Concert Photography

BRANTLEY GILBERT - FIRE'T UP TOUR

January 25, 2020

FIRE’T UP TOUR KICKS OFF IN LONDON ONTARIO, CANADA!

Brantley Gilbert’s FIRE’T UP TOUR broke loose in London to kick off the tour along with Brandon Lay & Dylan Scott and it was incredible!
Brantley comes out, down the stairs being lit up by a single spotlight then BOOM! flames shoot straight up across the back of the stage lighting up the entire stage in a nice warm orange glow, we could feel the heat down in the pit. With his raspy yet soulful voice, Brantley belted out, running back and fourth across the stage putting on one hell of a good show. So much pyro in the first 3 songs, not sure how the rest of the set went as we only shoot the first 3 songs then we’re out, but to have pyro and good lighting in the first 3 songs is pretty rare, at least in my experience. This was my first time taking in a Brantley Gilbert show and wow… he definitely did not disappoint one bit. If you love Brantley’s voice like I do, then you need to make sure you’re at a show on this tour because he sounds dead on live, I was blown away.

Brandon Lay, I’ll be honest here I didn’t know who Brandon Lay was, but that’s what I love about shooting shows. Sometimes you don’t know the openers, and sometimes those openers become music you add to your play list because you loved what you heard, and this was one of those times. Brandon was great and a good mix for the show. Now I said I didn’t know him, which the name I didn’t.. but once he started his set I realized I know some of his songs, mainly Speakers, Bleachers and Preachers … love that song.. just didn’t realize he did it. Brandon was awesome live, would definitely go see him again.

Dylan Scott, man oh man this guy looked so comfortable on stage, big smiles and you could just tell he was very appreciative of where he is in life and what he gets to do for a living. Of course in the first 3 songs he shot out his hit song HOOKED, which is such a fun, energetic song and the crowd was definitely feeling it, the screams when he finished the song were ear piercing, the crowd just loving him. Dylan Definitely got the crowd fired up for Brantley.

All in All this Tour is incredible and keeps your attention, makes your ears smile ( If they had mouths) and if you’re THINKING about going to a stop on this tour… stop… don’t think.. just go buy your ticket and get ready for a great night out.. no one on this tour disappoints.

BIG THANK YOU goes out to Budweiser Gardens & Live Nation for the opportunity to photograph the first stop on this tour, without them I would never have these opportunities and it means a lot, I am very grateful for the approvals and allowing me to do what I love.

BRANTLEY GILBERT

BRANDON LAY

DYLAN SCOTT

Big Wreck & Texas King - But For The Sun Tour 2019

November 24, 2019

Big Wreck was a staple for me in the 90’s and later when Big Wreck Front-man, Ian Thornley started his Solo project “ Thornley “ that was also a love of mine. When it was announced that Big Wreck was coming to London Music Hall I instantly applied to shoot it. Getting the opportunity to be that close, and in a smaller venue with Big Wreck was an incredible experience and I couldn’t be more thankful for the opportunity.
Ian and the guys came out strong, their heavy Drop D or C or A .. which ever it is, style with Ian’s soul quenching voice is so melodic and almost hypnotizing, there were a few moments I got caught up in the music and how dead on they sounded, I forgot we only got 3 songs and needed to shoot as much as possible. Ian had a bit of technical malfunction due to what looked like a faulty patch chord, but like the pro he is, he didn’t skip a note or lyric while his guitar tech quickly swapped out the chords and got Ian’s guitar screaming again. A few laughs from the band, a quick “ we got it figured out” from Ian and BAM, right into the next song, very professional. All in All, this show was phenomenal, the sound was bang on, lighting was a bit dark but hey… it looks good to the eye, and tough for photographers, but the show isn’t just for us.. it’s our job to take the light we have and make magic, which is the fun and challenge of it all.

Texas King came out with such energy and passion which, if you’ve seen these guys you know, is their thang! Being from London Ontario and after being out on the road for this tour, they came home to open arms, a sold out show and some big energy. Opening for Big Wreck on this tour is a huge accomplishment, which I’m sure is going to give them even more “street cred” than they already have, these guys are making a big name for themselves and it’s well deserved. Texas King has it.. they have the stage presence, a great sound and some incredible talent. If you haven’t seen/heard Texas King, look them up asap.. I’ve seen these guys a bunch of times now and every time I’m smiling ear to ear because they are just… gold!

TEXAS KING

BIG WRECK

ARKELLS

November 09, 2019

Hamilton Ontario Canada.. what have you birthed?! … THE ARKELLS!!! that’s what!

Canadian Rock band ARKELLS made their way into London Ontario to blow the roof off of Budweiser Gardens Along with Nashville’s own indy pop band COIN as the opener on the #RallyCryTour. Coin were incredible.. honestly, I had never heard of them before, although one of their songs I’m pretty sure i heard playing in a store once when i was shopping, it was their song “Talk To Much”. With their pop, new age kind of sound you can’t help but want to move. Pretty impressed with their set and for being an opener, I was blown away that they played almost an hour set, usually the opening band doesn’t get that long, but with 2 albums out, a great sound and only them and the Arkells on the bill… I’m glad they got that long because I was really getting into them. For the first 3 songs we were allowed to shoot pit, but to my surprise, once all 3 songs were over I was getting ready to get escorted out until Arkells came on, but out of no where we were told we could stay and shoot the rest of their set from the crowd which was a very welcomed surprise! Coin is a great band, their singer is a pleasure to watch, always moving and jumping, quick little dance moves, just over all fun to watch will definitely be watching for them to come back around again.

A large silver tassel curtain rose from the stage floor up to the top of the stage to make a large sparkling backdrop, a large sign hung reading ARKELLS TOURING BAND in the middle… stairs with a drum kit on top rolled out.. large pillars with rotating light heads in the background and some strobes… IT”S ARKELLS TIME!!!!!!!! Running out on stage Arkells opened the show with “Hand Me Downs” , what a great opener.. crowd participation right off the hop and boy oh boy did London participate singing all the “OH OHHHH OHHHHH’s “ at the top of their lungs putting a big ol ‘ smile on MAX’s face (lead singer). While there was no confetti at this show, you can be sure there will be some somewhere on this tour, actually I’m pretty sure there already has been.. I was ready for it and wanting it because while it’s very tough to photograph through.. it’s fun and can make an image great.. but while walking around the stage and runway I did not see cannons or the compressed air .. my heart sank a little.. but with a low stage and runway it was quickly picked back up with some nice wide angle shots and Max using the runway a lot. In all honesty .. this was my first time seeing Arkells live, and they did not disappoint one bit.. amazing performance, high energy, lots of movement .. such a fun band to hear, see and photography…

HUGE thank you goes out to Budweiser Gardens for having me out… couldn’t have had the opportunity without them.

- Kevin.

COIN

ARKELLS

ParkJam Festival

September 15, 2019

7 days of glorious music! ParkJam Festival is a new festival that started this year in London Ontario. Pretty much ParkJam was born by mixing two other events together… those two events were Trackside (an all country based festival that happened annually in London at the Western Fair Grounds, and another event called Block Party. This was the first year for Parkjam and it seemed to have gone very well. This festival is a multi-genre festival, 7 nights long with genre’s such as: EDM, Rock, Alternative, Hip Hop, Punk and Country. the break down was like this:

Rock Night - Main Stage:
The Glorious Sons, Cold War Kids, Texas King, The Beaches

Side Stage: The Honest Heart Collective, Kasador, Goodnight Sunrise

Country Night - Main Stage:
Brett Kissel, Meghan Patrick, Aaron Goodvin, JoJo Mason

Side Stage: Genevieve Fisher, Melissa Megan, Patrick James Clark

Pop Night - Main Stage:
98º, O-Town, Aaron Carter, Wannabe

Side Stage: Saveria, Trading Alaska, Chad Price

Alternative Night - Main Stage:
The Offspring, MXPX, Reel Big Fish, Seaway

Side Stage: The Anti-Queens, Snacks?, The Filthy Radicals

Hip-Hop Night - Main Stage:
Ice Cube, Method Man & Redman, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Maestro Fresh Wes, Haviah Mighty

Side stage: Sum-01, Ngajuana, Lola

EDM Night: Deadmau5, Diplo, AC Slater, Feed Me, Ookay, Atilas, Frank Walker, No Mana, Eddie, No Fone

EDM night is 2 nights Long with Diplo headlining one night and Deadmau5 headlining the other.

Tonight is my last night shooting can’t wait to get some shots of Deadmau5. So far this festival has been incredible, so many bands, so many different types of people and music there was something for everyone which has made it so awesome to attend. The line ups moved fast, gates opened on time, everything was well organized .. even bathroom waits were very minimal. Really hoping this festival will continue on annually and continue to grow, but as I said.. being the first year, the turn outs were pretty good and I can only see it getting better and bigger year to year. Parkjam has a strong backing and well rounded individuals on the team to make sure amazing bands are brought in to make this festival solid.. can’t wait to see what next year brings and hopefully Stage Pass Media will have access to shoot again!

HUGE thank you goes out to everyone at London Music Hall and Parkjam for allowing Stage Pass Media access to capture all the amazing talent.. thank you to Demetri and Mario for the hook up, thank you to all the security staff for making everyone feel safe, all the volunteers for coming out night after night, without all their help this thing couldn’t happen.. and of course.. thank you to all the bands that came out to show everyone what they do!!! feeling incredibly thankful for the opportunity. See you all next year!

The Glorious Sons

Cold War Kids

The Beaches

Brett Kissel

Meghan Patrick

Aaron Goodvin

JoJo Mason

Reel Big Fish

Seaways

Seaway Park Jam Festival @kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media — Seaway
Park Jam Festival
@kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

MXPX

This is where I would put in The Offspring, but due to legalities and contracts that were required to photograph them, I am no able to post the images here as it is my personal site, Stage Pass Media does not have it’s own site quite yet.. Soooooo.. if you’d like to see the Offspring images, you will have to check them out on the Stage Pass Media Instagram account. @stagepass_media.

Redman & Method Man

Ice Cube

DEADMAU5

Festival Of Friends

August 07, 2019

Last weekend was the Festival Of Friends, a FREE festival that has been happening annually since 1976 in Hamilton Ontario. My decision to go was last minute as I wasn’t sure if I’d have the weekend off work and the drive to Hamilton, but I was approved and received my Media Accreditation the day of the festival and with nothing to do the day of, I said Sure, off to Hamilton!
It was my first time every going to this festival and I have to say… for a FREE festival it is MASSIVE.. heck.. it was massive regardless of having to pay or not. To have a stage set up that big, with that kind of lighting, full out carnival games and rides.. all the vendors and food trucks for FREE… just insane! Not only was all that great but a lot of great bands through out the day as well.

Later in the night I remember looking back from the stage and seeing people slowly start to set up chairs and blankets casually watching the bands but then around 7pm, I looked back again and there was a massive crowd. Looking back once more as the stage crew was setting up for The Spoons … my jaw dropped.. the amount of people that had gathered was one of the biggest crowds I’ve seen.. it was a sea of people as far as I could see… and if that wasn’t packed enough.. there were even more people once Loverboy hit the stage.. it took me 15 mins to travel through the sea of people to get to the other side of the park to get back to my car.

My focus of shooting was on the 4 bands leading up to Loverboy:

GOODNIGHT, SUNRISE

This band was incredible.. so much energy on stage! I mean.. there was a Keytar!! 2019 and there was a Keytar!! I was blown away. Their sound has this hint of 80’s but also a nice new, fresh upbeat alternative rock vibe that I fell in love with.

FIRE TIGER

All the way from Los Angeles California, this retro power pop band came out in full force to put on a great set! Fire Tiger has really nailed that 80’s sound in today’s day and age and it’s fantastic. Their hit song ‘Energy’ is so catchy and full sounding.. reminds me of being a kid in the 80’s sitting down watching the Goonies after our riding around on my skateboard after a full morning of playing Nintendo.. it’s so good!

THE SPOONS

After photographing The Spoons last year in my home town of Woodstock Ontario at Cowapolooza, I was pretty pumped to get to photograph them again this year. This band is so tight on stage and sound amazing every time. Throwing in all the old hits then mixing it up with some new tunes, it was the perfect old and new blend and it was well received by the crowd.

LOVERBOY

Who doesn’t know this Canadian staple? come on … we all know them because we are all just ‘Working for the weekend’ … we’re ‘Notorious’ for it. Once they hit the stage the crowd was “Lovin’ Every minute’ of it. After all these years, the guys still sound amazing.. couldn’t believe how good it was and enjoyed every single song.

APRIL WINE - COWAPOLOOZA 2018

August 19, 2018

With South Side Park in Woodstock Ontario packed with hundreds of people under the stars on a warm summer night, April Wine hit the stage for the second time in the Cowapolooza history.
It's incredible to see a legendary piece of Canadian music history put on such an incredible show after all these years. April Wine sounded amazing playing all their hits, the crowd going nuts, dancing and singing the night away. Best part about this show was the mix of people.. old and young and everyone seemed to know the lyrics to most of the songs. April Wine ended their set with the amazing, and my personal fav song, ROLLER, shortly after they exited the stage, the crowd, without hesitation started chanting "encore" to which April Wine replied with coming back out and Blasting out their hit "Oowatanite" ... and Oowatanite it was!

OUR LADY PEACE & MATTHEW GOOD

March 11, 2018

Off to the stage with 4 other photographers, hearing the buzz of everyone in the building chatting, music playing in the background, house lights half on.. that anticipation building, going over camera settings in my mind, wondering what the lighting will be like. In that moment, the lights go out, complete darkness except for a few small, dim stage lights, the crowd roars, whistling, cheering, clapping and screaming while the band walks out on to the stage .. nothing but Silhouettes.

Our Lady Peace was a staple in my upbringing, yet, it's taken me 36 years to finally see them live. When photographing bands you only get a taste of the performance as most cases you can only photograph the first 3 songs of each band. Regardless, even the first 3 songs are usually a great time, there's always one good song that everyone knows.. for OLP, for me anyways that song was 'Superman's Dead' and it was done to perfection. OLP fired it up right out of the gate with high energy, some pretty unique lighting, which was a bit challenging as there were some strobe effects going on that made timing a bit tough, but it was incredible and I am complete thankful for the opportunity which was provided to me by Live Nation.

Matthew Good was another one of those 90's staples for me who I've always enjoyed listening to. I've only seen Matt one other time and it was maybe 2 years ago at Rock The Park in London ON and it was good... but last night's performance topped it 100%. Same deal, we only get to shoot the first 3 songs, but the first 3 were incredible and standing that close shooting made it even that much better.
After being escorted back into the photographer room, it sounded like the crowd was really enjoying the show as you could hear the screaming and clapping echo through the back halls of Budweiser Gardens. Overall, what a fantastic night. I'd like to thank Live Nation again for the opportunity to photograph this show and Budweiser Gardens for being so accommodating for the night.

until the next time
-Shutter Click!

OLP (Our Lady Peace)London ON, CanadaBudweiser Gardens — OLP (Our Lady Peace)
London ON, Canada
Budweiser Gardens

MATTHEW GOOD

WE WERE THAT SONG TOUR

February 20, 2018

Brett Kissel has blown up like crazy! If you don't know Brett Kissel and you like country music then you should definitely check him out, you won't be disappointed. Another great country music artist... Dan Davidson, again, if you do not know Dan Davidson check out his music.
London Ontario, Canada these two played on February 10th, a sold out show at the London Music Hall, my favourite venue in London, and then because this show sold out so quick, they decided to add a second date to the tour.. February 18th. Great things were said about the 10th show so needless to say I was pumped to be photographing the show on the 18th.

Sitting in my car in the parking lot waiting for 6:30pm to roll around and doors to open, everyone in the line up started yelling, right away I knew Brett had made an appearance outside to see the fans so I quickly grabbed my camera, jumped out of the car and started snapping shots of him from the parking lot.. he was only out there for maybe 2 mins. Fast forward; Standing in the media pit looking out to this massive crowd, the stage lit with some dark blue light, fans awaiting the start of the show, checking my cameras to make sure I have them set up properly... the worst part is not knowing what kind of light you're going to get once the show starts... all white, not so great, not enough light horrible.. all red or all blue.. horrible ... it's just a waiting game then rolling with the punches. A stage hand comes out from stage right and shines his flashlight to the soundboard, HERE WE GO! Out walk to radio hosts to announce the opening act, photographers out into the pit for the first 3 songs.. ok.. went well.. lighting was a bit dull but thats ok, expected.. give's me a good starting point. Out come two more radio hosts and BAM almost instantly Dan Davidson's band comes out on stage, they start playing and out run's Dan, first song kicks off, lighting is pretty good and I'm feeling great, happy to be there. Let me tell you Dan Davidson killed that performance, best I've ever seen him, so much energy and the fans were singing so loud.. such an amazing thing to experience and capture.
Now, a quick little tidbit of info for you.... when photographing these shows the typical thing that happens is, photographers get to shoot the first 3 songs from each artists, after that we have to leave the pit until the next artists hits the stage. Now, some places, usually bigger venues like stadiums will have a separate room we have to go sit in so we miss a lot of the show, but typically smaller venues will just allow you to step out and off to the side and watch the show, you just can't shoot, then when the next band hits the stage you're back in the pit for their 3 songs.

BRETT KISSEL!!!!!!! crowd goes insane, ear piercing screams everyone is going wild, the energy doubles, Brett comes out with high energy like always, jumps up on these wooden crates he has out on the stage and throws his arms out to everyone to say "HEY EVERYONE, I"M HERE AND I'M READY TO PARTY WITH YOU! ". From that moment on the party really grew with every song. Everyone singing back and with Brett was so loud it matched the volume of the band, it was crazy. Ok ok... no matter how I write this you just won't understand the vibe so I'm going to stop here and let the images do some talking.. hope you enjoy!

HUGE thank you goes out to INVICTUS ENTERTAINMENT GROUP for providing me with access to photograph this show, much appreciated you guys and gals are doing great things!