Shambhala Music Festival- Land of Peace and Tranquility

Written by DJ Mkulima (The Farmer) on September 22, 2016

Shambhala, land of peace and tranquility. A legendary mystical ancient city rumored to be nestled somewhere in the foothills of the Himalayas. Despite Shambhala’s mention in religious texts, many scholars claim Shambhala pre-dated religious texts and was an ancient belief system based around worship of the Sun. Some say Shambhala is not a physical place, but a state of being only accessible to certain individuals who have reached a higher Karmic state.

Stereotypical depiction of the legendary city of Shambhala (google images).

Well… No matter what Karmic state one is in going into Shambhala Music Festival you are guaranteed to leave on a plateau of peace, karma and enlightenment. Shambhala has a reputation of bringing the ShambhaLove and building The ShambhaFamily or the ‘Farmily.’ The vibes at Shambhala radiate these values of taking care one each other as family, spreading love and joy to everyone.

Fort Knox Five and Qdup bringing the Love at The Living Room Stage beach vibes Friday afternoon!

It’s the ShambhaLove that binds this one of a kind music festival nestled in the foothills of the Kootenay mountains. Coming with this love is surely one of the most magical physical places on Earth – perhaps this is truly the city fabled for millennia. Six stages, each featuring unique dance floors, numerous viewing decks topped off with mind blowing visual projection mapping. Stages range from beach vibes next to the Salmo river at The Living Room Stage to immersive visual dance experiences in The Fractal Forest. The Amphitheater amps up the daytime and goes late with tiered viewing and dance levels on sand and circus tent. Take a trip into The Village Stage encompassed in a huge half-geodome and surrounded by raised decks. The Grove Stage features a more intimate environment generally presenting more down-tempo spiritual sounds along with lots of chill spots and hammocks. The Pagoda Stage features a crazy party environment on a one of a kind projection-mapped stage that at times appeared as if it was actually melting!

Pagoda stage before sunset with Nora En Pure!

Moments after the sun went down, the Pagoda projection mapping/laser began. Autograf threw down!

Shambhala promotes peace an unity in all aspects they can. The Salmo River Ranch is a working ranch valuing sustainable and environmentally friendly practices and ethical meat. Much of the food served at Shambhala comes from the farm itself! Many food producing gardens are contiguous with the festival venue and the sprinklers often provide a welcoming way to cool off and spend some time with the plant-peoples and spirits.

Keys ‘N Krates closing out The Village Stage Sunday night.

Shambhala is essentially a concept. Put all these things mentioned above onto The Farm and a real life immersive Shambhala city comes to reality. For four magical days a year you can experience this legendary city of mystical energy. Experience the breathtaking environment, the mind-blowing stages, world-class music and most importantly immerse yourself in The ShambhaLove emanating from every Shambhalite! It’s no surprise that the 2017, and 20th anniversary edition of Shambhala Music Festival sold in less than 24 hours!

Sunrise Monday at The Living Room. Shambhalites praise the sun in ceremony for another Shambhala past and in anticipation for Shambhala anew.

Check out the Shambhala Music Festival Review special Podcast on Learning to Grow with DJ Mkulima (The Farmer)! Featuring field recording of live sets along with interviews from CloZee, Stickybuds, Fort Knox Five and Qdup, Defunk, K+Lab, The Librarian, Five Alarm Funk, BOATS, and Wmnstudies with special warmup sessions from Yoga of Bass and JoaqoPelli!

Check out the Shambhala Music Festival 2.5hr special Podcast “ShambhaMeditation” with DJ Mkulima (The Farmer)!

Also check out some of the Pre-Shambhala Podcasts linked out below! Keep on Growing out there and see you next year at Shambhala for some more Farmily time!