After 23 years on the Playa, the Free Burn last year had to be my favorite adventure in the dust so far. The original spirit of Burning Man had never been more palpable.
Driving solo into the desert for the first time, in the middle of the night, felt like traversing the moon: submersed in complete darkness with no other vehicles or lights in sight, using only a compass app to find my camp (that just happened to be conveniently situated a stoneʼs throw away from Robot Heart). When I arrived, I parked behind the RH bus and immediately started getting ready to dance to my brothers Sabo and Goldcap. Friends started showing up to my van-house and I had never felt such a sense of home in my largely nomadic life.
I played the first set of Thursday evening at 11pm, so I warmed up the night and moved quickly into some deep and experimental genre mixing to match the vibe of the gathering crowd. It was extra exciting to start my set while the bus was driving and a trail of illuminated bikes followed close behind. While I have played the bus before with my former group KMLN, this set felt like a new experience re-establishing myself as a solo artist after the better part of a decade. Thereʼs so much I can say about this, but in short itʼs been quite the journey and the feeling after my set was indescribable. I have so much appreciation for the Robot Heart family pulling off the almost impossible in getting the bus out to the desert last year; it truly brought my experience (and I know so many others) to the next level!
After more than two decades of returning to the Playa, my RH set last year felt like a full 360. I was one of the very first fire dancers in North America back in the 90ʼs and helped form the performance troupe APSARA, San Franciscoʼs first fire ensemble. Our group bonded with El Circo from Ashland a few years later, and we joined their crew to become the first proper ‘Soundcampʼ on the Esplanade. Every Friday night, we brought a massive art, music, and theater variety performance where thousands would gather around the Star Stage in the middle of our teardrop-windowed 300-foot dome to watch. Back then, we were all making our own costumes and BM looks, which inevitably birthed a style that still thrives today on the Playa and across festivals worldwide. Itʼs unbelievable how far BRC has come from the rawness of those early days. Iʼll never forget the year Robot Heart showed up. It was the first massive sound car to hit the Playa and we were all blown away by this new desert powerhouse. Many years later, I am beyond happy to be a part of their community.
Now, they are transporting the Playa magic out of the desert and sharing it to the world, allowing a taste to many who have never experienced it before. I just bore witness to this at Robot Heartʼs Fare Forward event in NYCʼs Central Park.
Some of the tales that I heard there honestly melted my heart - lives were changed by this bus! I am so proud of my RH family for all they have accomplished as well as the magic yet to come - it is my honor to be a part of it.
<3 Go Team!!! <3
shawna_schwamama
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fraulein.hofmann
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Shawna
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KMLN
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Listed
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Photo Credits:
John Dill
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