In 1968, the Beatles traveled to Rishikesh, India, to study transcendental meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an experience that opened the eyes of Western culture to the country's majestic draw and launched the band members into one of the most creative and productive periods of their lives. Almost half a century later, Jonny Fritz and Robert Ellis traveled in their footsteps, toting along filmmaker Joshua Shoemaker with the intent to learn from and integrate local players into the recording of Fritz' fourth album Sweet Creep.

Though the record was ultimately produced by My Morning Jacket's Jim James in Montecito Heights, California, Fritz left India with handfuls of material, many enlightening creative experiences and, in the case of Ellis, an unwelcome stomach ailment. In the exclusive video above, Fritz, Ellis and two musicians, Neeti and Raj, who run the Devi Music Ashram, perform Fritz's "Forever Whatever," with the local players adding an ethereal touch of harmonium and tabla drums to the Sweet Creep track.

"[Neeti and Raj] run an ashram where you can stay for three dollars a night in a very nice room, overlooking the Himalayan holy city of Rishikesh," Fritz tells Rolling Stone Country. "There's no limit to how long you can stay at Devi and if we didn't have flights to catch, and if Robert didn't almost die from some parasite, we'd probably still be there. Neeti and Raj were very reluctant to play music with us. It was confusing since they run an ashram completely based around music. We finally talked them into playing this song with us. Looking back, I wish we had pushed to record more songs with them. But India is a very confusing place and often makes you wonder why you did any of it in the first place."

Country music doesn't exactly have a stronghold in India, but it does lay claim to one major star: Bobby Cash (born Bal Kishore Das Loiwal), who lives about an hour north of the ashram where Fritz and Ellis recorded "Forever Whatever." His music draws a line between the picking styles commonly used on traditional instruments like sitar and the Saraswati veena and the playing found in the honky-tonks of Nashville which, as evidenced on this version of "Forever Whatever," have more in common than one might expect.

Fritz, who released Sweet Creep this past October, will set out on a new tour this spring at home and abroad, including several shows with Margo Price.

Here are Fritz's full tour dates: February 11 - Missoula, MT @ Palace with Izaak Opatz February 17 - Los Angeles, CA @ Bootleg Theatre February 18 - Los Angeles, CA @ El Condor (DJ set) February 23 - Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theatre * February 24 - Blacksburg, VA @ Lyric Theatre * February 25 - Charlottesville, VA @ The Southern * February 26 - Charleston, WV @Mountain Stage February 28 - Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle * March 1 - Wilmington, NC @ Throne Theatre * March 2 - Charlotte, NC @ Neighborhood Theatre March 3 - Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom * March 4 - Chattanooga, TN @ Revelry Room * March 5 - Birmingham, AL @ WorkPlay *

* with Margo Price

March 22 Glasgow, UK @ O2 ABC2 Glasgow March 24 Bristol, UK @ The Exchange March 25 Twyford, UK @ The Swiss Cottage March 26 - London, UK @ The Moth Club March 28 Krefeld, DE @ Kulturrampe March 29 Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso March 30 Utrecht, NL @ Molen de Ster presented by Ekko March 31 Rotterdam, NL @ V11 presented by Rotown April 1 Gent, BE @ Trefpunt April 4 Gothenburg, SWE @ Pustervik April 5 Orebro, SWE @ East West April 6 Oslo, NO @ Buckleys April 7 - Malm, SWE @ Folk Rock April 8 Borlnge, SWE @ Broken Dreams April 9 - Stockholm, SWE @ Southside Bar April 13 Sydney, AUS @ Porteno Restaurant April 14 Sydney, AUS @ Newton Social Club April 15 Bruzzys Farm, Tallarook, AUS @ Boogie Festival April 16 Bruzzys Farm, Tallarook, AUS @ Boogie Festival April 19 - Melbourne, AUS @ Spotted Mallard April 20 Melbourne, AUS @ Caravan Music Club April 21 Melbourne, AUS @ Meeniyan Town Hall April 22 - Adelaide, AUS @ Silver Raven Festival April 23 Brisbane, AUS @ Triffid April 24 Byron Bay, AUS

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See Eccentric Troubadours Jonny Fritz, Robert Ellis Perform in India - RollingStone.com