Reviews Archives - Eye On The Music - Jim Brock Photography

Aug 05

by Jim Brock in Reviews 0 comments tags: #eyeonthemusic, #folkyeah, #jimbrockphotography, #newportfolk, #preshalljazz, 90s music, Alynda Lee Segarra, Amanda Shires, Amy Ray, Benmont Tench, Billy Strings, Bonny Light Horseman, Brandi Carlile, Cedric Burnside, Charley Crockett, Colin Meloy, concert photography, Courtney Marie Andrews, D'angelico hollow body, Danny Clinch, Dawes, Decemberists, Dolly Parton, Eric Johnson, Eye on the Music, Fleet Foxes, Fruit Bats, George Wein, Gibson hollow body, Grateful Dead, Gregory Alan Isakov, Highwomen, Hozier, I'm With Her, If I Had a Song, Indigo Girls, Infamous Stringdusters, Jade Bird, jam bands, Jason Isbell, Jay Sweet, jazz photography, Jeff Tweedy, Jim Brock Photography, Jim James, JS Ondara, Judy Collins, Jupiter and Okwess, Kermit the Frog, Lake Street Dive, Leyla McCalla, Linda Perry, live music photography, Lucy Dacus, Lukas Nelson, Madison Cunningham, Maggie Rogers, Maren Morris, Mavis Staples, Milk Carton Kids, Molly Tuttle, New Orleans music, Nilufer Yanya, Our Native Daughters, Phil and Friends, Phil Lesh, Phish, Portugal The Man, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Promise of the Real, Rachael Price, Rambling Jack Elliott, Rayland Baxter, reggae, Rhiannon Giddens, Robin Pecknold, Sara Watkins, Sheryl Crow, Stephen Marley, Taylor Goldsmith, Trey Anastasio, Warren Haynes, Wilco, Wylie Gelber

NEWPORT FOLK FESTIVAL 2019, FORT ADAMS, RHODE ISLAND

July 26-28, 2019 As the sun dipped to meet Naragansett Bay a few Sundays back, the 60 years since the first Newport Folk Festival seemingly came full circle. The Fort Stage crowd serenading Rambling Jack Elliott, and the dozens of singers and musicians paying tribute to the spirit and songs of Pete Seeger (who appeared at the first Newport in 1959) with one last chorus of “Goodnight, Irene”. On what would have been the troubadour’s 100th birthday, it was producer Jay Sweet who encouraged the audience to have the last word and shower the stage with the love shared by all who performed and attended over the course of the three days. That the Lead Belly lyrics so simply convey love lost and always eternal, was a fitting coda to a closing set that left me more than a little teary. In a good way. Let’s just say that there are moments as a photographer when you have to put the camera down, and take it all in, and this was one of them. Welcome to Newport Folk. Newport 2019 was true to form. Full of collaboration, a few surprises and plenty of discoveries. But what was most different about […]

Aug 08

by Jim Brock in Reviews 0 comments tags: #folkyeah, #newportfolk, Alynda Lee Segarra, Americana, Angel Olsen, Ben Jaffe, Bill Withers, Bon Iver, Carl Broemel, Chance, Chance McCoy, Charlie Sexton, Christopher Paul Stelling, Chuck Berry, Chuck!, Civil Wars, Clint Maedgen, Colin, Colin Meloy, concert photography, Danny Clinch, Dr. Dog, Drive-by Truckers, Eye on the Music, George Wein, Glenn Kotche, Grandma's hands, harmonium, Hiss Golden Messenger, J.P. Harris, jam bands, Jay Sweer, Jay Sweet, Jeff Tweedy, Jim Brock Photography, Jim James, Joe Henry, Joe Kwon, John Paul White, John Prine, Justin Vernon, Kam Franklin, Kyle Craft, live music photography, M.C. Taylor, Mandoln Orange, Margaret Glaspy, Michael Kiwanuka, Mikael Jorgensen, Mike Cooley, My Morning Jacket, Nathaniel Rateliff, Nels Cline, Newport Folk Festival, Nightsweats, Nikki Lane, Offa Rex, Old Crow Medicine Show, Olivia Chaney, Patterson Hood, Pinegrove, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Rhiannon Giddens, Robert Corwin, Ronell Johnson, roots music, roots music. The Avett Brothers, Shakey Graves, Speak Out, Sufferers, Suzanne Vega, Texas Gentlemen, The Decemberists, Whitney, Wilco

Newport Folk Festival, Ft. Adams, Rhode Island

July 29-30, 2017 “These songs are a living language”, Billy Bragg told the crowd early in his Harbor Stage set with Joe Henry at the Newport Folk Festival on Saturday. Six words that pretty much sum up the heart and soul of this legacy event that sits atop so much musical history. So, true to form, one of the more anticipated Sunday performances was Speak Out! A set that started with the rollicking Preservation Hall Band horns slowing “When the Saints Come Marching In” down to a somber crawl, bleeding into the National Anthem before singer Kyle Craft launched into Bowie’s “Heroes”. A band that grew to include Austin’s Shakey Graves and My Morning Jacket’s Carl Broemel and others, with Graves leading the first person Trumpian rant “I’m Better Than You”. Newport Folk is about the words and the music. Songs that stir and shake, songs you shake your ass to, songs that provoke, songs that matter. But it’s also about discovery of new voices and sounds, and the fingerprints of founder George Wein still carting around Ft. Adams, and the guiding hand of producer Jay Sweet. Newport is about surprises, highlighted this year by the “unannounced” return of Nathaniel […]

May 28

by Jim Brock in Reviews 0 comments tags: 20 Feet From Stardom, Aaron Neville, Aaron Wilkinson, Acura Stage, Adonis y Osain Del Monte, Alabama Shakes, Alex McMurray, Americana, Anders Osborne, Batiste family, Beausoleil, Blodie's Jazz Jam, blog, blues guitar, blues photography, Blues Tent, Blues Traveller, Bonerama, Brady Blade, brass bands, Brittany Howard, Buddy Guy, cajun music, Carl Dufrene, Charles Neville, Chris Mule, concert photography, Congo Square Stage, Cowboy Mouth, Craig Klein, Cuba Pavilion, Cuban music, Dairus Rucker, Dave Matthews, Dave Torkanowsky, David Shaw, Dawes, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Dumpstaphunk, Economy Hall Tent, Eric Lindell, Eric McFadden, ES-335, Eye on the Music, Fais Do-Do Stage, Galactic, Gentilly Stage, George Porter, Gibson Firebird, Gospel Tent, Greg Hicks, Gregory Davis, Harry Connick, Heartbreakers, Helen Gillet, Honey Island Swamp Band, Instruments a Comin', Ivan Neville, jam bands, Jazz and Heritage Stage, Jazz Epistles, jazz photography, JBP website, Jeff Raines, Jeff Tweedy, Jesse McBride, Jim Brock Photography, Jimmy Herring, Joey Alexander, John Bell, John Boutte, John Popper, Johnny Sansone, Jon Batiste, Jonathon Boogie Long, Jonny Lang, Judith Owen, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Kris Royal, Kristin Diable, Lagniappe Stage, Lake Street Dive, Lakland bass, Leo Nocentelli, Leon Bridges, Lisa Fischer, live music photography, Lone Bellow, Lorde, Lucien Barbarin, Margo Price, Mark Mullins, Michael Doucet, Mike Campbell, Mr Sipp, music photography, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans music, Pedrito martinez, Rachael Price, Revivalists, Rhiannon Giddens, Rickenbacker, rock photography, roots music, Roots of Music, Runnin' Pardners, Skerik, Stanton Moore, Stay Human, Stevie Wonder, Taylor Goldsmith, Telecaster, Terence Blanchard, The Meters, Threadhead, Tipitina's Foundation, Tips Interns, Tom Petty, Tony Hall, Tower of Power, traditional jazz, Trey Anastasio. Languedoc, Trombone Shorty, trumpet, Tuxedo Brass, Voice of the Wetlands All-Stars, Waylon Thibodeaux, Wayne Toups, Widespread Panic, Wilco, WWOZ Jazz Tent, zydecajun

REFLECTIONS AND MUSINGS OF A JAZZ FEST PHOTOGRAPHER – 2017 EDITION

Heading home from Jazz Fest 48 it seemed I’d passed through a lifetime’s worth of sounds, tastes and bonding since arriving in New Orleans a few weeks back. Friendships deepened, the palette was bathed in constant indulgence, the liver took a bit of a hit and a soundtrack that will echo well into the dog days of Summer still resonates sweetly. For the uninitiated, Jazz Fest (short for the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival) is the most diverse musical party on the planet replete with 13 stages, tents and pavilions spread across the Fair Grounds Race Course, a few miles from the French Quarter. Quite simply, there is nothing like it. And, as with the city that bears its name, Jazz Fest is not something you wrap your head around, it’s something you feel in your exhausted and happy bones. And, man, were they exhausted and happy. My perspective is of a working photographer first and a fan second. I am on task covering 15 – 20 acts and 7-8 miles of ground a day. My musical encounters are often brief, and occasionally cosmically timed. My colleagues in the pit are extremely talented and a pretty respectful and decent bunch to […]

Aug 04

Newport Folk Festival 2014, Day 3

July 27, 2014 Few festivals conjure up historic page turners like Newport Folk. Dylan’s 1965 plugged in performance is the stuff of legend that only happens to be true. But by the time the 70’s rolled around, the event fell on harder times and went dark until resurrected in 1985. These days, there still is nothing like Newport. The picture perfect setting, Pete Seeger’s presence everywhere and attendance capped at 10K. This is a Fest just as independent as days of yore, whose acts are not about a paycheck and are on the bill regardless of sales. When asked his definition of “folk” recently, Fest producer Jay Sweet told JamBase that founder George Wein considered folk as “anything that wasn’t jazz”. This Fest has held true to that renegade spirit. In that same interview, Sweet went on to say that acts are booked because “I want them to play…the audience demands that you play…and the artist wants to play”. As Rolling Stone noted recently, talent will often play for less, just to be a part of the Newport experience. So, it was my good fortune that at the end of an East Coast vacation, I was able to wrap the […]

May 10

by Jim Brock in Reviews 0 comments tags: Aaron Neville, Acura Stage, alt-country, Anders Osborne, Andy Comeau, Arcade Fire, Arsene DeLay, back to the Bayou, blues, Blues Tent, Christian Scott, concert photography, Craig Klein, Eye on the Music, fairgrounds, funk, Greg Allman, Hammond organ, Henry Butler, Howlin' Wolf, jazz, Jazz Tent, Jazzfest, Jim Brock Photography, Jimmy Buffet, Kid Rock, Kirk Joseph, Lagniappe Stage, Lucinda Williams, Matt Perrine, Michael Cerveris, music photography, Nevilles, New Orleans jazz, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, New Orleans music, Nine Lives, Paul Sanchez, Robert Randolph, Rolling Road Show, Shamarr Allen, Sonny Landreth, Sonny Rollins, Strokes, Threadhead Records, Threadheads, Treme, Trombone Shorty, trumpet, tuba, Tuba Tuba, Wilco, Willie Nelson

Jazzfest 2011 closing thoughts

Jazzfest 2011 is in the books. Weekend 2 brought the it could only happen here bag of familiar closers (Jimmy Buffet, the Nevilles, et al), epic sonics (Arcade Fire, Wilco), roots, (not so) alt-country and blues (Lucinda Williams, Greg Allman, Willie Nelson), mind-bending bills (Trombone Shorty>The Strokes), sentimental moments (Rads farewell, Christian Scott proposing in the middle of his set), jazz giants (Sonny Rollins) and local and regional artists who have been, and always will be, the heartbeat of the Fest. The lack of a jam band closer seemed to go unnoticed, supplanted by an edgier, “indie” orientation – an eclectic mix even by Fest standards. “Only at Jazzfest could….” 50/60-somethings leave their front row seat for Robert Randolph and the Family Band to catch Kid Rock. The weather cooperated to the point of being freaky. Not a drop of rain all seven days, temps warm to warmer, but not scorching. As always, the food will take a year to work off and worth it. Whether at the Fairgrounds or night shows, I couldn’t split myself in half. Simply too much good stuff to go around. Most of my time shooting circled the Jazz and Blues Tents, and unexpectedly (or […]