For over ten years, I have been photographing concerts on a weekly basis. My favorite place to be is in a music venue, along side of fellow music lovers, live music photographers, and musicians. Going to shows has been my life-line for when things get stressful, overwhelming, discouraging, or just mundane. Live music will lift my spirits and provide me with the fuel to move forward, even during tough circumstances.

It has now been 10 weeks since my last show, and I am receiving news of cancellations and postponements for shows now into the fall. While this is very discouraging for me, I am also well aware that the absence of shows is really hurting the music industry, especially our smaller, independently owned clubs.

Ever since I began photographing shows (and even before), I preferred a small club show to those large arena shows. Not that arena shows are not enjoyable – because I’ve been to several amazing large venue concerts. However, there is nothing quite like seeing a band in a small club. Most often, you are pressed up to the stage – within arm’s reach of the instruments and musicians. You feel the sweat from those on stage and those crowded closely around you. Club shows is where the music truly comes alive for me – musicians and fans interacting together and fully immersing themselves in the experience.

As a live music photographer, club venues are often a challenge to photograph. There is rarely a photo pit for photographers to shoot from safely. The lights are typically darker and mostly minimal in variation. The clubs are small so fans are packed in tightly. And the stages are small, usually resulting in band members clustered closely together. Despite these challenges, photographing in small clubs is my favorite place to shoot a show.

If I were to look at my complete body of work, I am sure that 90% of my photographs come from shows at small, independently owned venues. My memories at these shows are extensive – from my first time seeing The National at the 930 Club in 2008, standing right at the feet of Matt Berninger to taking my girls to their first club show at the Ottobar on a school night when they were in middle school. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing local bands perform in small clubs that later become high demand musicians that sell out arenas. However, I have also enjoyed those musicians that prefer to play small clubs, even though they could be selling out larger venues.

Our music industry needs these small, independently owned venues. This is where local musicians find an audience. It’s where music lovers go to enjoy an up close and personal experience with their favorite bands. It is truly where the energy of live music is born.

Save our Stages is a movement sponsored by the National Independent Venue Association. This is a group of over 1300 independent venues throughout the United States who are coming together to request federal assistance from legislation in Washington DC so that they have a fighting chance at surviving the loss of revenue during this difficult time.

Your voice is needed so that legislation knows how important these venues are to us! Take a minute to complete this easy form to let your legislators know that you support NIVA. Click on the link, here. Scroll down, complete the form, and submit!

These Subtle Sounds is proud to have covered many shows at the listed venues below. Our contributors are committed to sharing this love of music with the world and are supporters of our local music scene! Scroll down to see all of the venues participating with NIVA and click on links to see some of our photos or coverage at these particular venues!

Maryland

24-7 Entertainment – Baltimore
49 West Coffeehouse – Annapolis
Baltimore Management Agency – Baltimore
Baltimore Soundstage  –  Baltimore
Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts & Culture – Glen Echo
Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia
Metro Gallery – Baltimore
New Deal Cafe – Greenbelt
No Land Beyond – Baltimore
North Ave. Market – Baltimore
Ottobar – Baltlimore
Rams Head Onstage – Annapolis
Rams Head Presents  –  Annapolis
Shadow Woods Productions – Reierstown
Team LLC – Ocean City
The 8×10 – Baltimore
The Soundry – Columbia
The Sidebar – Baltimore
Upfront Inc – Stevenson
Weinberg Center for the Arts – Frederick

Washington, D.C.

9:30 Club
All Things Go Music Festival
Black Cat 
Blues Alley
Bravo Bravo
Briclyn Entertainment Group
City Winery
DC9 Nightclub
Dupont Underground
Eighteenth Street Lounge
Howard Theatre
Lincoln Theatre
Pearl Street Warehouse
Pie Shop
Songbyrd Music House
The Anthem
The Hamilton Live
Twins Jazz
U Street Music Hall
Union Stage

Virginia

5 Points Music Sanctuary – Roanoke
Aspire Presents – Richmond
Blue Ridge Rock Festival – Concord
Bright Box Theater – Winchester
Canal Club – Richmond
Elevation 27 – Virginia Beach
Firebrick Lab – Suffolk
Floyd Country Store – Floyd
Jammin Java – Vienna
LAVA Presents – Norfolk
Miller’s Downtown – Charlottesville
Peabody’s – Virginia Beach
Richmond Music Hall  – Richmond
The Beacon Theatre – Hopewell
The Birchmere –  Alexandria
The Broadberry – Richmond
The Camel –  Richmond
The Carlyle Club – Alexandria
The Golden Pony – Harrisonburg
The Jefferson Theater – Charlottesville
The Spot on Kirk – Roanoke

Pennsylvania

228 Productions – Phoneixville
American Music Theatre – Lancaster
Andrew Carnegie Free Library & Music Hall – Carnegie
Appell Center for the Performing Arts – York
Ardmore Music Hall – Ardmore
Ars Nova Workshop – Philadelphia
Briggs Farm Blues Festival – Nescopeck
Broken Goblet Brewing – Bensalem
Carnegie Music Hall of Homestead – Pittsburgh
Chameleon Club – Lancaster
City Winery – Philadelphia
Club Cafe – Pittsburgh
Con Alma – Pittsburgh
Crafthouse – Pittsburgh
Dave Kiss Presents – Philadelphia
Don’t Let the Scene Go Down on Me – Pittsburgh
Drusky Entertainment – Pittsburgh
F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts – Wilkes-Barre
Full Circle Music Productions – Philadelphia
HMAC – Harrisburg
Jamey’s House of Music – Lansdowne
Jergel’s – Pittsburgh
Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia
Kable House – York
Mr. Smalls Theatre – Pittsburgh
Musikfest – Bethlehem
One Centre Square – Easton
Opus One Productions – Pittsburgh
Ortlieb’s – Philadelphia
Phantom Power – Millersville
Philadelphia Folksong Society – Philadelphia
Platinum Productions – Philadelphia
Point Entertainment – Philadelphia
R5 Productions – Philadelphia
Relish – Philadelphia
Rex Theater – Pittsburgh
Roxian Theatre – McKees Rocks
Sellersville Theater – Sellersville
Shady Lady Productions – Sarver
Sherman Theater – Stroudsburg
SOUTH Jazz Club – Philadelphia
Spirit – Pittsburgh
Stage West – State College
Stage West – Scranton
State Theatre Center for the Arts – Easton
Susquehanna Folk Music Festival – New Cumberland
The Barbary – Philadelphia
The Fire – Philadelphia
The Kennett Flash – Kennett Square
The Locks – Philadelphia
The Mr. Roboto Project – Pittsburgh
The State Theater – State College
Thunderbird Cafe & Music Hall – Pittsburgh
Union Transfer – Philadelphia
Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center – West Chester
Voltage Lounge – Philadelphia
Warehouse On Watts | WOW – Philadelphia
Warmdaddy’s – Philadelphia
World Cafe Live – Philadelphia
XL Live – Harrisburg