Ravinia 2022, Issue 2

Michael Franti follows his heart in every moment BY TRICIA DESPRES HE R NAME WAS MAMA B ROWN , and Michael Franti loved her. ¶ “I was 22 years old when I met her for the first time,” Franti recalls to Ravinia Magazine while winding his way across the western United States. The belated introduction was to his late grandmother, who was raised in the moun- tains of Virginia and worked as a domestic house cleaner well into her 90s. “My grandma just had this way of taking any situation and turning it into something that made me feel comfortable. She had humor and joy and a sense of optimism and love that I have always wished could ultimately shine within me—and through my guitar.” ¶ So, the California native ended up naming his guitar after his grandmother. RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 7