Within our ever growing ranks we’re fortunate to be able to call on some seriously talented photographers. Here’s their own selection of choice images from the live music we’ve been watching this year.

JEN TAYLOR

I’ve chosen my three photographs based on the moment and the feelings behind each shot.

We start off at Love Folk Festival in Southport with Alex Hart and her band who headlined the opening night. You may have heard Alex as part of the Seth Lakeman band, but go and see her perform her own catalogue and you’ll appreciate what an astonishing singer-songwriter she is in her own right…it was an evening where I heard many compliments and it felt very special to capture the moments when Alex earned so many new admirers.

Onto Beardy Folk Festival and I finally managed to bag Sam Kelly And The Lost Boys. From an artistic point of view I much prefer a night shoot where you can have fun with the lighting and haze, but I finally snapped them in the sunshine.

I had been trying to photograph this incredible band for a very long time, but our paths never seemed to cross before. Their set was masterful and was an absolute joy to document. 

Finally, I’ve chosen the opening night of The Divine Comedy’s UK tour at the Liverpool Philharmonic. This was a nervy shoot, it was the first night, a strict ‘first three songs’ only was in force and these songs were contemplative and on the slower side – not always a good combination when you need to be dashing about. But the stars aligned and I was in the right place at the right time to capture this introspective portrait of Neil Hannon at the start of a very special evening.

GRAHAM HILLING

I  guess every photographer wants to capture some emotion in their shots and hopefully I have some of that in these photos. I love capturing the expressions on the artists faces and how this conveys their energy and their connection to the audience and occasionally even the photographer! Taking each picture in turn…

Heikkinen from Beast In Black, it’s always great when a performer engages with the togs and Heikkinen was a joy to shoot, tons of interaction and performance for the camera!

Andi Deris from Helloween, on their 40th Anniversary tour, fantastic stage presence and a great stage show, always a pleasure to shoot and it is great to see how much these guys actually love performing live, that grin is for real!

Last but not least, Noora Louhimo, performing with Battle Beast. Amazing stage presence and an amazing show. Sadly she has now left the band to concentrate on her solo career, replaced by Marina La Torraca, she will be a very tough act to follow though. Another fantastic band to photograph, top marks!

MIKE AINSCOE

I’ve gone for more of the full stage views that capture a slightly wider angle and get to show off the work done by the lighting and production engineers.

Richard Ashcroft and his video screen at the Co-op Live. I like a big screen as a backdrop as it offers the opportunity to frame something with interest in the fore and background.

Iron Maiden in Birmingham on a super hot Summer’s day outside and even hotter inside. Within moments of hhe band arriving on stage – the smoke still hasn’t cleared and catching Janick Gers right in front of me before he became a spinning vortex during the opening number.

The Levellers Collective sitting down shot from the back of the stalls at Liverpool Philharmonic. Obviously not a lot of movement for a change with The Levs but The Phil is a great venue for capturing the full stage view from a grand position.

ANDY POUNTNEY

What a way to sign out!

The Arch Enemy (plus Amorphis, Eluveitie and Gatecreeper) gig at Manchester Apollo at the end of October saw Alissa White-Gluz entering into the spirit and pulling out all the stops, performing in glow in the dark skeletal face paint. The first shot is captures her in a pensive moment which seems all the more poignant knowing that she departed the band at the end of this tour. 

This second shot captures Alissa in full flow during Arch Enemy’s recent headline date in Manchester, and is composed to catch the “Arch Enemy” wording on her arms, and is particularly striking with her blue hair contrasting with the red and black in the rest of the shot. 

Parkway Drive’s recent tour was incredible in terms of energy, intensity and passion, not to mention a crazy amount of pyros. This shot captures Winston in the middle of the ecstatic crowd, with the intensity captured on his face. 

DOMINIC WALSH

The philosophy of ‘always see he support band’ coming into play with Sophie Lloyd supporting Glenn Hughes at Manchester Academy 2. Then we have Rebecca Lovell of Larkin Poe as they opened their Bloom tour in rip roaring fashion at Manchester Academy and finally the iconic figure of Tim Burgess of The Charlatans at Castlefield Bowl in summer 2025.

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