Interfusion Festival 2026
Where Sound, Stillness, and Community Converged
Some gatherings feel like events.
Others feel like Renewal.
Interfusion Festival was the latter for me—a living, breathing space where music, movement, inquiry, and devotion braided themselves into something quietly transformative. Over those days, what stood out most wasn’t just the beauty of the setting or the excellence of the programming, but the sincerity with which people arrived: curious, open, and ready to listen—to sound, to each other, and to themselves.
Interfusion describes itself as a festival of conscious arts, and that ethos was present in every detail. From the way workshops flowed into performances, to the unhurried conversations between sessions, there was a shared sense that we weren’t there to consume experiences, but to participate in them.
The Workshops I Had the Honor to Lead
I was deeply grateful to offer four sessions during the festival—each one exploring listening as devotion, vibration, and embodied truth.
Ask the Heart
Ask the Heart unfolded as a communal ritual of sound and presence. Through chanting, witnessing, and shared silence, we practiced listening beyond language. Participants were invited to thank the divine as it appeared in one another—recognizing reflection rather than separation.
The session culminated in a group Nāda embrace: a collective “hug” held together by sound, as we voiced Om together. The vibration was not just heard, but felt—moving through bodies, dissolving boundaries, and reminding us that listening is something we do with each other.
Affirmations in Nāda Yoga
In this workshop, affirmations were approached not as mental repetition, but as vibrational alignment. Drawing from Nāda Yoga, we explored how intention becomes embodied when carried by tone, breath, and resonance. Sound did what words alone often cannot—anchoring affirmation in the nervous system rather than the intellect.
Participants experienced how affirmation becomes most powerful when it is felt first, and believed later.
Evening Ecstatic Dance
The evening ecstatic dance became a wave of shared invocation. The dance floor reverberated with a Jai Mahadeva call-and-response that threaded its way through the entire set—voices rising, dissolving, and returning again.
Movement emerged organically, guided not by instruction but by rhythm, devotion, and release. The repetition of the chant transformed the space into a living prayer—one that allowed both wildness and reverence to coexist without contradiction.
A recording from this experience is available here:
Monday Electric Kirtan
The final offering was a Monday Electric Kirtan, serving as both culmination and integration. Voices gathered around chants of Mahadeva and Govinda, carried by a rich sonic backdrop of cello and tribal drums.
This space was further deepened by Evan Herring, whose flute and saxophone playing added a luminous, melodic dimension—at times tender, at times ecstatic. His contributions didn’t sit on top of the kirtan; they wove through it, amplifying both devotion and joy.
What emerged was less a performance and more a collective offering—sound as prayer, music as bridge.
(Workshop schedules and details can be found here: https://interfusionfestival.com/schedule/)
Music as Continuation, Not Performance
One of the most meaningful realizations for me was that the music at Interfusion didn’t feel separate from the workshops—it felt like their continuation. Sound wasn’t something that happened on stage; it was something that circulated through the entire gathering.
I’m sharing two recent releases that carry the spirit of Interfusion forward. If you were there, they may feel familiar. If you weren’t, consider them an open doorway.
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n35I69aDJkhfRbqGyOyOnC2CtAgM_Yta4
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_n7MSmG8seG3NxQYCfb0fapeiwP62Mjpes
I encourage you to listen slowly—perhaps not as background music, but as a practice.
Gratitude
Events like Interfusion don’t happen by accident. They are the result of care, vision, and a willingness to hold complexity with grace.
My heartfelt thanks to Mikela Moore, Umair Ahsan, Emma Olmedo, Christian Rodriguez, and the entire Interfusion team for creating a container that felt both intentional and alive.
Deep appreciation as well to Corey Pugliese for the video and photographs—especially for capturing moments like the Jai Mahadeva reverberating through the ecstatic dance—and to Heart Bound Media for the beautiful photographic documentation throughout the festival.
Thank you to Rob and the entire Media Team for holding the lens with such sensitivity and presence. Your work helped preserve not just images, but feeling.
And to everyone who attended—who sang, danced, listened, questioned, rested, and shared—thank you for co-creating the field. Festivals end, but the resonance remains.
Next upcoming Event: Mar 8 in Philadelphia
