Photography

I'M BACK!!!!

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If you don’t want to read everything below, that’s ok, images are at the end of the post.

Here we go! The blog is back…. Honestly, I really missed writing these blogs, even though my website really doesn’t get any traffic and no one really reads this stuff.

What to Expect:

Well…. not quite sure.. I’m sure you’re going to see a lot more Music stuff because that has been a huge focus for me over the past 5 years, but I will say, the music world has changed, from my perspective at least, since the world shut down. Rumour had it that Live Nation could possible be axing freelance photographers or at least limiting their access to shows… after the stupid C19 scandal, I have not been able to land one concert through them, when before, I was getting approved for almost every show I applied to.. maybe it was all just a coincidence, who knows. I have also noticed that Venues I was constantly getting approved for also fell off and stopped responding to email.. such is life.. C19 changed the world in a way I never thought would be possible, but here we are.

I am very thankful, however, for wicked venues and festivals that are holding true and still granting access to those who love live music and who work their asses off to capture the live acts the best they can and provide quality work.. festivals like ROCK THE PARK in London, Ontario. Rock The Park has been a staple in my life, not just as a photographer, it actually took me 6 years of hard work and writing emails year after year to gain access, and it finally happened 6 years ago, but it also was/is a staple for me as a fan of live music.. I’ve been going to RTP for as long as I can remember. Harris Park is where Rock The Park is held, it’s a lovely little park on the outskirts of downtown London tucked away beside the Thames River and amongst some trees and tall apartment buildings. This festival has been working their asses off to bring in HUGE and amazing bands for years. If you go check out their website www.rockthepark.ca you can see the incredible bands they have brought through year after year.. big acts like: Ice Cube, Mumford & Sons, The Glorious Sons, Ludacris, JaRule, The Tragically Hip, Journey, Our Lady Peace, Alice Cooper, and many many more… This years line up is wild as well: Nickelback, The Glorious Sons, Tea Party, Tyler Childers, NAS, Lil Jon, Neil Young with Crazy Horse and more! I am very thankful to be accepted to Photograph this event, not as an official photographer but as my own outlet and lover of live music.

This post will be to focus on Last years ROCK THE PARK. Let me tell you, it was a wild time, it always is! let me first start out by saying, the people who put RTP together work so hard.. its months of gruelling work to get these bands in, working schedules and budgets, getting a huge amount of volunteers together to make it all come together.

2023 Line up was pretty stacked:

Ludacris, Ja Rule, Cypress Hill, Papa Roach, Mumford & Sons, Vance Joy, Volbeat, Halestrom, Chingy, Billy Talent, Alexisonfire, Silverstein, The Trews, The Dirt Nil, T.I., Bahamas, Default, Ashanti, MYA. I have to let you know.. I did NOT get to attend all of it which made me so upset because the night I really want, the bands I grew up going to see and listening to, the main night my heart lived for I had to miss due to car trouble…. it killed me, and that night was Billy Talent, Alexisonfire, Silverstein, The Dirt Nil. I spent months pumped to have them on the bill and get to photograph them after all these years and I missed out.
None the less, the nights I did get to photograph some of it and it was a blast as always. There’s something about being out in that hot July sun sweating to death, legs shaking from the long days and all the squats you end up doing trying to stay out of fans line of sight and get good angles that just makes life feel so damn good. Those moments I’m in “The Pit” as well call it ( That area between the fans and the stage where security is ) is when I feel like a really full time photographer, just working hard to get those shots and make the bands look great on stage, capturing the emotion, the movement, waiting for the right moment to get that shot that makes you smile when you know you’ve captured it…. accomplished, amazed, and living in the moment.. that’s what it’s all about.

BAHAMAS

MUMFORD & SONS

THE TREWS

VANCE JOY

West Coast 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.

Jasper Alberta

BLACK LIVES MATTER PROTEST - Woodstock Ontario, Canada

My home town of Woodstock Ontario is small, and the people of colour community is smaller, but their voice was/is loud, along with the communities voice, were definitely heard!

While walking to Victoria Park, ( Where the silent protest was held) people from all directions were walking up the streets, signs in hand, in good spirits, and ready to support and stand tall for people of colour, not just in Woodstock but everywhere. Change needs to be made, it should have been changed decades ago.

As everyone came together in the park you could feel the positive energy, people kept coming and coming.. I was honestly very blown away at the amount of people that showed up, so proud of our community. To see so many people come together in harmony for such and important cause, to see everyone in solidarity, all one voice no matter what your background is, it was incredibly up-lifting.

It’s very comforting to see that Woodstock is a place where everyone can come together, there is a lot of support, does that mean racism doesn’t happen here? I wish that were the case. This protest was calm, as I knew it would be.. the message was heard, and heard loud.. not only heard but also very visible. Signs held high, Chants of change, Speeches, taking a knee for a moment of silence, A song sang, and a March around the park to make presence known and get the word out.. it was moving. One of the biggest impacts, for me anyways.. eye opening, was when one of the event organizers, Jessica, had everyone raise their hand, all 5 fingers out. She then said “ Put a finger down if you…… “ and read off a list of the negative experiences people of colour endure on a regular basis .. example: put a finger down if you have been picked on or bullied for the colour of your skin …. by the time she read off 5 things on that list, she then asked everyone to look around at everyones hands… then asked if anyone still thought we were all treated equally …. it was very apparent that we are NOT!

Another great part of this protest, was Woodstock police department. Woodstock Police were there in numbers and they stood with everyone, not against, there was only one person that needed to be delt with, and for good reason… but we’re not going to focus on him.. he needs help.. a lot of help and was deflected quickly by the crowd then by the police in a peaceful way.
Walking around through the crowd, taking pictures of people, seeing how moved everyone was, how passionate everyone was about this.. hearing the speeches.. it was all so positive.. very “one heart, one mind” and I sincerely hope that these protests bring change!

Jessica and Hannah, you put together something amazing. You called out, and people answered the call, the call for change.. this was historic for change and for the our home town of Woodstock.

BRANTLEY GILBERT - FIRE'T UP TOUR

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

BRANTLEY GILBERT
FIRE’T UP TOUR
Budweiser Gardens, London ON.
© Kevin Vyse | STAGE PASS MEDIA 2020

BRANDON LAY
FIRE’T UP TOUR
Budweiser Gardens - London ON.
© Kevin Vyse | STAGE PASS MEDIA 2020

DYLAN SCOTT
FIRE’T UP TOUR
Budweiser Gardens - London ON.
©Kevin Vyse | STAGE PASS MEDIA 2020

Family First

When fall arrives, the families show up for shoots!

While I’m not really doing the whole family portrait thing much anymore, I did take on a few. Scott & Lynn booked me back in the winter months for a family session as a gift for their family but didn’t want to do the shoot until summer. Due to work and weather, this summer shoot quickly turned into a fall shoot.. where does the time go?

Roth park is a go to for me, well in Woodstock, It’s a go to for every photographer here as it offers a lot.. lake and beautiful woodsy trails, a bit of a beach at the right time of year. We knew what we were looking for on this shoot and the woods were perfect for it. It was starting to get chilly out so I didn’t want to keep everyone out to long, 40 mins was the goal, which was achieved.

ParkJam Festival

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

The Glorious Sons @ Parkjam Festival 2019
@kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

Cold War Kids

Cold War Kids
@ParkJamFestival 2019

@KevinV1981 - Stage Pass Media

The Beaches

The Beaches
ParkJamFestival 2019
@Kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

Brett Kissel

Brett Kissel
Park Jam Festival 2019
@Kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

Meghan Patrick

Meghan Patrick
Park Jam Festival 2019
@kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

Aaron Goodvin

Aaron Goodvin
Park Jam Festival
@Kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

JoJo Mason

JoJo Mason
Park Jam Festival 2019
@Kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

Reel Big Fish

Reel Big Fish
Park Jam Festival 2019
@kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

Seaways

Seaway
Park Jam Festival
@kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

MXPX

MXPX Park Jam Festival 2019 @kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

MXPX
Park Jam Festival 2019
@kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

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

Redman & Method Man Park Jam Festival 2019 @kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

Redman & Method Man
Park Jam Festival 2019
@kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

Ice Cube

Ice Cube
Park Jam Festival 2019
@kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

DEADMAU5

DEADMAU5
Park Jam Festival 2019
@kevinv1981 - Stage Pass Media

Festival Of Friends

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.

GOODNIGHT, SUNRISE

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!

FIRE TIGER

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.

THE SPOONS

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.

LOVERBOY

Country Music: Aaron Allen

As you may have seen, most of my photography ventures this year, well.. over the past year, I’ve been returning to my photography roots. My passion for photography started back in high school and quickly became a big part of my life shortly after high school when I started photographing concerts. I’ve always been drawn to music, especially live music and for years it was all about that Punk Rock which then led to EMO and now I’m all about that Country. I love all kinds of music but there’s something about Country.. specifically country rock, I love it. Country music fans are some of the nicest people I’ve met, and I have made many new friends just from going to concerts.
So over the past year I’ve been slowly getting back into the concert photography, it’s a very tough world from what it use to be. I remember you could walk into any show with your camera and start taking pictures, the only worry was having a mosh pit fire up and you get tossed around holding onto the camera you had to save up to buy with a part time job. Now, you have to spend days writing emails … emails to bands, managers, promotors, labels, venues… anything to try and get Approved for media accreditation. It’s a grind, and I get it, everyone has a camera, everyone wants to be a photographer, everyone wants to be the ones up close to the bands in “the photo pit” so the market is flooded, but it’s flooded in every market. Let me tell you though, you put in the work, you send those emails, you make those connections and things start to flow.

Aaron Allen is a musician who has been in the industry for 20 years. After 20 years of the grind, he is finally making some big waves in Country Music. His first big single ‘ Where Music Comes from ‘ was received well and played on country radio (Country 104 - London On & Woodstock On.) Spotify picked it up as well as AppleMusic. Aaron was part of Juno FanFest in London, as the Juno’s were in London Ontario, and that’s where I first got to photograph him. It was a very late night performance.. I could be wrong but I think it was lie 1am… at The Bull & Barrel downtown London. I was very tired after photographing bands all day, but I really wanted to stick it out and see Aaron’s set, it was my last shoot for the night before the 50 min drive home. Of course, Aaron put on a great show, the shoot was tough as the lighting was dim but I made it work. Next day I posted the images, tagged Aaron in them and he saw them and reached out to let me know he loved them. I’ll fast forward this story so I don’t write a book here but, months later Aaron was releasing a new song, that song was titled ‘GOOD TATTOO’. Along with a new song release artists need a new image to go with it so there’s something to see when people look for it on streaming sites such as Spotify & Apple Music, so Aaron remembered me and the shots from the Juno’s, he then decided to give me a shot. We sent some emails back and fourth, found a date that worked with both our schedules, met up here and Woodstock and spent a couple hours hitting a few locations around town, chatting about the music business and creating some album art. Next thing I know, the images we created were being used for lyric video’s, teaser images on social media leading up to the release of ‘GOOD TATTOO’ and the grand finale …. the face of ‘GOOD TATTOO’ … an image of Aaron on a sunny day standing with his guitar on a dirt road which is now published on Spotify & Apple Music!

Huge thanks goes out to Aaron for trusting me with his album artwork, it was a fantastic opportunity and I think it all worked out quite well. Now I will be photographing him in St.Thomas Ontario, Live at the IRON HORSE Festival this coming Saturday!

Check Out Aaron’s Socials for updates. Give “GOOD TATTOO” a listen on Spotify or Apple Music and don’t forget to call your local country music radio stations and request this new song from Aaron Allen!

- Cheers

GOOD TATTOO - Aaron Allen

Cover Photo:
- Kevin Vyse
- Kevin Vyse Photography
- Stage Pass Media

BACONFEST: Concert Series

Baconfest!! have you heard of it? In a small town named Lucan Ontario there is a fest with such a name.. not only is it a name but there is bacon! bacon everything. Now.. I don’t want misguide you anymore than I already have with the title of this blog post .. buuuuut by the time I rolled into Lucan for Baconfest, vendors had mostly packed up and the town was starting to open the street back up, so while I’d love to give you details on all the bacon goodies.. I sadly cannot other than I had a hotdog with back bacon on it and it was delicious.
A) I wanted to make you aware of the small town Lucan Ontario and B) I wanted you to know that they have an event called Baconfest that is all about bacon because bacon is delicious! Oh and I also need to mention this event is also about bikes.. Motorbikes.. yes.. this is a biker event but it’s also for families and teenagers and kids and anyone who enjoys bacon. Main street of Lucan gets shut down, vendors line the streets and so do the bikers with their bikes and let me tell you, there are a TON of people.. I read on their website they now get like 25,000 people or something like that and every year it’s growing, baconfest has only been around for 4 years so far.

So.. what is this post actually about? well if you read my posts, especially lately, you would have noticed a trend, and that trend has been MUSIC, BANDS, LIVE MUSIC, CONCERT PHOTOGRAPHY.. so as you may have guessed… along with Baconfest there are bands! From what I’m told, baconfest in the past few years has had bands but they have all been cover bands or tribute bands and while that is fun and all.. sometimes they don’t bring in huge crowds.. this year however, baconfest stepped it up and brought in some class acts from the country genre! who played? well here we go:

THE RIVER JUNCTION BAND ( due to the lengthy drive to Lucan, I missed this band)
BUCK TWENTY
EAST ADELAIDE
ERIC ETHRIDGE

That right there is a pretty good line up for a small town.. it’s a pretty good line up period!

BUCK TWENTY

Buck Twenty was the second band on and these guys are phenomenal, catchy tunes, great stage presence, always smiling and interacting with one another, so full of energy and they are the nicest dudes too. With the sun setting and casting a nice golden light onto the stage, Buck Twenty comes out and takes a hold of the crowd. I have to say, a lot of people in this crowd knew B20 because I saw a bunch of people rocking their shirts. Buck Twenty does an amazing job at using the entire stage during their performance.. especially the sides where there are usually some sort of box they can stand up on and get up nice and high over the crowd and single themselves out which is awesome for photographs, which you will see in the set . These guys are doing very well and will continue to do so. I urge you to check out their music on social media, and check out their website.. if you see they are playing a show near you, go check them out.

EAST ADELAIDE

East Adelaide are an up and coming group based out of Toronto Ontario and they are fantastic, you definitely need to give them a listen if you haven’t heard them before.. their song “ You Don’t Get To Love Me “ is a fantastic one, very catchy and very powerful. Love seeing these guys perform, this was only my second time seeing them and photographing them, but i’m hooked. First time was in London Ontario at London Concert Theater on the “Winter’s a beach Tour “ with The Reklaws and I found them even better outdoors during the summer!

This guy right here!! Eric Ethridge, wow.. has this guy ever come so far.. From Sarnia Ontario, got his start playing JACKS in London Ontario, to a record deal with Ole’s Red Dot Label then making the move to Nashville! If you’ve ever met Eric, he’s one of the nicest people, humble and always tries to take the time to meet his fans. Even though Eric has blown up and moved to Nashville, he still finds the time to get back to Ontario often and still plays “ the little shows” because that’s where his long time fans are. Been almost a year since I’ve seen Eric perform and I was pretty excited to see what has changed and all I can tell you is that it’s better and better every damn time. Eric’s confidence on stage makes for a great show, he seems so relaxed up there and you can tell he’s doing what he loves. As soon as he hit the stage the crowd went nuts, people were running for the stage, packing in so tight, smiles all around, especially on Eric’s face when he saw the response. From “ California “ to “ If You Met Me First” Eric covered all his hits with the crowd backing him Lyrically, it was a night to remember. Eric even took the time to hunt down a bridal party he saw earlier and brought the bride to be up on stage to sing to her. Not only did Eric bring someone up on stage, but Eric took it upon himself to get off the stage and submerge himself down into the crowd while singing which made everyones night. Now, with being the short guy I am.. I quickly lost Eric in the mass and couldn’t get any shots of this but I knew he was down there making fans happy!

JUNO AWARDS 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

THE REKLAWS - SIDE STAGE

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

JULIA HAGGARTY - BULL & BARREL

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

LOUD LUXURY - SIDE STAGE

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

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

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.

APRIL WINE - COWAPOLOOZA 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! 
 

CMAOntario's New Faces Showcase

They came, The Played, They conquered! 

Incredible weekend last weekend at the CMAOntario's in London Ontario. During the New Faces Showcase performers who are building in the country music scene had the chance to show everyone what they have during a free show on an outdoor stage. I won't lie.. every single act who performed was incredible in their own way. 

Of course.. with every concert you need to have head liners.. Headlining the CMAOntario's New Faces Showcase were two Canadian heavy hitters.. 

THE REKLAWS
and
MEGHAN PATRICK 

I will put their images at the end of this post so people will scroll through the New Faces Showcase performers .. we want to get them out there and get people interested. 

Performers: 

This woman and her band.... Phenomenal! With Kelsi's phoenix fire hair, beautiful smile thats always glowing up on stage and her powerful vocals, your attention quickly focuses on the stage. Great sound great stage presence with catchy songs and they are also great people to talk to. If you get the chance, make sure you check them out.. they are based out of Toronto On. 
 

Based out of Hamilton Ontario, The Redhill Valleys are definitely a band to keep your eyes on. With their amazing harmonies your foot can't stop tapping along with their original sound, great stage presence too.  

Josh David Band.. first off.. this guys voice! amazing voice with some nice grit, and some rocking country sound. These guys put on a great show, Josh is always moving and interacting with band members on stage which is always fun to watch. 

phenomenal sound coming from these guys, very catchy songs with awesome harmony vocals and some killer guitar solo's/leads, their song 'Minnedosa' is one of my favs. 

Brad Battle - web-13.jpg

Brads song 'Crazy Beautiful' definitely gets stuck in your head, very full sound, catchy, nice guitar solo's, stage presence is well done.. he does a really awesome cover of A Great Big World's - Say Something.. definitely a band to check out. 

HEADLINERS 

THE REKLAWS

If your into country music and you don't know this Brother and Sister duo... then you need to immediately stop reading this blog and head on over to their website, spotify, facebook, instagram... I don't care where.. but go check them out. The Recklaws are blowing up.. their song Long Live The Night is now the Thursday night Football theme song! stage presence is huge with these two always moving around the stage, Jenna is always dancing up a storm and getting the crowd pumped up and rowdy. If you see these two on any concert bill, just know you are in for an incredible show! 

MEGHAN PATRICK

You know Meghan Patrick.. you have to... if you don't, then your Canadian Country game is weak. This power house female country artist is outstanding! Powerful vocals, amazing songs.. phenomenal to watch on stage with her high knees and leg kicks.. swinging those golden locks all over it all comes together for an impressive show. Meghan cleaned up this year at the CMAOntario's Winning 3 awards: 

  • FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
  • MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR - ' Country Music Made Me do It ' 
  • FAN'S CHOICE

In my opinion.. every one of these is much deserved, I love watching this woman perform! Congrats on the wins Meghan!

Photography. Travel. Time

It's amazing from year to year how much things change when you put your time into something you love and strive to always get better. 
A few years ago I was asked, last minute, to get in a Ford F-150 with a buddy of mine who was going back out west to British Columbia after being home, here in Ontario visiting with friends and family. I had just taken vacation from work but had zero plans, so I figured why not? There is another blog on here called " The Great Canadian West " which covers that whole adventure.. you can think of this one as kind of a second part to that entry. 

Long story short.... today I went back through some of the images I took from that trip, images which I thought were garbage but I had kept the RAW files as I normally do. Since that trip, I have spent a lot of time shooting, a lot of time studying, doing editing tutorials, paying for tutorials and teaching video's.. really learning whatever I could. Turns out, a lot of the images from that trip are still very usable.. it just took time for me to develop more skills, editing techniques.. even a new eye (way of looking at things).  
Moral of the story here.. the message I'm trying to convey is, even though you don't see it now, you may in the future. Do not give up, constantly learn, if you love it keep trying, keep building.. strive to be better every day and you will see improvements! 

Here are some of the images from that trip that I had discarded thinking they "were no good", "unusable", " There's no picture here " ........  

© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2017

Maddy & Diesel: A Girl and her Pup!

Maddy and Diesel were something a little different for me as I haven't really photographed portraits for someone and their dog, but it was a lot of fun! We were originally going to do this shoot back in the fall with all the leaves on the trees, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to change the date which led us into winter .... pre-snow winter. 

This time of year the "lake" where I live gets drained out, not completely but quite a bit gets sucked out through the damn which leaves a nice, sandy beach look. Later in the day as the sun set we headed on down to utilize the park area and of course out on to the sand. Diesel was having a ton of fun running around and finding sticks to bring a long for the walk, which ended up in a few of the shots because getting that stick away was near impossible lol. Over all, with the sun set, the beach vibe, the lake and a great person and dog, it was a fantastic shoot! 

- Shutter Click.   

Jeremy & Haley: Mexico Wedding

From British Columbia to Toronto International Airport, to Cancun Mexico with friends and family to confess their love for one another. 

Salty ocean air, white sand beaches, Swim up bar pool, Fire Shows, Dancing on the beach, amazing food, Sunny 30+ºC day's, friends and family... what a better way to get hitched!  

With a traditional Scottish Hand Fasting ceremony on the beach at sunset, friends and family standing in a circle, wedding party standing in the circle North, South, East and West. Beautiful words were being spoke, the sound of the Gulf Of Mexico crashing against the beach, Jeremy & Haley speak their vows of love and devotion to one another. Passing a rope up and over one another hands to tie their hands together, the bond was created forever locking them together hand in hand..... Always & Forever.  <3
 

© Kevin Vyse Photography
All Rights Reserved 2017

A Night With Colin James

Colin Freakin' James! 

Colin was brought to Woodstock last year for the Cowapalooza Festival in Woodstock Ontario, Canada, but sadly.. he never made it on stage because mother nature decided to flood the park with a torrential down pour. Summer 2017, Colin James was asked to come back and come back he did! With clear skies, a beauty summers night, stars out and all, Colin hit the stage with powerful guitar solos, deep bass lines, technical drumming, some outstanding keyboard work and of course some powerful, strong vocals that blew me away. 

With no media pass (which wasn't required anyways because it was a FREE, yes.. FREE concert in a public park ) I had to shoot from the crowd which was fine at first.. but pretty much after the first song everyone moved up and it got tight quick. Bobbing around peoples melons Colin made it pretty easy to get the shots using up all areas of the stage to put on an amazing performance. If you haven't seen Colin James, haven't heard of him even.. get out to a show, you won't be disappointed at all. - Shutter Click. 

Colin James
Cowapalooza Festival 2017
Woodstock On, Canada.

Tim Tyler: Musician

Tim Tyler... honestly.. I had never heard of him before and I wasn't even sure if I was going to show up to photograph him or just show up to photograph Colin James. All I can say is that I'm damn glad I went to see/photograph him.... WOW! 

Tim Tylers vocal style has been compared to great musicians such as, Sly & The family Stone, Doyle Bramhall, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Ray Charles. Let me tell you.. the guitar work, the vocals.. his band.. just amazing to see live. If you're into that blues/Rock kind of thing, this guy will blow your socks off and I'm so happy to now have him in my portfolio. 

Tim Tyler
Cowapalooza Festival 2017
Woodstock, ON. Canada

THE MUDMEN

If you like music.. you like that Scottish, East Coast kind of vibe, great vocals, bagpipes, drums, bass and guitar with some funny in-between song banter... THE MUDMEN are for you! 

These guys were amazing, had a fantastic time photographing them in my home town at the Cowapalooza festival. This festival happens every year and every Friday and Saturday night there are concerts. In the past we've had bands such as: April Wine, The Stampeders, Trooper and more. This year: The Mudmen, The McCartney Years which happened on Friday Night... then tonight: Tim Tyler and the talented Colin James! I will be heading back down tonight at 7pm to capture both acts. 

Not only is there music, but there's rides for the young kids, horse back rides, all kinds of vendors and food trucks which all takes place is the beautiful SouthSide Park, Woodstock On. Canada... so if you live in the area and want to get out of the house, or want to see an outdoor concert on a gorgeous summers day... WOODSTOCK is where you want to be! As always... if you see me out shooting, feel free to come by and say hi wether I know you or not... I'm always up for meeting potential clients ;) - Shutter Click.

The Mudmen
Woodstock ON. 
Cowapalooza Festival 2017.

Cassidy, Ben & LUCA!

    Luca turned 1 ! ... unfortunately, I was unable to make it to the little man's birthday, so we decided to do a family portrait session. 

    6pm, the sun was out and getting lower in the sky, it was nice and warm with a small breeze.. perfect conditions to get out and shoot. If you follow my work you've seen Cassidy many times through out my portfolio, she has been a HUGE help to me and my photography. You may have even seen her Maternity photos.. in fact, I KNOW you have seen at least one of those images because it's the first image to see when you come to my website. Well little Luca is here! .. he's actually been here for a year, as he just had his birthday, so we wanted to get together and photograph them as a family.  Our session started at Cassidy and Ben's home in London Ontario as they have a big backyard that always has some nice light. Luca had just woken up from his nap and he is teething so he was a little unhappy at the start, which is a bit unusual for him because he's always so happy, but who wouldn't be upset when you have big bits of calcium busting through your gums?!

    Our photographic adventure took us to a part of Western University, where there are some trails and a forest with a river, which always makes for great light and over all amazing images. Hiking through the forest as the sun dropped the light was glowing from everywhere, and in a field not far from the path we were on there was a herd of dear grazing in the shade. With their small velvet antlers looking all innocent and cute, we immediately dropped everything (accept the camera's of course), and started to shoot with the deer in the background.
    Getting deeper into the woods we reached a point where the path drops down into a gully, surrounded by tall trees and this amazing orange/yellowish light beaming in from in front of us. There was a small patch of light with this green moss growing in the light, and I knew we had to put Luca down in this light and get a shot. 
    From here we made it down to the river where we had some shots of Cassidy feeding Luca and Cassidy, Luca and Ben all sitting on the edge of the water in some tall grass cuddled up with one another. I had Cassidy take Luca out into the shallow parts of the water (ankle deep) so we could get some nice shots of them in the river with the amazing filtered light shining down on them. 

Over all this was a fantastic shoot, great way to spend the day/evening and make some phenomenal imagery for some amazing people! 

-Shutter Click!