January 5-7

Lutsen Ski Resort, Lutsen MN

Prepare yourself for the greatest Snowball yet!  Lutsen Mountains biggest, most anticipated music event of the year – Snowball keeps festival season alive and well in the depths of a Minnesota winter with a three-day ski and music party. Three Nights of music, eight bands, live music and jam sessions, plus the camaraderie of skiing, snowboarding, hot tubing and sharing this bliss with your fellow festivillians. This is a jam cruise – Minnesota style!

3 for 2 Special on Packages!

Right now, Lutsen is offering a great deal – if you buy 2 nights of the festival package, the third night is extremely discounted, starting as low as $28 dollars for the additional day and night!  This price includes lift ticket, lodging, and concert tickets!  The prices vary for the different lodging options, but in any case, the price will be greatly reduced.  So come join us for all 3 days (and don’t forget the new Free-Wednesday-Pre-Party too!)

Festival Lineup:

Wookiefoot
Dead Man Winter (featuring Dave Simonett of Trampled By Turtles)
Jon Wayne & The Pain
Roster McCabe
Useful Jenkins
Sans Souci Quartet
Smokin’ Joe Scarpellino (of Dead Larry)

PLUS… Pre-Party Wednesday (FREE)

The Limns
Mark Murphy & Friends Irish Set

3 Day, 2 Day, and 1 Day Passes Available

Lift • Lodging • Concert Packages

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All funds raised by Be The Change in the month of December will benefit the Rabondo Community Project.

Please read more about Rabondo mission on the Be The Change website.

Jon Wayne & The Pain

New Reb

Cabooze – Minneapolis
Dec 31 2011
$17  8:30PM  18+

Purchase Tickets
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(Me and my friend who’s nickname is “Mr. Peace & Love”)
At the most basic, there was an outrage of the continuing separation between the upper and lower classes in this country, as well as an anger at the amount of corporate influence on our political system.  All of these various groups were united against these two ideas.  No one thinks it is moral that 2% of the population control 50% of the wealth!  A less know fact is that the converse is also true… that the bottom half of Americans control only 2% of the nations wealth!  I find it funny when the other side calls pointing these facts out as “Class Warfare” when in all actuality, we are already in a state of class warfare that the 99% is desperately losing!  I appreciate charts and graphs… I think this one below says it all…  (If you would like to see more statistics that show the blatant inequity of our current system please visit here (Graphs 1) or here (Graphs 2)

I have seen some interesting conversations on our FaceBook wall from people discussing their thoughts on this movement and I appreciate the open dialogue (as long as it stays productive and open).  And I would like to encourage everyone, whether you support it or not, to go down and visit this protest to listen and engage with them before passing too much judgement.  To see direct democracy in action is a very powerful thing!  ACTIVATE!  love, murphy

Our connections run deep with each other. The strands of these connections weave a beautiful tapestry that I would like to share with you.

We met Matisyahu 14 yrs. ago in Oregon. A time when we were all just starting to find our voices. We were hammering out our first creation “Domesticated” and one of our first tacks ever recorded in our studio was “Cant get a job”
featuring Matt Miller AKA Matisyahu. Mark recorded some of Matis’s early ideas it was a magic time for us all. Through out the years we would connect with Matis at shows here in Minneapolis at the Cabooze, the Quest, a sneak appearance at Project Earth and The Peace rally at the Capitol during the Republican Nation Convention. Watching him grow into a champion for peace and change has been a great source of pride. We always knew that “ONE DAY” we would get him to come play our HOME….. that day has come…now we get to share this bond with our community in its entirety

So I asked Matis “of all the High Spirits you perform with… who would be a fit for the Wookie Tribe ?” without hesitating he said “TREVOR HALL !!” Man was he right on !! I first met Trevor back stage at the Michael Franti Spearhead show and he was soo gentle and humble I didnt even know he was a performer. He stepped out on stage with Michael and became a bright angel ! Last year our Tribe embraced him and a love affair has begun. Our family is helping to fund his good works in India. He will be in this years P.E. Charity video and has a new CD out one that will stay in your player til the next one no doubt !

The minute we heard Chris Berry’s music we were hooked. His message is soo on point and potent ….that as a fellow writer I find myself saying “damn he used all the good words…what are we gonna say now ? ” hehe. He came to Harvest and we bonded over a vision of a music village. Our community helped to fund a project in Africa that Chris organized with the focus of helping displaced children from Civil War ravaged Zimbabwe. They are on a sustainable farm where they are learning the lost music of the tribes. Our vision has taken us to Hawaii where Chris was given 18 acres of land to build a Music Cultural Center. I (jojo) have been spending part of my winters out there and have fallen in love with the INA. Chris has become my Brother and he has a lot to offer this family. At Project Earth last year it was the evocation he spun on the Mbira (Finger Piano) that brought all of us together after the Tornado passed. We all flocked to the Main Stage following the enchanting lullaby that told us all was well and began one of the greatest spontaneous magic moments of our career ….the lost tornado set of Project Earth will be a cherished memory for those of us lucky enough to have been there.

I meet Ganga Giri in Bali Indonesia last year after he rocked the house at the Bali Spirit Fest. We shared stories about travel in India his time with the Holy Saddus and being initiated into the traditions of Aboriginal sound. Turns out Ganga and Chris Berry go way back ! The two have collaborated for years and spin a real palpable magic on stage together…..both are closer to Shamen then artist ! They are excited to reunite for SHANGRI-LA ….we are in for something special with these two reconnecting. Whats gonna happen ?!?!

They Ragbirds are connected to everyone !! and everyone loves them ! I think they might be the glue that connects us all. Erin spinning her magic fiddle hopping on one foot with Trevor Hall and Mark Murphy singing Brett Dennon’s “Aint no Reason” sums it all up !!

Every once in a while you come across a performer who you just know is about to be big time and they dont even know it. On the Big I Hawaii this winter I found one such person playing with who else but Chris Berry…. NAHKO and MEDICINE FOR THE PEOPLE. I am soo excited to turn this family onto your next sonic love affair. Its a real treat to be in the position of helping to shine the light on a new seed. I know they are going to grow into a powerful force for change in the World through healing our hearts. They have a song called Manifesto it is a prayer that I would love to sing back to them this year this is how it goes :

dont waste your hate
rather gather and create

be of service be a sensible person
use your word and dont be nervous

you can do this you got purpose
find your medicine and use it !

Soo you can imagine what is going to happen when we mix all of this synergy together !!
Throw in an amazing mix of locals bands add love and stir it up !!!

WELCOME HOME !

once you get past the gruesome choking filth of it all…. It is actually an awesome and beautiful thing to witness. This is the challenge and lesson of India. We had transcended much of the daily assault your senses endure traveling in a Country with 1.2 Billion people… but Varanasi is “trial by fire”. Just before arriving a French girl told us of being traumatized when her path crossed that of a dog dragging a baby out of the river ! That’s right … THIS IS NOT A TEST !!

Sooo…. Naturally we were a bit apprehensive. Which ultimately led to my surprise to find that Varanasi was not quite the Apocalyptic Hell hole I imagined. It was almost quaint !?! The river front Ghats, which are basically large steps down into the water, were fairly clean by India standards as was the River itself… at least on the surface !! The water here is considered spiritually pure. The locals bath in it and drink it even though it is the most contaminated body of water on the planet. The sewage from the City and chemicals from up river textile plants render it toxic and septic. It’s a leap of faith they take everyday and one that will make a believer out of you.

People here are super friendly and its pleasantly free from Touts (the relentless nagging of people to buy something from them or at least give them $$). The rivers edge has a peaceful serene quality perfect for taking in the Hindu’s and Sadu’s daily rituals. Varanasi is famous for its surreal row boat experiences which transport you back in time. Our captain took us to the Main Burning ghat where we floated for a while enthralled in the Trance-n-Dance that was happening 30 ft from us.

A man in white who looked like a monk climbed aboard our vessel and introduced himself as being in service to the dying. He explained the ritual unfolding …. From the gathering of the Sacred Wood (which was special because it covered the smell of burning flesh) to the family shaving the body , and then cleaning it in the River. What he told us next was shocking !!! He explained that not everyone can be burned … ?!?…. some people have large rocks tied to them and are sunk in the river !!!
Oh man… that hit like a ton of bricks !! We were floating on an artery of dead bodies !! WOW.

He went on to explain that there were 5 conditions that cant go in the fire :

1. children under 12 we too innocent for the fire
2. Pregnant mothers for the same reason
3. Lepers had too bad karma in this life for the fire ..they needed mother Ganga to purify
4. Sadu’s or Holymen because they were not considered separate from the mother
5. This one was mind blowing !! People who were bit by Cobras ?!? He said they are not dead but in a deep sleep. They were floated on Banana leaves down river where (hopefully) they would come across a kind of Medicine man who works with the dead who can remove the poison and resurrect the dead. He said it happens all the time and many people show up back home weeks later. HA !!!

He then asked if we could help buy wood for a poor family so their love ones soul could be freed…. How could we refuse that ?!?

Every night people gather on the Ghats for Aarti. This is a Ceremony involving ritualistic movement of Shiva monks using fire and thick smoke from incense all set to live music and chanting. It really brings everyone together and raises spirit to the most high. It also helps that the Sadu’s use Hash as a prayer sacrement J . Every town would benefit from this practice.

My respect for Hinduism has grown from this trip. Their unattachment to the trappings of life grants freedom…their unattachment to life itself gives them great peace. At first glance India is madness. Then you come to appreciate that through all of the pollution, poverty, and population the Indians are amazingly kind spirited. No doubt if any other country had to face these challenges we would be a miserable bunch !! They are a great example of their faith. We are learning about the true meaning of acceptance here …which will no doubt come though our lyrics soon J

Varanasi is still revealing deep lessons to us …it has changed us …..

jojo