Rainbow Spirit Festival

hi friends

amid a european financial crisis and worldwide political unrest
we wrapped up our european tour in munich at the rainbow spirit festival

what a contrast

the welcome was hotter than ever and the vibes were oh so sweet

people strolled for three days through the huge exhibition center browsing a selection of various healing, life transformative, and revolutionary mind blowing options - and enjoyed a varying selection of live music events

wellness for all

the performance hall left a lot to be desired [to be honest!] in terms of sound and audience-friendly seating.

it was some kind of market hall, surrounded on the balcony by clothing stores and had the appearance of a giant greenhouse - all glass with a marble floor - a nightmare for sakha, our sound technician

no sitting was allowed either side of that blue carpet [fire regulations]

so the people were squeezed into a tube like area...which stretched way, way back from the stage.

fortunately the rainbow spirit staff had erected a video screen for those at the back

it says much for the positive energy of the people, that the hall didn't diminish the good vibes

between us all we transformed it into a temple for the weekend

such was the general vibration of the festival

our first event was on saturday morning – a beautiful space for satsang meditation

deva chants beneath the shoe stores

...while sound tech sakha works hard to bring some clarity into the echoing hall

[and to his great credit, succeeded!]

after the session we met our old friends from the prem joshua band.

here's joshua and manose

our beautiful susanne
who stepped in so graciously to take care of our well being for the duration of the festival

manose of course hardly needs any attention to feel good

it was a treat for me to be reunited with my old ashram and ah this! band brother,
satgyan, who now plays with the prem joshua band.

we hadn’t made music together for about 10 years and couldn’t wait to do it again!
it was just great to reconnect and dive back into his ultra-cool reggae grooves.
as a bass player he is just about the best you’ll find in the sophisticated world of reggae music.

to honour satji as we call him, we invited him to join us in our concert and together we played a sweet version of ilumina - reggae style, naturally!

here we are rehearsing before the concert

the sunday evening concert is the festival highlight for us

in this pic you see some of 1,200 friends lining up for that front row seat...!

sure was a lot of us packed into that greenhouse!

security eased as the music and chanting began to fill the hall

people were allowed up in the balcony area

it is a true blessing for deva and i to look out and see you all shining and singing and dancing with us

"...After chanting together at the Rainbow Festival in Munich - enjoying being deeply connected - there are no words to describe how much you give to me through your presence and your music - I am so blessed - All my love to you - WE ♥ ARE ☸ ONENESS..."

view from back stage – you could stand off the blue carpet to dance, but not to sit!

blissful manose

and blissful deva too

while guitar wallah gets down with the blues

as darkness fell, the silent moments became more and more magical

...and deeper

...and meditative

"...it was the first time I saw you live - and it was overwhelming...!"

satji wove his magic on reggae mantra aham prema...

...and peace descended

deva skanks up ilumina – reggae in the rain forest

"...the hall - very impersonal and full of shops - turned into the temple through the light of love you three switched on. THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH for this wonderful evening in the tropical rainforest..."

and here's osho's vision in action

meditation and celebration in the market place...

"...your wonderful music, the love flowing everywhere turned this place into a beautiful place, a real temple of love. If the energy flows, the location is not so important. thanks for a wonderful time at the festival...!"

if you ever wondered what it takes to create such tasty stage décor and lighting...check this pic

york wegener – our supremo lighting tech pre-concert, setting his spots up in the roof

at the workshop on monday afternoon...

we had one more chance to go deeper into the chant

"...thanks to YOU angels for your celebrations of divine music at Rainbow-festival in Munich last week! Especially the workshop was enlightening, singing with you is such a heart-opening pleasure..."

we're in there – somewhere!

peter makena joined us unexpectedly

...and made everyone's day

"...Thanks for reminding me of the power of love and of how that can be so effectively channeled through mantra. And I am enamored with your approach to commitment and the beauty of 'being alone, together'..."

later we said goodbye to friends

here's deva with pratap who came all the way from slovenia...

...and we met new ones...

– and there's little david in the corner with mum silvia

cd wallahs giving and receiving well deserved chain massage: kanta, nishabdha and tour manager jalal

and let's hear it one more time for our hero - sakha!

next stop corfu

see you there along with manose, sakha, susanne and the rest of the crew