WORLD FOLK JAM

Our events celebrate diversity and honor ancient traditions, featuring world-renowned folk music and performance arts. These events seek to nurture and support the Bay Area's world folk communities and to facilitate networking, collaboration, friendship, and cross-cultural understanding. Sign up for our events list here.

SAT, MARCH 23RD, 4PM TO 2AM

Shuttles Start: 3:30pm  Doors Open: 3:45pm

SAN RAFAEL ESTATE

MUSIC, DANCE & SPA LOUNGING

Drive from: Berkeley: 25mins, Oakland: 30mins, SF: 35mins

THE ESTATE
Shoe-Free Indoors. 
Wheelchair accessible with elevator.

THE LISTENING LIBRARY (Upper Level)
 4:30 PM | Ian Caliendo (Zimbabwean Mbira)
 6:00 PM | Amre Leon Dana (American Folk)
 8:00 PM | High Tide (Indian Fusion)
10:00 PM | Enrique Ugalde (Tuvan Throat Singing)
11:00 AM | Clarissa Bitar (Palestinian Oud)
 1:00 AM | Soriah (Avant-Shamanic Throat Singing)
Gongfu Tea Lounge

THE DANCING PARLOR (Middle Level)
 6:30 PM | Bellydance Class by Jill Parker
 8:00 PM | Barrio Manouche (Latin Gypsy Jazz)
 9:45 PM | Jill Parker (Bellydance)
10:00 PM | Orchestra Gold (Mali, West African)
12:00 AM | La Zuli (N. African/Spanish/Balkan)
 1:30 AM | DJ Feral (Folktronica)
Healthy Food & Non-Alcoholic Drinks ($$)

THE SPA GARDEN (Middle Level - Outside)
Gongfu Tea Lounge
Sauna and Cold Plunge
Bring towels. Shower before using.
11:00 PM | TBA (Fire Arts)

THE DEN (Lower Level)
Open Acoustic Jams (World Folk)

THE POOLS (Lowest Level - Outside)
Full-size Swimming Pool and Hot Tub
Bring towels. Shower before using.
Nausicaä's Garden of the Valley of the Wind

Clothing optional only in Pool, Hot Tub, and Sauna areas.
Clothes required inside and through rest of property.
No sexual activity permitted at this event.

PARKING & SHUTTLES

• Do Not Park Close to the Venue or you will be banned from our events.
• A ticket AND proof that you didn't park nearby (Uber/Lyft or free shuttle receipt) will be required for entry to the event.
• Shuttles: From 3:30pm to 3am, a free shuttle service will run every 5-10 minutes to and from a location 4 minutes from the venue.
• The shuttle location, venue location and Uber/Lyft instructions will be included with your ticket.

PARTICIPATE

• Volunteer: Apply to volunteer using our Volunteer Application.
• Jam: Low-income musicians can apply for free tickets to come jam using this Guest Musician Application.
• Perform: If you have an act that you would like us to consider hiring, fill out our Band Application.
• Vend: If you're interested in vending at our event, please contact us here.
• RSVP: Join our Facebook Event page and invite your friends.

PERFORMERS

Enrique Ugalde (Tuvan Throat Singing)
Enrique Ugalde is currently the most decorated non-Tuvan throat singer in the world, winning 3rd Laureate at the 5th International Throat Singing Symposium in Kyzyl Tuva in 2008, 2nd Laureate at the Tuvan National Kargyraa Competition in 2014 and awarded “Great Innovator of the Art of Kargyraa” at the Tuvan National Competition in 2016 and winning “Best Performance of Kargyraa” in the 2019 “Khöömei in the Center of Asia” Festival. He has had extensive training in various styles of Tuvan throat singing including; Khoomei, Kargyraa, Sygyt, Borbangnadyr, Chylandyk and has created his own unique style known as “Soriah style”. He’s studied and performed with Tuvan masters such as, Aldyn-Ool Sevek, Monguun-ool Ondar, Aldar Tamdyn, Igor Koshkendey, Zhenya Oyuun, Ouidupaa and Nachyn Chodu. Watch this video of Enrique winning 3rd Place at the International Throat Singing Symposium in Tuva. 
More info

Orchestra Gold (Mali, West Africa)
It’s 1976 and you just stepped inside a smokey club in Bamako, Mali. The air is thick with the gritty analog sounds of funky folkloric music, psychedelic guitar swirling with jazzy horns and hypnotic bass. As the crowd shakes their bell bottoms to the infectious grooves, the singer commands the stage with her soulful vocals and dance moves that give James Brown a run for his money. This is the vibe that Oakland’s own Orchestra Gold creates in their live shows as well as their recordings.
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Barrio Manouche (Latin Gypsy Jazz)
Founded by the Spanish guitarist and composer Javi Jiménez, the group consists of a singular musical body that combines the instrumentation and signature of Jazz Manouche, Modern Jazz, Flamenco and Latin-American rhythms. Based in San Francisco, CA the acoustic ensemble performs a repertoire of original compositions with an emotionally charged sound that is difficult to classify but instantly recognizable. Barrio’s international roots shine brightly in their music with members from Spain, Quebec, Colombia, France, Brazil and the United States. They are deeply influenced by a wide range of musical traditions, and this is how the group’s unique sound is born. Barrio Manouche provides a tremendous live experience and transports its audience on a magical journey, with a unique fusion of cultures and musical landscapes... an auditory and visual feast like no other.
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La Zuli (N. African / Spanish / Balkan)
La Zuli combines the virtuosic talents of violinist Briana Di Mara and guitarist Anis Sehiri. Together they weave fresh original melodies and danceable rhythms influenced by music everywhere from Spain to North Africa to the Balkans and beyond. With lush harmonies and improvisations combining with powerful bass and drums, the music is uplifting and inspiring. 
More info

Clarissa Bitar (Palestinian Oud)
Clarissa Bitar is an award winning Palestinian oud musician and composer born, raised, and based in Los Angeles, California. They graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in Music and an emphasis in Ethnomusicology. To further their studies, Clarissa sought training from prominent Arab oudists including Simon Shaheen, Charbel Rouhana, and Bassam Saba. Clarissa has had the privilege of performing around the country and internationally. They have incorporated oud with a multitued of genres ranging from R&B to Pop to Hip Hop and Rap. Their latest album titled 'Hassan Sabi' is out now on all streaming platforms. Their music has been featured on Netflix, radio, film, and exhibits around the word. They released a joint poetry-oud EP with Palestinian poet Mohammed El-Kurd in January of 2019 titled Bellydancing on Wounds as well as a their solo EP Bayati. Clarissa has a passion for teaching and sharing knowledge on Arab music, as well as performing and hopes to continue to carve our spaces for oud share this tradition with others.
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High Tide (Indian Fusion)
High Tide is more than a meeting of genres; it's an emotional and spiritual journey. Each performance is designed to engage the audience and create space for people to connect on a deeper, introspective level. The music invites listeners to imagine and expand their states of consciousness. With High Tide, you're not just a listener; you're a participant in a shared musical exploration. Established by Sasha Bayan in 2019, High Tide is a fusion music project that blends the intricacies of Indian Classical music, the improvisational spirit of jazz, and the structure of Western classical music. While Sasha's sitar leads the way, the ensemble thrives on collaboration with a rotating cast of skilled musicians.
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Amre Leon Dana (American Folk)
Nationally acclaimed folk musician, educator, and multi-instrumentalist Amre Leon Dana will create beautiful tapestries of sound with folk music from across North America, including bluegrass and the literal sounds of the Appalachian mountains.
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Ian Caliendo (Zimbabwean Mbira)
Originating from deep within ancient stones in long ago Zimbabwe, the interweaving melodies and polyrhythms of the mbira dzavadzimu entrance the listener, to dance, to sing, to simply contemplate in stillness. Fortunate to learn for over 20 years from master gwenyambira (honored mbira players), Ian Caliendo delights in sharing these traditional songs, played to invite ancestral spirits to dance among us, as they once did.
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Soriah (Avant-Shamanic Throat Singing)
“The Tuvan throat singing phenomenon that is SORIAH will take you to that holy place whenever you lend an ear to his music.” – David J (Bauhaus, Love and Rockets, Night Crickets)
Soriah is the stage persona of Enrique Ugalde, an internationally-acclaimed throat singer and ritual artist who generates experimental soundscapes where ancient traditions are revealed through the lens of modern experience. Birthed in one of the most historically isolated locations on the planet, Tuvan throat singing is a musical sound like no other. Mysterious, primordial and awash in a deeply visceral drone, it invokes the full range of the natural world – from deep mountain roots to the whistle of birds in flight. Soriah weaves Tuvan throat singing, pre-Columbian sounds, classical Indian raga, and modern Western styles, looping and processing his voice and traditional instruments into lush sonic tapestries. His lyrics are often written in Nahuatl (Mexica/Aztec) or Tuvan, preserving and expressing cultural mysteries with reverence and wonder.
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Jill Parker (Bellydance Class & Performance)
Jill Parker is known the world over as a pioneer in the fusion and folk bellydance genres. She is a lifelong student and lover of bellydance. Jill influenced the thriving fusion bellydance scene that flourished during the 1990's and 2000's in San Francisco. She was an original FCBD member and later founded her own professional trail blazing dance theater company that birthed many of today's great fusion dancers.

Teaching: For more than three decades, Jill has honed a masterful delivery method that truly facilitates breakthroughs for dancers of all skill levels. She is a generous teacher with a rare gift for demystifying this sensuous form by meticulously and effectively breaking down complex movements to their essentials and making the technique, nuances, and fluent embodiment accessible. She fosters and emphasizes an atmosphere of fun, well-being, and community in all of her classes. Class is limited space, first come, first-served.
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Dj Feral (Folktronica)
DJ Feral spins global beats that balance deep house, downtempo, bass, and swirling rhythms.
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