What people are saying... "You have a real gift, divine inspiration and the voice to share it!" "Your CD came out so incredible! I love it! I dance around the kitchen singing. It is a master peice, you did an amazing job!" "Just wanted to say that I , and everyone that hears it, are enthused, enthralled and in love with Lakshmi Devi's new CD Raise a Holy Fire." "Thank you for your soul stirring performance. It moved me to the verge of tears. The audience basked in the vocal aura of sublime shakti. The set was powerful. Thank you so very much for a pitch perfect performance." Lakshmi Devi is an inspired musician/songwriter who delves into life as a mystical exploration full of passionate expression. She has performed her original music throughout the West Coast, Hawaii, and Thailand at various fairs, festivals, cultural arts venues, and private gatherings. Her extensive musical involvements include: producing shows, composing music for videos, and directing music for ritual performances. She also appears as a guest performer and studio musician for various projects such as: the internationally acclaimed electronic dance band "Medicine Drum", brilliant eco-activist "Julia Butterfly-Hill", east-west fusion leader "Jai Uttal", renowned world musician, "Geoffrey Gordon" and popular chanting guru "Krishna Das". Although she was absorbed in music growing up as a dancer, with a piano-playing father who managed the #1 Gospel group of the time, Lakshmi didn't begin her direct journey with music until her early 20's. When an injury caused her to stop dancing as a career she found her way to the invisible world that inspired the dance, Music. She began singing in college classes and, at home, she began teaching herself guitar and writing songs. Always influenced by the sounds and music that crossed her path, such as East-Indian, Native American, Asian Downtempo, Classic Rock and World Folk, Lakshmi as vocalist and songwriter reflects many styles. Her hand-percussion skills, while steeped in Salsa and Afro-Cuban roots have also been influenced by Middle Eastern rhythms and those of many Sacred Indigenous Cultures. Although primarily western based, her music reflects these world influences through a sometimes interesting inclusion of unusual instruments such as didgeridoo, cello, tabla, ebo guitar and Native Heart drum. She also has a self-designed Bachelor of Arts degree in the Anthropology of Music. Her music is best understood by it's spontaneous aspect which most authentically reveals what her lyrics describe: the raw depths and soaring heights of a soul's journey through a human life. Lakshmi Devi holds performing as a ritual and an opportunity for the mysterious power of music to be invited in and move all who are present. Whether with her full band, with acoustic accompaniment, or solo, her reflective lyrics and trance like vocals intoxicate her audiences inviting them into states of intimate transformation and ecstatic remeberance.