As I got to Webster Hall I already knew the energy was going to be insane, from the line outside and right from the start of the show everyone was giving it 100% of their energy! This was probably one of the best shows back since covid I’ve been to! 

On October 26th, Gus Dapperton made a stop in Phoenix, AZ on the Orca Tour in support of his most recent album, Orca released back on September 18th, 2020. It was a night full of fun and dancing as Dapperton always puts on a great show.

Hearing your favorite song live, after months of playing it on repeat in your everyday life, is a surreal experience. It almost didn’t even happen, but let’s start from the beginning. The crowd for this show was more ready and excited than I’ve ever seen a crowd be for a band that hadn’t even stepped on stage yet.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States early in 2020, live music as we knew and loved it abruptly came to an end. For many musicians, the show played on in the form of live streams across the internet, whether they were digital events in collaboration with production companies, songs performed over Zoom calls with ticket proceeds going to charity, or simply the artist logging into Facebook or Instagram and pressing the "go live" button. AJJ frontman Sean Bonnette chose the last option, using the band's Instagram account as a way to connect with fans and sing songs from the comfort of his home - 225 times. Bonnette hopped onto the platform to perform not only original AJJ music, but covers of his favorite artists as well, often trolling the virtual crowd with Roger Miller's famed Robin Hood track, Oo-De-Lally. Many friendships were formed through these shows, with regulars attending night after night, chatting with other fans they've come to recognize and bond with. After vaccines had been rolled out for a while and it was deemed safe to tour, the streams ended, and the band hit the road to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their fourth album, Knife Man.

On the night of Saturday, October 23rd, hardcore metal band Bodysnatcher hailing in from Florida headlined the Broken Land Festival in Brooklyn, NY at The Monarch.

British rock band IDLES came to NYC for two sold-out nights at Terminal 5. They have been on a lengthy tour around the US with Brooklynites Gustaf as support, and both bands captured the crowd with a fierce focus and energy.

On October 1st, State Champs kicked off “spooky season” with a high-energy pop-punk show in Tempe, AZ. Supporting them on the Pure Noise Records Tour was Bearings, Just Friends, Real Friends, and Four Year Strong.

Friday, October 1st, hard rock band Dead Sara rocked NYC at the Bowery Ballroom. They hit the stage around 9:30 pm and from start to finish, the band didn’t disappoint their fans by playing their older tracks and their newer ones. The energy and excitement that filled the room was contagious. There wasn’t a single unhappy fan in the crowd as each song went on.

On Saturday, October 2nd, Canadian Duo, Cleopatrick made a stop in Phoenix, AZ, on The Bummer Tour. The show was sold out and the small room was packed with excited fans, you could practically feel the energy buzzing through the crowd.

On September 19th, the band Infected Rain opened for the Butcher Babies alongside Stitched Up Heart who went on first at Gramercy Theatre in NYC.

This past Tuesday, September 28th, SadGirl made a stop at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, AZ with special guests Female Gaze and Cheap Hotels. It was a night full of great music and a lot of dancing.

On September 15th, the Metalcore band Beartooth took over Terminal 5 on their headlining “The Below Tour” supported by Wage War and Dragged Under! They blew it away with their stage presence with amazing lights and visuals to go along with the music! 

On September 24th, Islands returned to New York City after a five-year hiatus. They released a new album, Islomania, back in May 2021 through the Canadian indie label Royal Mountain Records. To support this record, they've hit the road and brought former Hollerado frontman - and Royal Mountain founder - Menno Versteeg along for the ride.

On September 3rd, the electronic trio from Boise, Idaho known as Magic Sword hit the stage at Irving Plaza to open up for Avatar alongside Tallah. They graced the stage donning their costumes of cloaks and masks. Each mask color represents another member of the group known as The Keeper in red, The Seer in blue, and The Weaver in yellow.

M3F Fest or Mcdowell Mountain Music Festival is a music festival that is held every spring in Phoenix, AZ where all of the proceeds go to charity. With a passion for the arts, music, and community M3F Fest is on a mission to give back. They are the only regional non-profit music festival and over the last 18 years, they have donated over 2.6 million dollars, $600,000 in 2020 alone. Though they had to cancel the 2021 festival dates due to the ongoing pandemic, they recently released the dates for 2022. Right now they are shooting for Friday, March 5th, and Saturday, March 6th, with the lineup being announced this October. In the past, the festival has been 3 days but because of Covid they want to play it safe and work out all of the kinks, it was also harder to get people to come out on Sundays when they were running for 3 days. Back in 2020, I had the opportunity to photograph the festival and I had a great time, check out the galleries below, and don’t forget to check out M3F Fest!

Turnstile Perform Sold-Out Show at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, NY

The night of August 14th, 2021, Lorna Shore, The Last 10 Seconds of Life, Left to Suffer; and New Jersey's best Black Lotus came to play a sold-out show at The Kingsland in Brooklyn, New York!

On the night of June 25th, 2021 at The Bowery Electric brought the talents of Va Va Voom and Wild Planes! The night was cool calm and collective. Oh, wait that wasn’t the weather that was the talent!

Alright, now let’s go back in time to the first show I ever shot, it’s February 21, 2019.

As 2021 had begun, we became more hopeful than ever until the day came that shows were indeed back. On April 25th, I got word of a show happening in Brooklyn, NY at Arrogant Swine and without hesitation grabbed my camera bag to run to the show. At first, I was more cautious than ever before. Hardcore shows hadn’t happened in what felt to be 13 years and I was amazed by the turnout of the audience to get right into it once again. The band Madball did two-day back-to-back shows to celebrate the revival of being able to come together.