Ecstatic Chant Festival

Some songs are meant to be sung loudly, together, with a groove under your feet. The Ecstatic Chant Festival at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, is a festival of Sanskrit mantra, live band music, and communal singing, led by kirtan artist Wah!, who returns to the Hudson Valley campus for a late-summer immersion in sacred sound.

Wah! has spent years touring with her ensemble, bringing a contemporary vision of kirtan that is rooted in Sanskrit tradition and carried on reggae, world, and dancehall rhythms. The mood is festive and devotional at once. If you have been curious about kirtan but wondered what it feels like to chant with a full band, or if you already love call-and-response and want a more celebratory setting, this festival is made for you.

Come with your voice, your openness, and your jubilant self. Don't be surprised when people get up and dance.

What to Expect

The festival moves between several textures of devotional music. Expect:

- Call-and-response chanting in Sanskrit, with Wah! singing a line and the room singing it back
- A live band playing reggae, world, and dancehall styles, with Wah! on bass, and bandmates on keyboards and drum kit
- Translation and explanation of the words, so newcomers can understand what they are singing and returning participants can go deeper
- Love songs in English, offering a more familiar doorway into devotion
- A short meditation and prayer for world peace

The atmosphere is one of celebration and sacred connection. Between the high-energy passages, the pace settles and the meaning of the mantras comes forward. You do not need to know Sanskrit or have any chanting experience to take part.

About Wah!

Wah! is a kirtan artist and yoga teacher with more than 25 years of experience leading call-and-response mantra chant in studios, retreat centers, and universities across North America. She is known professionally by the single name Wah!, and she is recognized in the American yoga community for pairing traditional Sanskrit mantra with accessible instruction in meditation, breath, and self-care. Her work draws on the bhakti yoga tradition of kirtan, a devotional practice built on repetitive, melodic chanting.

As a recording artist, Wah! has released 11 CDs of kirtan music, including Hidden in the Name, Jai Jai Jai, Chanting with Wah!, and CD Krishna. She blends reggae, Hindu chanting, and pop into what her own materials describe as spiritual world music. Yoga Journal Magazine has called her talent "multifaceted" and described her as one of the most versatile artists in the mantra music genre.

Venue & Logistics

The festival takes place in person at Omega Institute, 150 Lake Drive, Rhinebeck, NY 12572. Bring a jubilant spirit and clothing you can move and dance in. For ticketing, schedule, and accessibility details, please refer to the event page or contact the organizer directly.