Krishna Das is an American vocalist known for his performances of Hindu devotional music known as kirtan. He has released seventeen albums since 1996. He performed at the 2013 Grammy Awards, where his album Live Ananda (2012) was nominated for the 2013 Grammy Award for Best New Age Album. He's been described by the New York Times as "the chant master of American yoga".
Krishna Das in 2005
Krishna Das at Bhakti Fest West in 2014
Kirtana, also rendered as Kirtan or Keertan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas, native to the Indian subcontinent. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankara.
Sikh kirtan with Indian harmoniums and tabla drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s)
Painting of a Gaudiya Vaishnava kirtan in Bengal. Some traditions practice public kirtan.
The Vedic sage Narada is depicted as a great kirtan singer in the Hindu Puranas.
A modern painting of a mahasankirtan scene from the Bhagavata Purana