Harmony Through the Years: A Melodic Journey of Music at Esalen (1962–2024)

The Big Sur Folk Festival played a few of the opening notes of Esalen’s rock and folk musical legacy. Celebration at Big Sur, the documentary film about the legendary 1969 concert, begins with Joan Baez, seven months pregnant, singing Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" in her iconic soprano. The lawn, surrounded by mountains, forest, and ocean, forms Mother Nature’s amphitheater, packed with a rainbow of humanity. On the pool deck, Joni Mitchell harmonizes alongside Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young before the crowd jumps to the soulful rhythms of gospel classic "Oh Happy Day!" belted out by Dorothy Combs Morrison and Baez.

Since those early days of the 1960s, legends and aspiring artists have performed, studied, taught, and found refuge at Esalen, including Charles River Valley Boys, gospel singer Vernon Bush, folk singer Johnsmith, Donovan, Devendra Banhart, cellist David Darling, sarod player Ali Akbar Khan, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Taj Mahal, Kris Kristofferson, and countless others. From folk singer-songwriters to rock royalty, pop princesses, the African drums of Babatunde Olatunji, and today’s electronic artists, music is evermore an essential part of Esalen. 

In our first decade, the canyon echoed the folk tunes and the soft strumming of acoustic guitars. “A group of mountain guys who played drums and flutes and guitars played every Sunday afternoon,” Healing Arts’ Peggy Horan remembers. “The deck was celebratory with their music and lots of dancing.”

As the counterculture movement swept across America, we grew into a musical scene with the likes of George Harrison and Ringo Starr helicoptering in to jam with Ravi Shankar and his sitar. Judy Collins, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Mama Cass Elliot, Mitchell, and Baez all sang their songs at Esalen. Arlo Guthrie, Country Joe McDonald T, John Sebastian, and Mimi Farina (who got married at Esalen) all came down the hill seeking creative inspiration. A container for birthing new ideas became a place — at the Lodge, lawn, pool deck, and across campus — where the voices of several generations merged introspective lyrics with hypnotic sounds.

Babatunde Olatunji, the renowned Nigerian drummer and percussionist responsible for Drums of Passion, played a pivotal role in shaping Esalen's musical landscape during his tenure and long residency as a village elder. Babatunde’s rhythmic mastery and traditional African beats infused with free-spirited energy helped establish the campus as a drumming haven. His influential classes left an indelible mark and laid the groundwork for other artists.

From the beginning, Esalen has provided space for artists to share their talents through workshops, starting with Baez’s The New Folk Music in 1964 and A Weekend with Ravi Shankar in 1965. Others have come for their own personal transformational growth. "I have had so many healing moments at Esalen. Some in workshops, some in the baths, some when I was there on personal retreat. All of them rich and moving and balm-like," wrote Alanis Morrisette, who also led a workshop titled Hurtling toward Wholeness in 2015. "It has been the ground upon which I've done so much learning, researching, diving deeply within, taking responsibility, and then cracking open and shutting down, falling down, both. back and forth. down low and up again, like a delicate, feisty, vulnerable, and audacious human ping pong ball." 

Flash forward to 2023, our inaugural Summer Groove festival —  headlined by drumming legend (and student of Babatunde Olatunji) Sanga of the Valley on the djembe — revitalized an on-campus music scene that was still recovering from pandemic closures. Local musician Danté Marsh provided soulful funk. Bay Area musicians Keenan Webster and Daniel Berkman played acoustic and electric koras. Los Angeles-based String Theory transformed the Lodge deck with an installation of supersized strings that transfixed and enthralled as the sun set. Brooklyn’s Michael Hewett plucked away on guitar. Philadelphia’s Luther Bangert’s sitar work provided music for morning pages and, come nighttime, sound experiences at the baths. Big Sur’s Pfeiffer Beach Hotel gave lunchtime a vibe with some poolside sessions. 

In early 2024, our Go Within wintering festival went deep, both spiritually and musically. The breathtaking sound journey of Indigenous Sakha singer Snow Raven, originator of Arctic beatbox, transported a captivated audience with the mouth harp, throat singing, and drumming. A sound bath experience, accompanied by Micha Merrick and Jovinna Chan, included Snow Raven’s drumbeats and magical voice. The angelic tones of Mary Lattimore enchanted guests and staff as she plucked her harp, as described by The New York Times, “like a solo guitarist.” The “vertical music” of ambient music pioneer Laraaji led the inaugural festival, bridging the gap between the terrestrial and the cosmic to bring us into a state of present-moment awareness.  “It’s all happening simultaneously. It’s not linear. I guess I was initiated into continuous present time. The whole picture, the whole event, is accessible at any point within the event,” said Laraaji.

Our sonic evolution continues with Esalen’s artist-in-residence program. In January, pop singer Kesha shared her creative process during her Alchemy of Pop class. She taught the session in Rooftop, which led to a singalong that organically morphed into a songwriting boot camp. Participants, both new and seasoned songwriters, had the rare opportunity to be coached by a Grammy-nominated artist. 

The vibes are good and the beat goes on. We are feeling more and more like a destination for artists to come play — to energize minds, hearts, bodies, and spirits — and relax into our creative laboratory, an idyllic space for emerging creative talents to experiment and grow.