Category: Theatre

Step into the heart of winter’s magic with Thomas Droge, a guide who intertwines the wisdom of ancient traditions with modern insight. Revel in an evening filled with the essence of tea, the joy of laughter, the expansion of the heart, and a celestial journey alongside the stars of the Big Dipper.

This timeless tradition invites us to embrace the quiet whispers of winter’s stillness and the nurturing warmth of community. Thomas has annually shared this enriching experience with those eager to broaden their perceptions and touch the infinite—all amidst the camaraderie of tea with both lifelong friends and newfound companions.

Event Highlights:

Opening Ceremony: Indulge in the robust flavors of High Mountain Puh-er tea as we initiate our gathering.

Solstice Insights: Engage with Thomas as he illuminates the solstice’s significance and demonstrates how it can enhance practices such as Meditation and QI Gong for cultivation.

Single Word Meditation: Discover the profound simplicity of setting your foundational intent for the year through a practice that connects you with your inner wisdom.

Star Stepping – Walking the Big Dipper: Immerse yourself in a rich Daoist tradition passed down by Zhong XIan Wu. This moving meditation fosters a bridge from our consciousness to the expanse of the stars.

Closing Ceremony: Conclude our shared journey with a ritual that honors the experiences of the night and seals our collective intent, leaving us with a sense of completion and renewal as we step forward into the year.

This will be a donation-based ticket at the following prices: Starlight Donor: $5, Constellation Donor: $25, Luminary Donor: $50, Celestial Donor: $100

Tired Hearts, the new album from rising indie-pop power trio, BAILEN, delivers a dazzling set of songs  that navigates the space between the heart’s expectation and the head’s sober reality. New York based  siblings, Daniel, David, and Julia’s second full-length album for Fantasy beats with empathy,  vulnerability, and resolve.  

At times intricate and playful, measured and elaborate, the 12 original songs on Tired Hearts wrestle with an uncertain future where ethics and morality—both communal and personal—seem to be constantly  shifting. Locating one’s compass amidst the chaos—a world-wide pandemic, toxic social media culture,  economic insecurity and political turbulence—is at the LP’s core. 

Producer Brad Cook (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee, Snail Mail) who, along with the band, co-produced Tired  Hearts, helped to expand BAILEN’s ambition beyond what they initially envisioned. “We’d played the  last record live a hundred times before recording it, so we tracked a lot of it live,” Daniel explains. “With  Brad, we took a collagist’s approach. It freed us up to explore and be sonically adventurous.” 
In contrast to the road-tested songs on their accomplished debut LP, 2019’s Thrilled to Be Here produced  by John Congleton, many of the songs on Tired Hearts were honed in the studio as opposed to live on  tour – “the songs changed so much over the course of recording process,” Julia remarks. 

Most noticeably, Cook encouraged the trio to experiment with how they sing. “We deliberately used the  more vulnerable parts of our voices,” Julia says. “After not being in the studio for years, we were in  vulnerable places, and this record reflects the frustration and tenderness of that time.” “We pushed  ourselves lyrically, it’s the most exposed, intimate music we’ve written as a result,” David affirms. 
Indeed, BAILEN’s radiant harmonies, spare, synth-driven tracks, and futuristic, ear-catching  arrangements usher in Tired Heart’s exhilarating avant-pop evolution. “Shadows,” affectingly captures  “the moment you see someone and realize you can spend the rest of your life with them.” “Nothing Left  to Give” echoes of HAIM’s sparkling pop, while “These Bones,” contains a hint of Phoebe Bridgers’  hushed intimacy. 

Perhaps no two songs embody that fresh ethos (and the band’s incredible range) more than the high-gloss,  New Wave dance track “Call It Like It Is,” and the stunning “BRCA (Nothing Takes Me Down),” which  takes its name from the hereditary breast cancer gene that Julia and her mother (who is a breast cancer  survivor) share. Over the track’s slow building rhythmic pulse, Julia sings of hospital gowns and  uncertainty, untying a complex knot of familial anxiety, guilt, and acceptance, while embracing the  determination to move forward: I’ll still live like I’m dying/ But I won’t let it take me down, she insists.  “It’s about finding ways to not be defined by these circumstances, and to move past them with resilience.”  

Raised and rooted in New York City by classically trained musician parents and their wide-ranging,  eclectic record collection, BAILEN has emerged as a favorite in indie circles by cultivating a passionate  following via word of mouth, robust playlisting and a stream of steady touring and collaborating with  artists such as Amos Lee, The Lone Bellow, Joseph, and Hozier to name a few. 

On Tired Hearts, their exquisite and thought-provoking new album, BAILEN learns how to dream in the  face of life’s uncertainty and in the process, moves forward aware, resilient, and hopeful. “This album is a  breakthrough for us,” Daniel says. “It’s been a rocky road, but we’re really grateful that it’s led us here.”