PERFORMERSThe performers of The Sacred Village Women’s Festival are the weavers of these realms, bringing forth the ecstatic, ancestral, raw, and the divine. They are the storytellers, the rhythm keepers who invoke deep feeling through song, dance, spoken word, and embodied artistry.
From hypnotic drum beats to soul stirring melodies, from firelit dances to immersive theatrical ceremonies, each performance is an invitation to witness, feel, and be moved.
OUR 2026 PERFORMERSNessi Gomes
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Nessi Gomes is a songwriter shaped by edges, cultural edges, emotional edges, the places inside us that don’t clean up easily. Born to Madeiran parents in Guernsey, she grew up between languages, between islands, between identities. Maybe that’s why her work sits in the in-between - not folk, not pop, not confessional, not theatre, but something raw and unguarded, carried by a voice that doesn’t hide from itself.
Her songs lean into the dark, not for drama but for honesty. The grief, the doubt, the ache of trying to belong in your own life. She follows feeling where it goes, not where it’s supposed to go. And in doing so, she finds light that hasn’t been polished, only earned.
Her debut album, Diamonds & Demons, was born from upheaval and built with community support, a record of fragile hope and stubborn resistance. It quietly found its people, carrying her across continents and into rooms where listeners come not to escape, but to remember themselves.
Offstage, Nessi has spent the last decade working with the voice as a place to meet emotion and truth, influenced by her background in Creative Expressive Therapies and voice-based therapeutic work. It’s not performance training. It’s more like tending to the parts that don’t speak in sentences. Over the years, thousands have joined her workshops and retreats, not in search of perfection, but presence.
Now, she’s in a season of returning to the source, writing, unravelling, listening. New songs are taking shape, bruised and luminous, cracked-open and steady, refusing simple answers.
Nessi sings like someone trying to stay real in a world full of masks.
She writes for the ones who feel too much and keep going anyway.
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Nessi Gomes is Sacred Village’s 2026 Headlining Artist, offering a Friday night musical journey that weaves voice, prayer, and presence—an evening of deep listening, remembrance, and shared resonance beneath the stars.
Brenda McM0rr0w
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Brenda McMorrow is known for her unique and warmly embracing style of mantra medicine music, in which she blends elements of acoustic folk, world rhythms and ancient Indian chants with a sweetly introspective singer-songwriter’s sensibility. With Sanskrit Mantra and Kirtan (call and response singing) as the basis, Brenda weaves in the power of Spanish Medicine songs and her own inspiring English lyrics to create a healing and uplifting tapestry with the audience.
Yoga Journal describes Brenda as having “a knack for expressing the deepest realizations in the sparsest lyrics”. Spiritual teacher Ram Dass has said: “Brenda has a gift”, and her intention is to help bring more beauty, peace, understanding and well-being into the world through the joy and healing power of music.
With over 23 million streams on Spotify alone and a busy upcoming tour schedule spanning 3 continents, Brenda’s music has been touching people’s hearts across the planet.
Brenda McMorrow Webpage: www.Brendamcmorrow.com -
Integration Kirtan Concert
As one of our headlining offerings, Brenda McMorrow invites us into an afternoon of deep integration through devotional song, rhythm, and collective prayer.
Ashley Gilmore
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Ashley Gilmore is a Toronto-based singer, performer, and vocal facilitator whose high energy, humour, and raw authenticity electrify every room she enters. Watching Ashley is a release — like letting pressure out of a pressure cooker — because she creates a space where masks fall away and people feel safe to be silly, real, and fully themselves. Blending heartfelt songwriting with deep emotional resonance, Ashley’s sound opens people wide, inviting connection, catharsis, and joy.
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Ashley will deliver a dynamic, one-hour performance that moves between powerful vocals, soulful songwriting, and spontaneous, high-energy storytelling. Her show is a fusion of emotional depth and comedic relief — an experience where audiences laugh, let go, and leave feeling cracked open in the best way. Through her rich vocals and heart-centered presence, Ashley guides the crowd into moments of connection, release, and shared humanity. She’ll be accompanied by Madison Ryley, whose silky backup harmonies add warmth, depth, and an irresistible glow to the performance.
The Ancient Youth
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The Ancient Youth is a musical sisterhood of three women, Lorelei, EARTHWALKER (Leah), and Katrina Anastasia. Weaving harmony-rich acoustic, ethereal & cinematic soundscapes inspired by ancestral wisdom, childlike curiosity and the Earth’s rhythms. Through sound, story, and spirit, they guide audiences toward healing, unity, and reconnection with the natural world, illuminating pathways to the New Earth.
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Mythical Voices
The Ancient Youth invites you into an immersive performance where vocal channeling, original songs, and audience participation converge. The performers channel ethereal sounds, tapping into a deep, transformative energy, while also presenting their own original songs that weave together healing melodies and rhythms. The audience is encouraged to join in, vocalizing alongside the performers, creating a shared vibrational experience that amplifies the collective energy. This performance offers a sacred space for both listening and singing, guiding all present toward a deeper connection with the new earth and their role in its creation.
Audra Santa
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Audra Santa is a soul-stirring songwriter who creates shared experiences of spiritual and community connection. Her diverse musical background includes touring her original music in Sweden, performing alongside Canadian icons, and a formative chapter as a worship leader in Australia. This year, Audra releases her latest offering, Sacred Sunday, a collection of original songs created for spiritual connection.
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Sacred Sunday
A heart-opening set of soul songs, spiritual activation and collective voice to integrate all the magic of the weekend. Led by Audra Santa, this experience weaves community connection with deep presence—reconnecting us to Spirit, the Earth, and each other.
Sleeping Bees
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Sleeping Bees is an all female Toronto-based contemporary folk trio made up of Kathryn Merriam, Madison Ryley & Reid Zoé. Singing original music inspired by nature and the human experience, their poignant lyrics and ethereal harmonies have been mesmerising audiences since their band debut in July 2019. Sleeping Bees is quickly building a reputation as a 'powerful new force in the Toronto music community' and a show not to be missed. -
Musical Performance
Their songs explore themes of nature connection, female empowerment, healing, and embodiment. They aim to create music that invites listeners into emotionally resonant spaces, both externally and internally.The Sleeping Bees' Performance at Sacred Village would take the form of a an intimate gathering designed to support audience connection. Creating a living ecosystem rather than a fixed concert: a space where sound, bodies, stories, and comminuty care practices may intersect. They are excited at the idea of singing at another womens gathering, as we sang last year at Dreaming Waters Gathering, and their first ever musical performance, with songs all about nature, connection, and healing. Stay tuned for their nature-inspired songs to heal your heart and soothe your soul.

