Headphones and healing: Immersive silent piano concert coming to Del Mar

DEL MAR, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) -- Imagine this: the sun dips below the horizon, the ocean waves crash gently nearby, and a blanket of stars begins to form above. But instead of the usual beach chatter or Bluetooth speakers, something more intimate unfolds. Each person is silently immersed in their own world — yet fully connected — through the shared experience of live piano music delivered straight to their ears.

That’s the magic of MindTravel, the internationally acclaimed, live-to-headphones piano concert created by composer and pianist Murray Hidary, and it’s coming to Del Mar’s Powerhouse Beach Park on Monday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m.

Described as a “silent concert,” MindTravel is anything but ordinary. Audience members slip on wireless headphones and are guided through a deeply reflective, improvisational piano performance — composed live on the spot by Hidary himself. It’s part mindfulness practice and part musical journey.

Rather than filling the air with amplified sound, MindTravel creates a personal concert inside your headphones, allowing you to tune out distractions and tune in to yourself — while still surrounded by others on their own inner journeys.

"MindTravel is an experience like no other. Imagine a concert pianist improvising beautiful, peaceful music with imagery in the background that matches the beauty of the music — combined, it is almost meditative or trancelike," said Jason Wachob, an attendee of a previous event.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online for $56.76. There is also a "pay what you can" option for those who wish to attend but are on a tighter budget, making this event more accessible.

For those who plan on attended the concert, organizer suggest bringing a blanket, cushion or low chair to sit on, along with an extra layer of clothes in case it gets chilly as the sun goes down. Check-in begins 30 minutes before the show with earlier arrival encouraged.

MindTravel has been staged in deserts, forests, mountaintops, and beaches all over the world. The experience has come to the San Diego area several times, always drawing a crowd.

More information about the MindTravel experience can be found here.