Gathering, Singing and Going ‘Underground’ in Ojai

Opportunities abound in Ojai, the longtime oasis for retreat, reflection, and personal growth, starting this weekend with “Be With Us,” slated for 7 pm on April 10 at Ojai Underground. The interactive evening of music, storytelling, and soulful connection is spearheaded by Ojai’s own Kathlyn “Katie” Hendricks, the bestselling author of Conscious Loving, co-lead of the Hendricks Institute, and a paradigm-shifting pioneer in the conscious loving and body intelligence fields. Hendricks appears alongside musicians Rebecca Folsom and Sandra Wong and the harmony-rich duo River & Rose (Noah Rivers and Elisa Rose), whose music collectively opens hearts and awakens a sense of possibility, invoking courage, hope and liberation. The evening will unfold as a moving and uplifting tapestry of sound, insight, and presence in a gathering that blends music, wisdom, and shared humanity. 

Visit https://ojaiundergroundexchangetickets.square.site/all-events

Festival of Song 

Three song leader superstars come together for a weekend festival from April 24-26 at the Topa Institute in the upper Ojai Valley. MaMuse, Debbie Nargi-Brown, and Lydia Violet will trade off leading song circles with easy-to-learn songs taught in the oral tradition, including call-and-response. The idea? To invite connection, creativity, and shared presence through the simple act of singing together. Song circle singing is a practice rooted in listening and community that goes back to the roots of human history. 

MaMuse is composed of singer-songwriters Sarah Nutting and Karisha Longaker, who also perform concerts and have recorded several popular albums. Fed by the folk and gospel traditions, the duo create uplifting music that has been deeply woven into the song circle community across the country. They also perform with upright bass, guitar, mandolins and flutes, interweaving brilliant and haunting harmony with lyrics evincing emotional intelligence. It’s a rare chance to participate in song circles with the pair; an experience of participatory magic.  

Nargi-Brown regularly leads Community Sings circles in Santa Cruz, where the selections include her own songs created for healing, transformation, and those things that connect us as human beings. As with MaMuse, many of her songs are a regular part of the Santa Barbara song circle scene.

Violet is an Iranian-Armenian American folk multi-instrumentalist whose own heritage informs her musical approach, including Singing the Bones, a course co-created with Leah Song of Rising Appalachia to bring American artists and singers together to explore and share folk music from their ancestries. 

The festival is also an opportunity to spend time in retreat at the Topa Institute, the 39-acre ridge-top sanctuary that was formerly the site of The Ojai Foundation, the much-beloved ceremonial retreat center with nearly a century of history. The singing events will largely take place outside under the Ojai sky.

Visit https://topa.institute/retreats-and-events/602/festival-of-song-at-topa-institute

Dipping Your Vocal Toes in Community Singing

Another organically “Ojai” opportunity for soul-inspiring music is a fully participatory event of community singing on April 12, when Wayne Marshall and Katherine McClelland’s Sacred Voices Ojai – which holds regular community events – have their second Singing for Peace gathering in collaboration with Democracy OJAI at 2 pm at Libbey Park. More than 80 singers showed up at last month’s launch, which took place one day after America attacked Iran in the current conflict, an event to celebrate the joy of singing as a shared human experience through simple, heartfelt songs designed to uplift your spirit, inspire connection, and soothe nervous systems. As always, all are welcome at the free event, and no singing or musical experience is necessary. 

Visit https://tinyurl.com/Ojai-Sing-Peace-April

KFA’s Annual Gathering 

The Krishnamurti Foundation of America, founded in 1969 by the revered philosophical and spiritual figure Jiddu Krishnamurti, holds its annual gathering May 2-3 at its Ojai campus at Oak Grove School. The weekend brings together a diverse community for a shared inquiry into questions at the heart of human life, this year focusing on the 2026 theme of Education and the Significance of Life, chosen both because education was a constant concern in Krishnamurti’s work and in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the KFA’s Oak Grove School. 

The fully free gathering unfolds as an arc of inquiry, moving from fundamental questions about the human condition and education, through an exploration of conditioning, attention and the nature of learning, toward the deeper question of whether freedom and intelligence can operate in daily life and relationships. A wide variety of offerings make up the bulk of the gathering, with a dozen program facilitators and speakers, including Krishnamurti scholars and others. No reservation is necessary, and optional lunch will be available on site. The event will also be streamed online. 

Visit www.kfa.org/annual-gathering-2026

Closer to Home: Montecito Meditative Musings 

Montecito-based spiritual teacher Ragan Thomson hosts “The Illuminated Heart Retreat: An Evening of Energetic Clearing and Heart-Centered Expansion” designed as an immersive evening to support emotional healing and spiritual alignment. Held from 4-9:30 pm on April 18 at Unity of Santa Barbara’s Spiritual Community Center – Thomson’s home-away-from-home for her more community-based programs – the retreat invites participants into a guided experience of releasing what no longer serves, reconnecting with inner truth, and cultivating a deeper sense of clarity and presence. 

The evening features healing meditations by Vandana Sinha, focused on energetic clearing and heart coherence, and a restorative sound bath by Amy Bacheller, supporting nervous system regulation and integration, plus guidance from Thomson to engage in practices that support emotional release and energetic clearing, increased clarity and inner stability, nervous system restoration, and integration of spiritual insight into daily life. A livestream is also available.

Visit www.raganthomson.com/illuminated-heart-retreat

Music and Meditation Gatherings at Music Academy

Harpist Laurie Rasmussen joins fellow local pianist and Music & Meditation Santa Barbara Founder Antonio Artese in performing works by J.S. Bach, Gluck, and Debussy at Weinman Hall on April 10 at 2 pm, in the latest program in the series that opens with a guided meditation led by Carpinteria’s Jessica Kolbe. The format invites the audience into a space of stillness and attentive presence for the program that will also include traditional melodies that highlight the harp’s resonant voice as part of the series, an ongoing initiative dedicated to fostering connection, reflection, and well-being through the integration of live music and meditation. 

Details at https://musicandmeditationsb.com

‘Stand By’ for a Special Screening 

Montecito resident Kerrilee Gore’s feature film Stand by Mother is as much a mystical, and possibly spiritual experience, as it is an educational one in service to  environmentalism. Given the subject matter, the film’s use of magical realism as a children’s storytelling device is a natural fit. The film for kids – starring non-professional child actors – is filmed entirely in her intimate black box theater and based on Gore’s stage play; a future-facing eco-allegory in which a mysterious book come alive. The magical, musical journey encompasses Gore’s manifold passions for dance, song, and aerial performance to illustrate the dangers planet Earth faces. Stand By Mother premiered during SBIFF at odd hours, but now has a primetime screening at the Alcazar Theatre in Carpinteria, followed by a Q&A with Gore, at 7 pm on April 17.