Last weekend I went to Cleveland, Ohio to a little club called Peabody’s, where the We the People show was to happen on Saturday. The premise of the show was to boycott the 8% admissions tax the city of Cleveland is trying to impose upon small venues. So a nice group of Ohio’s greatest rising stars got together for a free show and wow! was it amazing!

I’ve been to a lot of concerts, big, small and in between. Shows for local bands are always a gamble, you just never know what it will be like. Well the We the People show was epic and honestly you’d never know that almost everyone playing that night was unsigned, or unheard of outside of ohio and neighboring states. Every band on the list from the openers Burning Down Broadway to the closer Jackie put on an epic performance, of national rock concert standards.

I want to thank all the bands that came out on Saturday for not treating the show like a free show or a small local show, but really bringing it and giving everyone an awesome night!

Burning Down Broadway, Morir Es Vivir, Crookshanks, Glow Pop Jiggly Jams, Shades of Rage, Altered Generation, Falling into Fire, The X Members, Battlestar, Jackie, Scenic Idaho

Saturday night was a long one for me, first I shot a wedding with my fabulous friend Kelly from Simply Gorgeous Photographry and after I was done I headed over to the The Golden Gnome to catch the Smash Kings.

Smash Kings, if you don’t know is a great local cover band with Shawn Steigmeyer on lead vocals, Tommy Carroll (from 103.9 The Bear) and Greg Dewald on guitar, Pat “Dutch” Holloway on bass and Tim Rickard on drums. I stayed to cover the first half hour of their set, where they played some awesome current hits as well as old favorites. Check out the highlights below!

It was discovered recently that I will get the opportunity to shoot Rock on the Range in May for 103.9 The Bear. This is very exciting news and the biggest event that I will have shot yet! Along with the ROTR news and the other upcoming bands Rebecca and I will be shooting, Shock Roxy at Club Fever has been added to our list for February 10th. If you plan on checking them out be sure to say hi! We’d love to meet you!

New Years Even weekend I got to work with a great group of guys from the band The Unlucky Stars, local to the Michiana area. They have a great sound, kind of a 80′s rock meets punk rock fusion, my first impression upon hearing them was a little AC/DC, a little Guns ‘n Roses and a whole lot of uniqueness!

They were fun to work with and for the most part knew exactly what they wanted. We had about an hour to do some quick band portraits in their rehearsal space before they did their show at Smiths Downtown Tap and Grill in Mishawaka, which I also covered for them. The end result was a grew time, with a great band and some fantastic photos. Be sure to check them out for yourself!

We are excited to get to shoot the We the People show in Cleveland at Peabody’s Concert Club next month. This is a free show in protest of the 8% tax being placed on small venues in Cleveland and some awesome bands are coming out in support (More Info Here). If you are in the area or willing to drive a bit you won’t be disappointed with such a great show!