The daughter of a choir director, Shyama Chapin has been singing as long as she can remember. Her first composition, a piece about Winnie the Pooh, was written on her grandma's upright piano when she was four years old. While surrounded by sounds of prayer, and coffee shop singer-songwriters, she began to notice the dynamic [...]
Sridhar and Shyamdas at Bhakti Fest. Photo by Mitchell Manz. The sun is setting on another 110 degree day in the Mojave Desert. Seventy-eight-year-old Bhakti Fest Founder Sridhar Silberfein storms in the front door dripping in sweat. For the past eight hours he has been out under the sun, digging ditches for [...]
Photo of Ram Dass by Perry Julien Gate Gate Paragate, Parasamgate, Bodhi Svaha Before Ram Dass was Ram Dass, he was Richard Alpert --- a psychology professor who had been famously kicked out of Harvard with Timothy Leary for experimenting with LSD. Acid-adventurer Aldous Huxley gave Alpert and Leary a copy of the [...]
Normandie Keith photographed at her home by Cheryl Fox. Clothing by Lavaloka There are some people who remind you that there’s magic in this world. Beings who shine so bright they can sometimes blind. Normandie Keith, with her long blond braids and thousand-watt smile is one of these people. She has the ability to [...]
Belinda Carlisle Photo by Paula Harrowing On a recent Saturday night in downtown Los Angeles, Belinda Carlisle bounced around the stage singing the classics, shaking her tambourine, and seducing a crowd of thousands. As she sauntered off the stage, the audience asked for more. This demand echoed from the front-of-house to backstage, down [...]
Paul Teodo photographed by David Young-Wolff In the suburbs of Chicago, a loud, loving Italian family instilled in their sons a love of music, of connection, and a work ethic that allowed them to explore their place in the world. One of the brothers is an insurance adjuster still in the Chicago [...]
Nahko Bear photo by Daniel Jung. A story of family origins, music, and activism. From the West, from the North, from the East, from the South, the medicine tribe is gathering. They are rising up in unity, in resilience, and with the intention of creating new paradigms on the planet. They’re a [...]
Singer Songwriter and Spiritual Seeker Trevor Hall. Photo by Emory Hall. On a cold New York City night, college students cram into a club to sing, dance and, unbeknownst to them, chant the names of God. It’s a sold-out Trevor Hall show in the city that doesn’t sleep. Between Snapchats and the second [...]
Sharing Strength through Movement and Meditation Mandy Ingber knows something about the experiences that break our hearts, how to find the inner strength that allows us to straddle the chasm of our challenges, and how to move in order to heal the body, the mind, and the emotions. These are lessons she learned the hard [...]
Photo by DJ Pierce Kirtan Wallah, Krishna Das' latest album, signifies a new chapter in the chant artist's life. For thousands, the month of September signifies time to head to the desert for the annual pilgrimage to Joshua Tree Retreat Center to chant, practice, and play. The fact that Bhakti Fest is celebrating its [...]