So, like Mike said, there is more to the story of the TVSphoto Summerfest extravaganza.

We were hired to shoot the Roots Collective.  When we got picked up to shoot that I immediately went to see if there was anyone else on the bill for that day that I wanted to stick around to see.  If you don’t know what Summerfest is, it is an 11 day long music festival in Milwaukee that piles some of the worlds largest musical acts in all genres right next to local rising talent, and cover bands.  I found out that one of my favorite bands, Against Me!,  was playing later that same night.

When we arrive to the load in and staging lot to meet with the band we were photographing, A tour bus rolled by.

First off, i have to say, I am not usually the guy who approaches random people and asks for things. But if this was the Against Me! bus I wasn’t gonna miss the opportunity to try to convince them to let me shoot.  It turned out to be their bus and their tour manager happened to be sitting outside.

Long Story short, between talking with the tour manager and the stage manager I somehow managed to convince them that I was supposed to be there. And they gave me a photo pass!!!!

I was given 3 songs and then photographers had to leave the pit. I have never wanted a band to drag out 3 songs so bad in my life.

I got some stuff that I am happy with personally but most of all the whole scenario played out into a pretty fun memory.

Enjoy.

Michelle, the front woman for Madison based reggae group Roots Collective, contacted Luke & I about photographing their upcoming show at Summerfest on July 4th.  Of course we were honored she selected us but also excited to photograph such a huge event.  The day started out in Lot E where all of the musicians, vans, tour busses, etc. park and from there we were shuttled to the Patowatomi Bingo  & Casino Stage.  Since we had some down time backstage we snapped a few quick press photos using natural light and then relaxed.

It was a ton of fun seeing the “Big Gig” from behind the scenes and shooting from the pit.  It’s definitely re-inspired us to seek out more work like this in the future when we’re not booking as many weddings.  Look out for part two and Luke’s adventure that lead to an Against Me! photo pass.