I am busy preparing for my appearance at the Divine Moon Festival, August 18-20. The festival takes place in Portland (Dorset) England, and features artists reflecting a wide variety of spiritual traditions including Yoga, Christian mysticism and Buddhism.

If you are going to be anywhere near England during the month of August, you should make it a point to attend the festival. Visit the festival website now and see for yourself what an exciting event it will be.

The Divine Moon Festival was a great event.  Musicians, dancers, actors and artists representing several diverse spiritual traditions performed on the island of Portland, in the South of England from 18-20 August 2006.

On the website http://www.divinemoon.com you can see the diversity of the program, and if you visit the website in the coming days you will also see photos of the artists who performed. Don’t miss this festival next year, as I think it will grow into an important spiritual and artistic happening.

I just returned to Albania after spending a month in Germany and in England. In Germany I performed two songs at the Ananda Marga conference (held in a retreat center near Alzey).

In England, I gave a concert-lecture in Derby and performed three sets at the Divine Moon Festival in Portland. It was a great experience for me, and I was happy to be able to collaborate with Brian Sullivan (who played fiddle) and Rasviharii (who played electric bass). Before and after the Divine Moon Festival I spent a number of days in a small studio in London and recorded 12 songs for a forthcoming CD.

The songs blend the ideas of yoga and neo humanism with country and folk music. A fellow performer at the Divine Moon Festival said that my music is “Country and Eastern.” I had never thought of it like that and I thank her for the comment.

If you would like a concert of Country and Eastern Music performed in your locale, then just send me an email and I will be happy to oblige you!

I am in London and will give two music concerts while I am here in the UK. The first one will be on Saturday night 10 March and the second one will be a house concert in Portland, UK. Details for both concerts can be found on my main website

Seven of the songs which I performed at last year’s Divine Moon Festival in England are now online as videos at youtube.com . You can see them by going to www.youtube.com and doing a search for Dada Veda or you can go to my page www.youtube.com/dadaved . On that page you will find three videos that I have directly uploaded and down below in the favorites section there are four more songs that were uploaded by the photographer directly.

The videos give an idea of what you can expect in one of my concerts. If you would like to book me for a performance in your locality, then send me an email and let’s see if we can work it out  My motto is: “Have Songs, Will Travel.”

The mystic poet Rabindranath Tagore said this many years ago, and it is very true. Music plays an important part in all spiritual traditions. In yoga, the chanting of mantras is called “kiirtan” (commonly spelled “kirtan”). And it is the best way to prepare your mind for meditation.

So, if you have been having trouble doing silent meditation. Why don’t you sing before you meditate. Don ‘t worry if you have a good voice or a bad voice. It doesn’t matter. This is something from your heart. Try it with the mantra “Baba Nam Kevalam”

Here is a video, with beautiful images and the mantra. Why don’t you watch the video, sing along and then do meditation. Try it you will like it!

Here is a review from All Access Magazine:

reviewed by Rob Swick

Recorded in Tirana, Albania, Brighter than the Sun…
Recorded in Tirana, Albania, Brighter than the Sun is a set of 13 acoustic songs that should leave the listener uplifted, refreshed, and hopeful for the future.

All tracks were written, sung and played by Dada Veda, an idealistic troubadour who was born in New York in 1946 and grew up through the formative years of rock-’n'-roll.

He hitchhiked to California during the fluorescent flower-power era of the Sixties, and ended up becoming a dedicated yogic monk in the Ananda Marga Society. Ananda Marga, which means “Path of Bliss,” is a fellowship devoted to peace, health, and harmony among humanity.

Currently residing in Albania, Dada Veda helps to manage kindergarten operations for underprivileged children there, and proceeds from his CD will help to support those educational efforts.

Each song on the album has a positive title and theme, including the title cut, which was inspired by meditation, encouraging people to go deep within themselves.

“Common Home” is an ecological song, while “For Everyone” is, just as implied, for all people, everywhere. “Crimson Dawn” and “In the Stillness of the Morning” speak of bright times to come, and “I Don’t Eat Meat” addresses the goodness of a vegetarian diet.

The songs are all based on folksy chords played by Dada Veda on the acoustic guitar, accompanied by Redi Dashi on bass and additional guitars, plus drums and percussion by Andi Haxhihyseni, and background vocals by Vasudeva.

Yes, there’s sometimes a childlike innocence to Dada Veda’s singing, and his pitch may not be always perfect, but — look at how enduring a singer such as Bob Dylan has proven to be, also without an opera-quality voice, while inspiring a boatload of imitators and tribute-payers along the way!

Like Dylan, Dada Veda gives voice to enduring issues such as social justice, reminding the listener, in “The Wise Ones Say,” that one should do good things immediately, but should delay doing anything that is bad.

The world can use more inspiration and direction such as that found on Brighter than the Sun. Info on kindergarten education in Albania is found at www.albaniansunrise.com; more on yoga and meditation is available at www.anandamarga.org; the singer’s own site is www.dadaveda.com