Some songs cast spells — a single melody can shift our mood, unlock memory, or tether us to a moment in time. But what gives pop music this power? What makes a song transcendent — capable of shaping identity, moving bodies, and shifting collective energy?

Music has long been central to Esalen’s creative and cultural legacy. From the legendary Big Sur Folk Festival and Celebration at Big Sur to the hypnotic drumming of Babatunde Olatunji, Esalen has been a gathering place for artists and musicians who understood sound as a force for liberation, transformation, and collective awakening.

While folk and experimental traditions have been widely recognized in transformational spaces, pop music holds its own alchemical power — a force that is often dismissed but remains undeniably potent. Pop is memory, movement, and ritual—accessible yet profound, personal yet communal, immediate yet enduring. A great pop song distills feeling to its essence, embedding emotion into melody and rhythm with surgical precision. The Alchemy of Pop recognizes pop as an art form that is just as capable of awakening, healing, and reshaping consciousness as any traditional or avant-garde practice.

Set against the dramatic cliffs of Big Sur, this immersive Self-Guided Exploration series brings together Grammy-nominated artist Kesha and vocalist / composer Hrishi to illuminate the hidden architecture of song through a combination of lectures and workshops designed to engage mind, body, heart, and spirit.

You will experience:

• A rare chance to step inside the creative process with one of pop’s most fearless artists. Kesha will share the simple but potent framework that allowed her to craft songs like Tik Tok and Praying — alchemizing raw emotion into three-minute sonic talismans. Through writing exercises, discussion, and guided exploration, she will invite participants to tap into their own creative flow.

• A deep dive into the ancient melodic and rhythmic structures of Carnatic music and their unexpected resonance with contemporary pop. Through voice, rhythm, and improvisation, Hrishi reveals why certain melodies feel eternal and how music shapes both body and mind.

This offering is designed to be flexible and self-directed. Participants may choose to engage in songwriting, deep listening, or embodied movement, or simply take in the lectures and discussions. Beyond these sessions, you’ll have access to open classes in yoga, breathwork, and meditation, allowing you to tune the instrument of the body and deepen your creative process. Whether you come to write, move, or simply listen more deeply, you’ll have the freedom to follow your own rhythm.