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SS Serpent Queen

@ssserpentqueen

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The Serpent Queen is a Steamboat Time-Machine #BurningMan #mutantvehicle.

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I first attended Burning Man in 2001—this year was my 10th visit over the quarter-century since. It’s never been my Mecca, but I keep circling back, lured by limitless possibility, whimsy, and encounters with creative, open-minded people. I see friends there; I make new ones. Black Rock City, the temporary city that rises from a crusty Nevada lake bed, is catnip for an explorer.

Part of the magic, especially in the earlier, pre-Instagram, off-the-grid years, was its liminality: cut off from the outside world, you’d enter a place out of time and surrender to an unpredictable journey. There was no reliable way to coordinate with anyone. Leave camp and you might get swept into a quasi-therapy session, an airplane joy ride, an Italian banquet, a Western saloon. You might even fall in love—for three days.

Like Williamsburg, Black Rock City has gentrified. Glamping is more common: RVs, Starlink, Shiftpods. You can find matcha lattes and sourdough pizza (gifted still). Fewer pyrotechnics, more LEDs. Less edge. Cultural fixtures have come and gone—Dr. Megavolt firing electricity at someone swinging from a crane—replaced by new ones, often giant sound systems on wheels.

But the desert remains: stark, beautiful—a blank canvas that still inspires awe and introspection. The old magic is there if you open to adventure. One moment I’m seated with Kazakhs in a yurt; the next I’m dancing on a golden dragon spitting flames. My camp crews the Serpent Queen, a Victorian steamboat; we hosted a wedding in the open desert amid raging dust.

I’ve accumulated many such only-at-Burning-Man memories. I’ve heard it called the ultimate “you had to be there” experience. I’ve never tried to prove otherwise. Most years I hardly took pictures.

I once interviewed Larry Harvey, Burning Man’s founder and philosopher-chief. He told me the experience “tends to confirm a person’s sense of their own inner reality and potency of their being, and that extends to their ability to join with others in a common purpose: I Am, We Are, It Is.”

Maybe that’s what endures for me after 25 years: individual possibility, connection to others, participation in something larger.

I’ll probably be back again.

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So grateful for the amazing ecosystem of humans that travel to the most inhospitable environment to make the most beautiful art. Thank you to all the beautiful creatures who blessed my world in the dust and the wind last week, love you all ❤️ 🫶✨

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I’m returning to Black Rock City for one of my favorite things, @BurningMan!

I’ll be reflecting on 40 years of MAPS, exploring the role of therapy in psychedelic treatments, discussing what comes next for MDMA-assisted therapy, and joining conversations about how we build a movement that lasts. I’ll also be returning to the Palenque Norte Speaker Series.

Swipe to check the schedule and come say hello, I hope to see you on the playa!

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Where there’s no river, imagination becomes the current

@ssserpentqueen

#burningman2025 #thankslarry #tomorrowtoday

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Black Rock City Bible Camp Jubilee! Photo Drop… Reminiscing of what each year has brought into my life. So many other pictures are left out but it’s a continual story for me! Cheers.

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Have you ever fallen overboard-in-love with an entire crew before? Sheeeeeeeeeeesh 😍🥰

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📍Black Rock City, NV • Burning Man • August 2025

Still riding this Burning Man afterglow. It wasn’t just an experience, it was a reminder of connection, joy, and community. Something we can bring into our lives daily ✨

#burningman2025 #serpentqueen #blackrockcity

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Photos from a parallel universe. It’s a wild, raw, and unforgiving place and if you can find the magic within it, it’s yours to keep.

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📍Black Rock City, NV • Burning Man • August 2025

I never imagined I’d actually make it to Burning Man - never really had a huge draw towards this “thing in the desert”. But this year curiosity (and the Serpent Queen crew) pulled me in. And what I found was so much more than I ever expected. Yes, the art, music, and desert magic were incredible - but it was the people and community who made it unforgettable.

Thank you to this incredible crew for welcoming me with open arms and open hearts, and for being so kind and patient with my “broken wing”. They showed me what community really feels like, held me up when I was nervous about being there with a torn tendon, and reminded me that support can be found in the wildest of places.

The dust, the laughter, the music, and all the little in-betweens were such a gift. And getting to share it all with my best friend after years of hearing his stories made it even more special.

One hell of a first Burn - I’m already counting the days until the next. Until we meet again in the dust xo

#burningman2025 #serpentqueen #blackrockcity

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✨ Brian Wood Capobianchi ✨
Burning Man 2025 Music Sets 🎶🔥

TUESDAY
🌙 2:30 AM — DRIFTR (w/ Emily) · Acoustic
📍 Reverbia · Esplanade & 9:00

☀️ 6:00 PM — The Gathering Tree (Brian & Emily)
📍 Deep Playa on Serpent Queen
(just before Art House Orchestra performance)

THURSDAY
🌅 Sunrise — Acoustic Guitar with Rhye
📍 Playa Alchemist Pyramid (2:00 & E)

🌻 3:30 PM — The Gathering Tree (w/ Jamie) · Acoustic
📍 Reverbia Horizon Stage · Esplanade & 9:00

FRIDAY
🌌 9:30 PM — DRIFTR (Brian & Jamie) · Live Electronic Set
📍 Reverbia Horizon Stage · Esplanade & 9:00

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⚓️ And find me on the SS Serpent Queen
Mississippi River Boat Art Car (complete with a grand piano on the top deck!)

#BurningMan2025 #Reverbia #TheGatheringTree #DRIFTR #BurningManMusic

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Black rock city is calling ☎️

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The temple is one of the most sacred pieces of Burning Man. A sanctuary for grief, healing and closure. Many write letters and leave personal items to honour lost loved ones. In 2022 I wrote notes for my two grandfathers that passed that summer.

On the final night thousands of people watch it burn in silence, reflecting on what they’ve left behind and the impermanence of life.

This footage is from the 2023 Temple, a year where only the few who stuck around days after the mud got to witness. #burningman

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