2024 was the year a lot of things began for me, but for the purposes of this end-of-year roundup, it is the year I began taking pictures at shows. I started a little late in the year, but since I took (and I checked) 5,233 pictures over 16 shows, I think I more than made up for it. So, here are some of my favorite snaps from the year.

Starting out strong are these two from the first show I took pictures at on Thursday, April 18th at The End of All Music. Both are admittedly flawed – the one on the left featuring the singer of Warsaw, Poland band Moron’s Morons is framed not very well and the one on the right featuring Eric of Jackson band Hammer and the Tools is very obviously out of focus, but I think those two pictures, as well as the rest that I took that night, perfectly encapsulated the chaotic fun of that show.

At the next show the very next day on Friday, April 19th at Urban Foxes, I found my footing a little bit more. On the bill for the night were Jackson bands Roi (which disbanded around the middle of the year), Mostly Satire (right), and Smokies. It was a packed night with a LOT of people piled into the tiny performance room at Urban Foxes, and I wondered how likely it would be that the floor would collapse because it felt like being on a trampoline in there.

The left picture, showing an awe-filled admirer during Smokies’ set, cemented in my mind that Smokies might actually be Jackson’s Favorite Band, and I’m sure many would agree with me. The center picture, showing the mother of one of the members of Roi holding up a sign that says “ROI the band ROCKS”, was a really precious moment. And I just really liked the lighting on the right picture.

I didn’t take many pictures on Saturday, April 20th – I think at this time, I still felt like a goober holding a camera during a show, a feeling I am glad to report has subsided these days. These two, showing St. Louis band The Public on the left and Jackson band Surfwax on the right show a good deal of movement despite my high shutter speed, something that I appreciate in photography. And, the color grading for this one is just neat. By the way, during that particular week, there were five shows in a row from Thursday to Monday. I attended four of them. They were all tremendously great shows, but I don’t know if I’d do that again.

I chose this picture for Thursday, May 2nd, because of a memory associated with it – the drummer for the Brooklyn band Social Creatures (pictured here playing the guitar and singing) is from the Metro area, and while singing a song that I believe was called “Mississippi”, or something to that affect, a woman standing next to me was very enthusiastically cheering him on. After the song, she turned to me and said, unprompted, “We went to high school together.” I thought it was really nice.

These next pictures, taken on Friday, May 3rd, perfectly encapsulated the deep, dark moodiness of the bands Measureless Aeons (left) and Plagueburner (right).

Friday, June 28th was The Akashic 45s’ (left) first show, and I thought (and still think) it was totally kickass that they incorporate a keytar into their music. The picture on the right of Hammer and the Tools is yet again emblematic of the chaotic nature of their shows. I also find it really funny that I have all these cryptid-esque pictures of Eric, because outside of performing, he seems to be a really chill and subdued guy.

Friday, July 26 was an amazing show featuring Hattiesburg’s Skinman (left), the legends HIRS Collective (center), and Jackson newbies Bucksnort (right) at their first show. Of all the shows I went to in 2024, this one was definitely up there with the most fun. And I’m definitely not alone in thinking this, because days after this show, Skinman requested to come back. It’s a great feeling when that happens.

It was absolutely sweltering the night of Sunday, July 28th at The End of All Music. Durham, NC’s Pollute (pictured left) stopped in town during their Summer 2024 tour, joined by DJ Jane Blank (center), End of All (right), and Mostly Satire. I was feeling a little bit more confident with my photography skills after this night.

It would be a couple of months before I would take pictures at another show, but the night of Monday, October 7th was a bit of a turning point for me. The picture on the left, featuring Social Dissonance, was actually an accident. I was kind of frustrated with the lack of light at the Sunflower Oven and set my camera to Program Auto instead of Manual, which I normally shoot on. For the non-camera people in the audience, Program Auto automatically sets the shutter speed and aperture to allow for a photo that isn’t over- or under-exposed. This resulted in a low shutter speed which created a lot of motion blur, which I didn’t want, but I thought it looked really cool.

After the previous show, I figured I would just throw some stuff at the wall and see what stuck. My next opportunity came on Friday, October 18th at Urban Foxes. Here, we have Parrot Weather (left), DJ Jane Blank (center), and new band XO Gonzo (right). I’m glad I did some experimentation–because of it, I got my second favorite picture of the entire year in the center. I love the motion blur and the colors, and the fact that all the pictures I took that night had this wonderful electric teal/magenta color cohesion.

These pictures come from two shows: Friday, October 25th (left) and Saturday, October 26th (right). This was a double night of Halloween-themed shows featuring covers performed by many familiar faces from Jackson and Hattiesburg to benefit the organization Big House Books, which provides reading materials for incarcerated Mississippians. $900 was raised in total from these two nights of shows, which is pretty major! It was two very fun-packed nights, although there were not that many people wearing costumes, to which I ask: where is your whimsy? Your childlike sense of wonder? Its okay, you can redeem yourself this year. There’s plenty of time to procure a costume.

This show had no whimsy or childlike sense of wonder, because on Wednesday, November 6th, we solemnly gathered at Urban Foxes to commiserate following the election results. It was still a good show, don’t get me wrong, but the atmosphere was dour. I got few pictures this night, but these featuring Argus Burton (left) and DJ Jane Blank (right) were a couple standouts – I liked the film-like quality of the left picture (created in post, of course, because I lack the patience to shoot with film) and the delicate beam of light in the right picture was nice.

Wednesday, November 13th was another fun night, featuring Die With Nature (left), Skinman (center), and Headcannon (right). I was tickled by Austin Tingle, pictured left, tumbling into the crowd, expressionless. And the right picture brought back a memory – Isaac, on the left, and Gage, on the right, had to share a mic that night. As they were setting up before their set, Isaac convinced Gage to keep the mic low by saying “It’s easier for you to crouch down than it is for me to get taller.” And, as a fellow Short Person, he’s so real for that.

These pictures are from what was definitely my favorite show of 2024 on Sunday, November 17th at Hal and Mal’s, featuring Minneapolis’ Careful Gaze (left), Smokies (right), and Mostly Satire. Like with all the shows I’ve booked, I was nervous in the leadup to it – will enough people come out? Is everything going to go smoothly? Will this be a worthwhile experience for the touring band? Thankfully, my anxieties were all for naught. The turnout was massive, thanks in part to Smokies’ very loyal following. After the show, Gabe (pictured left), singer for Careful Gaze, told me this stop was the best on their tour, which I was definitely glad to hear.

As for the pictures themselves, this night, I took well over 500 snaps, and a lot of them, including the ones above, turned out great. The lighting setup at Hal and Mal’s allowed for this really vibrant, electric magenta to come through, really highlighting the heightened emotions of the night for me. Plus, I got a LOT of crowdsurfing pictures. Smokies fans really know how to turn the party.

The last show that I took pictures at in 2024, as well as the last show I went to for the year was Friday, December 6th featuring Hattiesburg bands Bad Anxiety (left and right) and Silo Kids and Jackson bands Kicking (center) and Hammer and the Tools. It was another packed house full of high energy and, as is to be expected with certain punk bands, acrobatics. There was also the presence of spectral orbs (or photographic backscatter caused by dust in the air, I guess) which can be seen faintly in the first picture, something that if I saw it when I was 10 would terrify me since I was legitimately afraid of ghosts as a child. I also got what is without a doubt my favorite picture of the year in the center featuring Bobbie Flanders of Kicking. I know shoegaze is all about the loudness of it all, but I think this picture perfectly captures the ethereal, dreamlike quality Bobbie’s voice can have.

---

I like how you can see the progression of my picture taking throughout the months. I think I’ve gotten a lot better since last April – or, at the very least, I have been more satisfied with my output. I am not a professional photographer by any means–my strategy is to take as many pictures as possible and hope some of them come out framed correctly and in focus–but my pictures make me happy, and I can tell they make others happy as well. I’ve seen my pictures pop up as profile picture and in people’s end-of-year roundups, and that makes me, as someone’s boomer aunt might say, pleased as punch.

2025 is already off to a pretty great start with pictures, and I’m excited to see what I’ll capture this year. You can follow me on Instagram if you don’t already to see all the great snaps that I’ll get in the coming months.