Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Howard Stern on Stage for David Lynch Foundation

When Paul McCartney introduced Ringo Starr as Billy Shears to an appreciative crowd at Radio City Music Hall, you have to think that the organizers of the Change Begins within Concert were extremely pleased with the event they had created. Paul and Ringo had not performed on the same stage since 2002 and the duo headlined an evening that saw stars as diverse as Cheryl Crow, Eddie Vedder and Ben Harper pull together in support of a cause that is somewhat outside the consciousness of mainstream America.

The David Lynch Foundation is dedicated to teaching at-risk youths meditation techniques as a means of finding a spiritual foundation and life clarity that may help them overcome the trials they face in their daily lives. The concert ran nearly four hours and included some musical highlights like Vedder and Ben Harper performing Queen and David Bowie’s Under Pressure, as well as some great moments with Paul McCartney singing some of his legendary Beatles’ and Wings’ hits.

In between musical performances, celebrities like Howard Stern spoke to the audience about how meditation has positively impacted their lives. Stern claims to have mediated for the last 37 years and he credits the technique with relieving his mother’s symptoms of depression. The David Lynch Foundation is dedicated to providing funding for transcendental meditation programs for children in schools as a means of relieving stress and optimizing the educational experience.