Nikon Canada

2024 WOODSTOCK TRUCK SHOW

May 27, 2024 in Concert Photography

If you’ve been following me for awhile then you know about the Woodstock Truck Show. This year was the 10th anniversary and for the first time it was 2 days! Sadly, for me, Friday I couldn’t make it out because of work so I missed out on my good friend Aaron Allen and his wife Aimee and their amazing bandmates as well as Danielle Bourjeaurd and headliners The Road Hammers. From the video’s I’ve seen and what I’ve heard from people who where there it was a fantastic night!

Saturday, Day 2, it was game on! I was charged up and ready to go.. woke up excited and looked out the window .. Rain.. lots of rain.. grey skies, thunder, lightning… my heart sunk. Thankfully after looking at the weather app it was showing the rain would stop just before the show was scheduled to start. What is the Woodstock Truck Show? well, it’s a festival the has a bunch of big trucks, we’re talking semi-trucks all waxed and shined up on display and there is a big competition for the nicest truck.

why trucks?
well, Scott Verbruggen, the man of the hour who created the truck show and works tirelessly to put it on, he comes from the Trucking world, his family has a trucking business and all his connections are in trucking, so why not have this amazing event to showcase all the trucks and the people who drive them and supply us with food, goods, fuel etc…

What is the purpose of the the truck show?
This incredible event raises a lot of money for some incredible causes: The Special Olympics Woodstock as well as Woodstock and District Developmental Services (WDDS) ALL PROCEEDS go back into the community. This event can’t happen without all the sponsors who donate funds to make this all come together, sponsors like: Brandt, Contrans, Skillex Inc., J. Verbruggen Trucking LTD., Vision Truck Group, MACK, Rhino Truck Lube Centers, Laurel Steel, KTC, Truck Centric, Orkin, Driverette, Titan Tarp and more! in the past 10 years the show and calendar comp has raised over $150,000 for these charities which is incredible!

Back you Saturday! The line-up was stacked! opening the show was Jenna Kayln (stage name) who you might have seen blow up on TikTok with her Female perspective version of Zack Bryan’s “ Something In The Orange “. For those who don’t know.. Jenna is a Woodstonian (from Woodstock). Jenna played a few covers and a few of her original songs and of course, her version of Something In The Orange.

Deborah Lynn Music hit the stage all the way from Stirling Ontario she has worked Aaron Allen writing music and Aaron has produced some of her songs as well, she has opened for Jade Eagleson and will be opening for Tyler Joe Miller very soon. What an outstanding performance Deborah gave us all, took right off into her set and looked so comfortable on stage.

Colt McLauchlin This guy came out of no where, I hadn’t heard his music before to be honest, I listened to a song or two before the show and was impressed, really wanted to see what he had live and he did not disappoint! All smiles up on that stage singing his heart out for the crowd, song after song a flawless performance. Colt comes from just outside of Petrolia Ontario, raised on a farm so you know country music is in his veins. Colt has performed on some very well known Nashville stages such as: Margaritaville, Rippy’s, Legends, Tootsies, Dierks Bentleys Whiskey Row and even Alan Jackson’s Bar.

Nate Haller .. I’m guessing this guy needs no introduction.. you know.. Nate Haller.. you’ve heard his songs on the radio, born and raised right down the highway in Waterloo Ontario, Canada! If Nate looks familiar and you can’t quite place it, well it’s probably from when he spent a few years in another band I’m sure you know.. a brother and sister combo known as THE REKLAWS. Nate broke out on his own writing hit after hit, his first big song ( one of my personal favs) Lightning In A Bottle. He’s played to a sold out crowd at the Calgary Stampede and Budweiser Stage in Toronto. Nate put on one heck of a show in Woodstock and had a fun time while doing so, even trading hats with a fan, realizing quickly that hat was soaked because of the warm weather lol.

Madeline Merlo - Headliner for the night! Madeline does not need an introduction either, she’s very well known, originally from Maple Ridge, British Columbia and now resides in Nashville. You know her songs, they’ve been all over the radio: Champagne Night, Dear Me, Tim + Faith, Makeup, Neon Love, Motel Flamingo, War Paint and many more. Madeline even did backing vocals on Cole Swindell’s Single “ She Had Me at Heads Carolina “. Such a great night ending off with Madeline under the stars in Woodstock listening to her and her band rock out bringing endless smiles to everyone in attendance.

HUGE THANK YOU! goes out to the Woodstock Truck Show, all the Sponsors, the volountee’s, the vendors, Scott and his team for bringing all this together and their endless hard work on bringing something so incredible to little Woodstock and of course all the bands who write these songs and come out to perform. I look forward to this event every single year… Lets get to the concert photos!

JENNA KAYLN

DEBORAH LYNN MUSIC

COLT McLAUCHLIN

NATE HALLER

MADELINE MERLO

West Coast 2020

September 07, 2020

5000 kms total in 5 days, 1000kms a day from Edson Alberta to Tofino British Columbia traveling through Jasper National Park and Banff National Park.

Let me tell you, the time flew by as it always does when you’re on the road with great friends and cameras. We covered a HUGE distance, saw a lot, but also missed a lot with travelling that far.. either way it was still and incredible trip. My first 4 days of vacation were spent just relaxing at Jmac’s home outside of Edson Alberta as he had to work those 4 days. We spent a few nights after he got home from work driving over to Hinton and photographing some of the RAM’s up on the hillsides and touring around through some of the mining towns down through Robb Alberta. Our buddy Dietz came from Edmonton to meet up with us at Jmac’s on the friday so we could go hit Jasper on the Saturday.
Jasper is one of my fave places.. something about all those mountains and the way the water makes little rivers all through the trees at the base of the mountains.. how clear the water is, how fresh the air smells… how free you actually feel as you drive on through such a beautiful place. We saw a momma brown bear with two cubs down by the highway feeding off all the barrie bushes but thanks to some very stupid tourists yelling at them trying to get some pics.. they took back off up the hill into the woods so we missed the shots. Oddly enough this whole trip was super weak for animals.. the Eagles had taken off North to drop off their young so we only saw 3 the entire trip, we saw a few Elk crossing the road… no other bears, some deer.. that was about it… at the end of the trip we saw more in Jmacs backyard than the entire trip.. Two Moose, Some black bears, 3 Grey Owls.

Sunday was the start of the big trip, we fired back through Jasper and worked our way across Alberta and into British Columbia, making our way to Vancouver Island. We crossed on the ferry landing in Nanaimo where we stopped in to FOUR CROWS BARBER SHOP, a friend of Dietz owns it and Jmac use to go there to get his beard trimmed up when he lived on the island. Four Crows is wicked.. amazing barbers, great vibe and the owner Mike is a great dude… got to know him over some beers.. did a little video for them and shot some images around the shop while Dietz was getting a cut and shave. We spent the night in Nanaimo and made our way onward all the way out to Tofino. I still love Tofino, but I have to admit… this time out will probably be my last.. It’s sad to see how Touristy it has become.. they are turning it into a place like Muskoka here in Ontario.. use to be quiet and relaxing and so beautiful.. but this time when we were there it was packed.. 2 hour waits to get into restaurants and the brewery .. more condo’s have gone up, people all over.. it was so bad we were there for maybe 45 mins and got back in the car and left… we spent a few nights on the island and I have to say this trip… my fave spot was probably Nanaimo.. not for photos or anything but just the place that made me feel like I could move there and it feel like home. We ate at this place… can’t remember the name but you eat outside right by the harbour, otters were swimming up as we ate delicious food. In the morning we ate at this little all day breakfast spot that was kind of simple and hipster but the food.. my god the food was great and I had freshly squeezed Orange Juice and it was one of the most glorious things I’ve ever had.

On our way back we went through Banff National Park and that was a major goal for this trip.. not that I haven’t been through Banff before but I had never been to Moraine Lake and it was a bucket list item for me on this trip. First day we stopped it was around 7pm I think, we drove right in .. it wasn’t that busy but the water was choppy.. if you look up Moraine Lake you’ll see a million shots of the lake still and the reflection on the mountains in the water and that’s the shot everyone wants when they go there… after all it’s the most photographed lake in Canada. My goal was just to photograph it in a way I’ve never see it photographed.. so while I was bummed out the water was so choppy and no reflection could be achieved … that was ok.. I just needed to look and find a different way to photograph it and make it look as beautiful as it is. I believe I succeeded twice! first I went right down to the waters edge from the look out point but when I took the shot from that close to the water the extreme blue colour of the lake disappeared.. the shot still looked cool but I had to get that notorious blue colour in a shot. So I climbed back up and saw all these little weeds growing off the path down by these rocks so I decided to crouch down and put those in the foreground and kind of make this shot look tropical and it worked!

Overall this trip was a big success and as always I did not want to leave and even got to a point I was looking for jobs while I was there. I’d love to move out there, I have the opportunity, a place to stay and everything… I’d be better off than most people who move there.. however, my mom and dad are here in Ontario.. they’re getting older and I’ve built up a name in photography here over the years.. so who knows what my future holds. Anyways.. images below like always.. if you see a thumbnail you like, click on it to make it bigger! hope you enjoy them.

~ Kevin.

KELSI MAYNE - AS I GO VIDEO SHOOT

January 18, 2020

Some of you may know over the past 2 years I have been working with country music artist KELSI MAYNE. We met in my home town of Woodstock Ontario where Kelsi and her band were performing at the annual Woodstock Truck Show. Kelsi approached me as I was handing out business cards to other artists so they could see the shots I had taken that day. After sending the images off to Kelsi when she emailed me, she loved the shots and the rest was history.
A text message came through, it was Kelsi “ Hey Kev! how are ya… we are filming a new music video, for a new song in Aylmer Ontario, you should come out and shoot some behind the scene’s work for the video it’s going to be amazing, lots of explosions, fire, dirtbikes doing tricks and jacked up trucks ! “ … ok A. That sounds incredible.. that in itself I can’t miss seeing and B. being on set of a music video with Kelsi and the band having fun and creating… hell yes I’m going!

Call time was for 8am, on the outskirts of Aylmer, it was a bit chilly but really not that bad for winter, and as always, I was the first one there because I’m always worried about being late. Soon after everyone else started showing up…… oh and I forgot to mention, I was upgraded to one of the camera men filming the video, Kelsi’s brother, Cory was directing and filming as he is in the film industry. Here’s the kicker.. I don’t know much of anything when it comes to video, so of course I was a little panicked but hey… this is a HUGE learning opportunity, so I googled as much as I could about video and set my cameras up according, learnt some of the lingo and was ready to go!

“ AS I GO “ Is the name of Kelsi’s new song/video and let me tell you… incredible song and this video is going to be equally incredible. Fire, explosions, shotguns, Jacked up Trucks, Dirt Bikes, ATV’s, Fireworks and of course the band.. there is so much action in this video, it is going to be so stimulating to watch. Not only is the band ( Kelsi, Cory, Ciaran, Ryan and Annette ) so down to earth and amazing individuals, but everyone on set involved with this production were too. Cory, Kelsi’s brother, great guy with a clear vision of where this video was going, a hard worker definitely putting the time in. Eric, the guy who provided the location for the shoot, the daredevil driver, fire starter, wild man… such a nice dude who pretty much acted as the producer for this, getting everyone together, throwing some pretty cool ideas for the video. Kelsi’s Mom and Dad, who came out nice and early to lend a hand and show support, they are phenomenal parents and people, so kind, brought out all kinds of food so everyone on set had something to eat, brought all kinds of gear we needed to make this happen… loved them. Last but definitely not least…. all of Eric’s friends that came out with their trucks, dirt bikes and ATV’s who also starred in the video as the riders, stunt drivers and extra’s around the fire… these people had never met us before and were so welcoming and kind, couldn’t have asked for better people to work with.

All in all, this was a long day, 13hrs or so… and definitely worth every minute! The band was dead on with their performance, they looked incredible and this video is going to be insane! Keep an EAR out as Kelsi’s new song “ AS I GO “ Will be released Jan 31st, I believe and also Keep an eye out because this video is scheduled to be released Feb 21st! You definitely will NOT want to miss these!

HUGE thank you goes out to Kelsi and the band for including me, yet again, in another one of their endeavours and always staying true to bringing me out, can’t wait for more this summer. Also a HUGE thank you to Cory (Kelsi’s brother) for working with me and teaching me some new techniques, it was a pleasure. One last HUGE thank you to everyone else involved for being kind and opening up themselves, their “toys” and their time…. it was a lot of fun and such an amazing experience… hope to see you at some shows this summer.

Cheer
Kevin Vyse | Photographer

Here’s some Behind The Scene’s images I managed to snap in between Filming:

KELSI MAYNE - “ AS I GO “ Video Shoot - Aylmer Ontario. 📸: Kevin Vyse — KELSI MAYNE - “ AS I GO “
Video Shoot - Aylmer Ontario.
📸: Kevin Vyse

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

RAM RODEO TOUR - BURFORD ONTARIO

June 10, 2019

Horses, Bulls, Dirt, Dust, Tractors, Barrels, Men, Women and a WHOLE LOT OF ACTION!!!

RAM RODEO is an amazing event that is action packed with a bunch of tough men and women who put themselves on the backs of horses and bulls which throw them around like rag dolls. Not only Branco Riding and Bull Riding, but they also have a Stunt Rider our of New York, and Flag Riding Team.. there’s a lot going on.

With events like Barrel Racing, Poles, Bucking Branco’s, and Bull Riding there’s something for everyone. Personally, Bull Riding is my favourite .. the aggressiveness of the bulls and the power makes it crazy to photograph but really.. all of it is fun to shoot. Yesterday was a good mix of sun and cloud, wasn’t to hot but the dust was relentless .. normally they water the riding area, but it was so dry every time they watered it the sun would dry it up in minutes, so instead of wasting the water we just went with the dust.. I was covered but it was so fun. Some of these riders were thrown down hard, stepped on by the bulls and branco’s, got up like it was nothing and will ride another day.. just blows my mind. If the Ram Rodeo Tour is coming your way, do yourself a favour and get a ticket.. take the kids.. they will love it!

JUNO AWARDS 2019

March 30, 2019

Never in a million years would I have ever thought that photography would take me to the Juno’s… but first I want to say, it didn’t really take me to the Juno awards themselves.. but very close and I am very thankful for the opportunity I was given. Leading up to the Juno Award night there is JUNO FEST, which is 100 different bands playing in 15 different venue’s across the city (London Ontario). Just outside of Budweiser Gardens in the South Parking Lot there was a giant heated tent that housed THE SIDE STAGE, which is where some bigger acts played and the Official Juno’s After Party was held. With the wrist band I was awarded, I had access to the Side Stage and all 15 venues in London, could cut the lines and get in early in order to photograph the bands playing in each venue. This wristband also allowed me to have access to the JUNO CUP, a hockey game between the Artists, and Professional Hockey players.

With out going through all the details and dragging this blog post out into a massive thing no one will ever read…. Side Stage was incredible. It was the first show I shot during the Juno’s and it started out with the incredible WASHBOARD UNION who I had not seen yet and really wanted to so it was amazing that I was able to see them (seen them twice during the Juno’s but we’ll get to that), but also photograph them! These guys are incredible, such a friendly bunch, their vocal harmonies are dead on and sound so good, their songs are lively and keep your feet tappin’. Up next was Jess Moskaluke who I had also never seen and also wanted to.. I was on a roll! she was fantastic sounded just like she does on the radio and knocked out all her hits. Last but definitely not least THE REKLAWS!!! I’ve photographed The Reklaws … 4 or 5 times now and they never ever get old.. seriously.. love them to death, their songs are contagious, Jenna is hilarious on stage and so fun, Stu with his smiles and for some reason always seems to look my way and give me a point his finger or his guitar and I love it!

Back to The Washboard Union. After they won their Juno for Breakthrough group of the year.. and I mean right after, they were performing again at The Bull and Barrel and let me tell you, that show was insane. The high Washboard was on from winning that Juno, the buzz from the crowd excited to see them and so very happy for them winning a Juno.. the place was so packed, I was lucky I got there over an hour early so I could be right up front because If I had shown up even 20 mins later than I did.. I was at the back of the building. Washboard Union was so happy to win and even happier to share their win with their fans in Bull and Barrel that night it was one hell of a party.. they have a rule where they do not drink if they are performing, but just once, that rule was broken to celebrate their Juno. Shots were brought out and Chris from the band says “ boys the medicine is here” … many thank you’s were said, so much appreciation from the band to the fans, to each other.. it was a moment i’ll never forget.

This post is getting very long so I’m just going to list the other bands I had the pleasure of photographing and I want them all to know I’m so thankful for their music, their image shares and the opportunities I’ve had to photograph:

AARON ALLEN
JULIA HAGGARTY
NICE HORSE
LOUD LUXURY
RYAN SHEPERD

There would be more on this list, such as The Trews, Genevieve Fisher and a few more but when I arrived to the venue’s at their set times they were so packed I literally couldn’t even get in the doorway.

THE WASHBOARD UNION - SIDE STAGE

JESS MOSKALUKE - SIDE STAGE

Jess Moskaluke performing at the 2019 JUNO’s - Side Stage in London, On. © Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media — Jess Moskaluke performing at the 2019 JUNO’s - Side Stage in London, On.
© Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media

THE REKLAWS - SIDE STAGE

The Reklaws performing on the Side Stage at the 2019 Juno’s - London Ontario. © Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media — The Reklaws performing on the Side Stage at the 2019 Juno’s - London Ontario.
© Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media

NICE HORSE - BULL & BARREL

NICE HORSE performing during the 2019 JUNO FEST at Bull & Barrel - London Ontario © Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media — NICE HORSE performing during the 2019 JUNO FEST at Bull & Barrel - London Ontario
© Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media

JULIA HAGGARTY - BULL & BARREL

JULIA HAGGARTY performing during the 2019 JUNO FEST - Bull & Barrel in London Ontario. © Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media — JULIA HAGGARTY performing during the 2019 JUNO FEST - Bull & Barrel in London Ontario.
© Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media

AARON ALLEN - BULL & BARREL

AARON ALLEN performing at the 2019 JUNO FEST in London Ontario. © Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media — AARON ALLEN performing at the 2019 JUNO FEST in London Ontario.
© Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media

LOUD LUXURY - SIDE STAGE

LOUD LUXURY performing on the Side Stage during the 2019 JUNO’s - London Ontario. © Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media — LOUD LUXURY performing on the Side Stage during the 2019 JUNO’s - London Ontario.
© Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media

RYAN SHEPHERD - SIDE STAGE

RYAN SHEPHERD performing during the 2019 JUNO’s on the Side stage - London Ontario. © Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media — RYAN SHEPHERD performing during the 2019 JUNO’s on the Side stage - London Ontario.
© Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media

THE WASHBOARD UNION - BULL & BARREL

THE WASHBOARD UNION performing during the 2019 Juno fan fest in London ontario just after they won their Juno Award for Breakthrough Group Of The Year! Huge Congrats going out to these fellas. © Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media — THE WASHBOARD UNION performing during the 2019 Juno fan fest in London ontario just after they won their Juno Award for Breakthrough Group Of The Year! Huge Congrats going out to these fellas.
© Kevin Vyse | Stage Pass Media

A HUGE thank you goes out to Rock It Promotions for hooking me up with the wristband and all their helpers at each venue guiding me through, also thank you to the Juno’s for making this such an amazing event. Thank you to the City of London for being so awesome and opening up all these venues for such an incredible and memorable experience. Thank you to Live Nation, Start.ca, Budweiser Gardens, Budweiser, Apple Music, TD Bank, Music Canada, SOCAN, VIA Rail, 3M, CBC Music, SiriusXM, Jackson Triggs, Long & McQuade … with out all of these sponsors things like this can’t happen.. and when things like this don’t happen, opportunities can’t happen.. this was an opportunity I never thought i’d have or get to be apart of… the Thankfulness is HUGE!

Cheers.
Kevin Vyse.

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!