Washington Post and Jazziz Magazine, and have shared stages and players with such acclaimed acts as Pink Martini, Devotchka, The Decembrists, Balkan Beat Box, Al Franken, and the Oregon Symphony. vagabondopera.com | back to top
DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid have played a transformative role in the Portland, Oregon club scene for nearly a decade, presiding over two of Portland’s longest-running and most successful dance parties, as well as hosting a popular radio show on KBOO community radio. They are 
most known for igniting dance floors with the South Asian sounds of Bhangra and Bollywood, but the duo scours the globe for any hard-hitting music that combines local musical traditions with window-rattling production. After making a name for themselves in their hometown’s raucous house party circuit, DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid introduced the Portland, Oregon nightclub scene to the sounds of Bhangra and Bollywood on New Year’s Eve 2000. After a series of residencies, beginning with a six-month residency at the legendary Blackbird, the duo began hosting sold-out ANDAZ dance parties in July of 2002. The party’s focus on hardcore Panjabi Bhangra and the latest electronic confections from the Bollywood film industry continue to pack the dance floor after nearly eight years.
While ANDAZ was still in the bloom of youth, Anjali and The Kid founded the popular monthly ATLAS (with co-host/DJ E3) at Holocene in November of 2003, in order to share more of their musical passions. The ATLAS parties provide a forum for the duo to feature other sounds in their repertoire including: UK Asian Garage and Drum’n’Bass, Middle-Eastern electronica, Balkan Beats, Kuduro, Reggaeton and international Hip-hop. Since introducing Portland club audiences to the amazing sounds of the South Asian diaspora and more the duo have remained in constant demand playing any number of one-off events nearly every weekend of the year in addition to their regular parties. The duo barnstormed New York in December of 2004 when they were flown out to headline a sold-out party at NYC’s oldest and best Bhangra party: Basement Bhangra, where Anjali has returned to play several times. In the Fall of 2005 Anjali and The Kid began their long association with KBOO community radio, where they currently host a weekly radio show every Tuesday evening. In January of 2007 Anjali and the Kid headlined the opening night party of the Vancouver International Bhangra Celebration in Vancouver, British Columbia, and in August of 2009 they headlined the opening night party of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. Together and separately they have supported artists as diverse as Digable Planets, Balkan Beat Box, Pink Martini, The Decemberists, DJ Spooky, Tigerstyle, Boban i Marco Markovic Orkestar, Delhi 2 Dublin, State of Bengal, Karsh Kale, DJ Rekha, CeU, Antibalas, Dengue Fever, Rupa & the April Fishes, DJ Marcelinho Da Lua, Toy Selectah, Extra Golden, Maga Bo, Quasi, Ming & FS, Joro-Boro, Kultur Shock, Ghostland Observatory, J-Boogie, and Nickodemus from Turntables on the Hudson. anjaliandthekid.com | back to top
The Total Experience Gospel Choir was organized in September 1973 at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Seattle. The core group represented members of the “Black Experience Gospel Choir” of Roosevelt High School and the Franklin High School Gospel Choir of Seattle. United, the choir 
became known as “Total Experience Gospel Choir”. When the choirs merged, the community’s children were also invited to participate. And, participate – they did! The choir’s numbers grew to 108 within the first two months, with the youngest person being 8 years old. Today the choir’s ages range from 10 to 65. Since their inception, MUCH history has taken place. The choir has become known nationally and internationally. Their travels have taken them to 36 contiguous states as well as Hawaii and Alaska – for a total of 38 states. They have performed on 5 continents and in 28 countries.
Choir Leader Pastor Patrinell “Pat” Wright was born in Carthage, Texas to a Baptist preacher dad and a school teacher mom. She is one of seven siblings. Being introduced to music early, she sang her first solo at the age of 3. By the time of her 14th birthday, she had taught herself to play the piano and was directing two choirs in her father’s church. totalexperiencegospelchoir.org | back to top
Sasha 'Butterfly' Rose Immersed in music since childhood, Sasha Butterfly Rose has been recording and touring extensively throughout the United States, Canada, 
Mexico, Australia, and Europe.Graced with a voice of an angel and a soulful grit, Sasha performs on a wide variety of instruments including guitar, flute, piano, djembe and more. Her timeless original lyrics and melodic creations leave listeners visibly moved. She brings the feel of a gospel singer into her heartfelt music about love, creation, and the beauty of the earth.
Sasha has a diverse range of musical styles moving from her solo, acoustic performances, to a high energy funk groove with her full band. She has shared stages with Jefferson Starship, Spearhead, Lost at Last, David Grisman, Jai Uttal, Burning Spear, Hamsa Lila, Prezident Brown, and many others. Some of the events she has played include Earth Dance, Trinity Tribal Stomp, Oregon Country Fair, High Times Hemp Festival, Health and Harmony Festival, Tamarack Mt. Music Festival, and more. Sasha Butterfly and her richly talented ensemble create an unforgettable musical experience that always leaves audiences spellbound. sasha on myspace.com | back to top
Lulacruza is an electronic folk duo at the junction of the hypermodern and 
the ancient. Their music weaves together hypnotic female singing, South American instruments, found sound objects, field recordings, and electronic manipulation. The result is a cross-genre, world-esque music unfolding with mesmerizing vocals, aquatic textures and up-tempo, handcrafted South American rhythms.
Lulacruza is made up of Alejandra Ortiz (Colombia) and Luis Maurette (Argentina). Alejandra is an extraordinary songbird and plays the Colombian cuatro, shruti box, tar and kalimba. Luis Maurette complements with electronic processing and sequencing, as well as percussion, charango, and amazonian flutes. Together they create catchy, powerful and intimate music that is hard to classify, but has been called pop, folk, electronic, latin, ambient, world, new age, ethnic, experimental, and even jazz.
Since meeting at Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA, Lulacruza has independently released 3 albums: Do Pretty! (2006), Soloina (2008) and an EP of remixes called Canta (2009). They have played in over 25 cities in 5 countries, growing steadily since their debut in 2006. Their music has been included in documentaries in Colombia, Argentina and Mexico, as well as compilations in Argentina, Italy, the USA and Venezuela. In 2007, they were chosen as Today’s Top Tune in Morning Becomes Eclectic KCRW 89.9. In 2008 they were Artists in Residency at the Red Poppy Art House in San Francisco, CA; and were recipients of the Zellerbach Family Foundation Grant & the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation Grant for their multidisciplinary performances. In 2009, their second album was included in the prestigious “Club del Disco” catalogue in Argentina. lulacruza.com | back to top
Scott Huckabay With incense burning between strings, wearing bells on his right ankle, the passionate ritual begins. The stage echoes, rolling like thunder 
under his bare feet, pounding a mesmerizing heartbeat. Dancing in a circle, shaking his dolphin guitar like a shaman shaking his magic medicine rattle, he lifts the guitar to his lips and howls the ancient cries from the deepest seas, leading us on a mesmerizing journey.
While Scott plays he appears to have an endless supply of spiritual energy, and he gives of this energy and of himself, freely and unselfishly, to his audience. At the end of his performance, his audience is physically, emotionally and spiritually renewed. Scott's music encompasses a joy of being, a passion for life, and a love for all of the creatures of this Earth. It is with this music that Scott hopes to help heal the wounds of the Earth and all of its creatures, and to transform that pain and sorrow into peace, beauty, joy and love. Out of an acoustic guitar, he coaxes, drums, strums, slaps, rattles, improvises, dances, bends and infuses fractals, harmonics and sounds not of this dimension. Scott has developed over 200 open guitar tunings and his intricate licks incorporate elements of rock, folk, blues and fusion. He peppers a rhythmic groove with the warping and bending of notes, complete with an array of harmonic surprises. A rich and multitextured sound, including Scott's percussive interludes creates the illusion of three or four musicians performing. scotthuckabay.com | back to top
Geoffrey Gordon worked on and off Broadway and internationally with director Julie Taymor ('Across the Universe', 'Frida') and composer Elliot Goldenthal (Academy 
Award for Best Soundtrack). Geoffrey has worked on several Cohen Brothers movie soundtracks with composer Carter Burwell as well as on films with Elliot Goldenthal. Geoffrey's composition 'Inanna' with Diane Wolkstein was performed at Lincoln Center, The United Nations, and The British Museum.
In 1992 he became the full time percussionist for Jai Uttal. He recorded and toured for more than a dozen years with Jai Uttal in The Pagan Love Orchestra, and for all kirtans and workshops. He's also toured and worked internationally with Ram Dass at public talks and retreats as well as on recordings and the film "Fierce Grace". Geoffrey produced CDs for Rita Coolidge & Walela, Shiva Rea, Diana Rogers, Yuan Miao & Lama Norbu, and Swami Vishwananda. He's performed and recorded with Robbie Robertson, Coleman Barks, Krishna Das, Gabrielle Roth, Peter Kater, David Torn, Tulku and many others.
Geoffrey was initiated into yogic practices in 1971 and studied Ashtanga Yoga and Tantric meditation. He completed full time training and became a Hatha yoga teacher and meditation instructor in 1972. He has been practicing Buddhist meditation for 35. In 1976 he moved to New York City to perform world music, work in dance and theater and to study tabla with Ustad Allarakha (Ravi Shankar's accompanist for over 30 years). Geoffrey has played tabla for public kirtans with Bhagavan Das, Krishna Das and Jai Uttal beginning in 1975. geoffreygordon.com | back to top
Everyone Orchestra (Conducted by Matt Butler) Everyone Orchestra performances are designed to create space for each performer’s musical personality to shine, engage the audience as participants in the jam and to 
facilitate a massive celebratory coming together featuring a conductor directing both musicians and audience alike in interactive, lively, and highly danceable movements.
The EO has performed its shows nationally featuring members of The Grateful Dead, Phish, ALO, Disco Biscuits, The Derek Trucks Band, Fishbone, Poi Dog Pondering, String Cheese Incident, and Steve Kimock, G. Love, painters, dancers, hula hoopers, firespinners, stiltwalkers, activists, presidential candidates, storytellers and hundreds of others. everyoneorchestra.com | back to top
Sara Tone & The Earthtribe Gospel picutures, bio, and links coming soon. earthtribegospel.ning.com | back to top
GlobalRuckus picutures, bio, and links coming soon. myspace.com/globalruckus | back to top
