#sidestage photo

[jeffcbliss]

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders - Pappy + Harriet's; Pioneertown, CA (10-4-23). @ChrissieHynde @ThePretendersHQ

Photo: Jeff Bliss

[singeratlarge]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Adam22, Felice Allesandri, Clem Burke, Dale Carnegie, Billy Connolly, Denise Crosby, Candy Darling, Howard Duff, Donald “Duck” Dunn, Colin Hanks, the great American composer Scott Joplin, producer-songwriter Terry Lewis, Stanley Livingston, Lee Michaels, Charles Theodore Pachebel, Elvis Ramone, Dave Sinclair (Caravan, Hatfield & the North), Baruch Spinoza, Staind, Chad Taylor (Live), keyboardist Richard Tee, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Robin Williamson (Incredible String Band), Teddy Wilson, Jim Yester (The Association), and Pete Best, the original drummer for The Beatles. That’s him on the Decca audition tapes and other early recordings. Deep Beatlemaniacs know that, in 1962, Best was replaced by Ringo Starr, which led to the classic line-up of the Fab Four. That episode is shrouded in urban legend, including rumors that Best was sacked because he was a bigger “chick magnet” than Paul McCartney. The true reason was more prosaic—Ringo had more experienced chops. It was an emotionally-wrenching career move for both Best and the other Beatles as they’d grown up together in Liverpool.

Best retired from drumming in the late 60s and became a civil servant. Then the 1995 Beatles ANTHOLOGY restored him to the public eye. At the behest of family, fans, and friends, Best formed a band and hit the road. In 2005 I was playing keyboards for The Davy Jones Band at a music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, and The Pete Best Band opened with a raw, rowdy rave up show, replicating the Beatles Cavern Club rock’n’roll set from the early 60s. It was a blast to watch! I lost my photo of Pete and I at the catering tent, but in this video I’m watching sidestage w/family members. HB Pete and God bless your rock’n’roll heart!

#beatles #petebest #drums #drummer #britishinvasion #davyjones #monkees #anthology #ringostarr #paulmccartney #cavernclub #liverpool #rhodeisland #newport #musicfestival #keyboards #johnnyjblair

[white-cat-of-doom]

A Sunday show to end the first week of the return of Il Sistina (08 October 2023).

The dance captains Sergio Giacomelli as Munkustrap and Monika Lepistö as Victoria (who is also the assistant choreographer) share a photo.

Francesca Iannì as Sillabub, Cristina La Gioia as Etcetera, Gaia Soprano as Cassandra, Sergio Giacomelli as Munkustrap, and Rossana Vassallo as Electra all get ready for the show.

Some sidestage dancing with Simone Giovannini as Alonzo and Cristina La Gioia as Etcetera.

[six-costume-refs]

Why do you think the new Breakaway cast hasn’t been allowed to post their costumes yet? I also saw a mic post on someone’s story that showed a teal one in the style of the main six? What do you think this is for?

It takes a day or two for just about every NCL cast to be allowed to post. Some of that is going to be due to them just not having wi-fi every day, but there have been plenty of times where they’ve had access to wi-fi and been posting about opening night/debut both the night of and the day after (sometimes posting/re-posting blurred or onstage photos) and still no photos. Then a few days later half of them will suddenly all post the photos at once. There seems to still be some form of approval process that photos and/or costumes still have to go through before they can be posted, even though these casts don’t have a photo ban since we’ve sometimes seen before.

The alts are the same: they basically always wait a day or two to share any photos. The other queens will wait as well. Sometimes they’ll all be posting “congratulations on your xyz debut” but again, oftentimes with no photos or only very blurred audience ones. Sometimes the alts will also post some sort of “sneak peak” of their costume, often with a comment about how they’ll “post more when they can.” And the second the alts post the photo, the rest of the principals will often post theirs as well.

It’s all just way too coordinated for there to not be some level of approval that most, if not all, alts/costumes/casts have to go through. It is worth noting that all costumes always do have to get approved at some point, for any cast/production. But with US Tours/Broadway that always happens significantly earlier, during tech or previews if not earlier. With NCL it seems to be that they don’t get a final sign off until later, maybe until tech or opening night for some shows (they also have a much shorter tech period than mainland shows). That might have to do with accessibility for fittings during rehearsals: the mainland actors rehearse in New York, where the costume team is located as well. But NCL holds rehearsals in Florida and they don’t usually go back to NYC for fittings during that, even thought the costumes are still in progress. Some actors do initial fittings in New York prior to the rehearsals starting and some do some of their fittings in Florida, but the specifics of all that isn’t particularly clear. And even once they board the ship, they may still not be able to get final approval during tech for any number of reasons (again it’s very short which may factor in). My guess would be that NCL casts just don’t get to do their final approval stages until they’re actually on the ship and at least teching/maybe initial debut, and that’s why we often have some level of delay.

And yeah, Sasha Renae Brown posted this photo of mics:

Yes, there’s a teal. No, we’re not going to see alt costumes. All the mics are labeled with the names of who is supposed to use them: Aragon, Boleyn, etc. If that was dependent on just principal or just alt, we’d see the names of specific actors like you can see on the line above! They’ve done the same thing for past Breakaway (and Bliss) casts in the principal costumes. This is most likely a backup mic. If an actor’s handheld fails during the show, they have one on easy backup that can be grabbed sidestage. It’s likely Elizabeth Walker’s old one from 1.0 that they kept for that purpose; Liv Alexander’s was used as a backup before but has since been repurposed.

[omens-and-more]

I still think it’s strange the only photo or video we got of Noah at Kimmel was taken by the guy who sounds like the Poppy’s launch party dude. I feel like someone else would’ve spotted him throughout the day or side stage. Just really weird to me

He must have had other plans that evening and therefor no sidestage photos. Can't blame him. 🤣

…

[whilstiveputdownthisfic]

Krystle's IG stories - featuring photo from sidestage at FITF WT show in Chicago

June 16th, 2023; 11:32 a.m. DST

[gucciwins]

How did bel feel about how delicious Harry looked last night

São Paolo

“No lo puedo creer,” Bel pouts turning away from Harry. 

Harry sighs, “come on, Bel.”

She shakes her head, not letting herself give in. Harry walks up behind her pressing a kiss to her bare shoulder, she ignores how easily she melts in his hold. 

“I’m sorry. I don’t want you getting sick.” 

She looks up, meeting his eyes through the mirror and she knows he means it. Bel was supposed to be in the audience tonight or well between the stage and barricade with part of the team but due to the rain Harry told her she had to stay sidestage for the night. 

“I wanted to dance with your fans.”

He frowns, “lovie, I’m sorry to disappoint you but you have a few interviews lined up that Viola has told you cannot be rescheduled because they’re working through your schedule. I’m lucky she hasn’t shown up to take you away from me.”

Bel sighs, knowing he’s right. She had been looking forward to it because Latin America had been an entirely new environment, the crowds were insane each night and she felt lucky to be there. She knows Harry never asks her for anything, always letting her roam free each night either backstage or around the venue. 

“Okay, but we’re showering together so I can make sure you don’t get sick.” 

Harry chuckles, “it seems like a win for me.” 

“Whatever rockstar, go sing.”

“Love you, Bel.” 

“I love you too, H.” 

—--

Bel has been squirming the entire show. Harry and water is a dangerous combination because he looks like a wet dream singing tonight to the sold out crowd. No one seems to mind the water tonight, if anything you feel it gave Harry that extra rockstar energy where he was on an entirely different level from the previous show. 

The way his hair fell over his face as he sang, when he ran his hand down his wet body. Bel may had been avoiding the rain but she still managed to get wet for an entirely different reason. It was the worst kind of torture but she loved it. It didn’t stop her from dancing or taking pictures of her own. She knew these were the photos she would look back on when she was alone and he was far away unable to take care of her. These would do the trick. 

Before the encore, Bel took a risk and ran to Harry who was waiting by the side drying his hands with a towel. Harry was shocked to see you coming towards him but before he could say anything she pressed her lips against his in a passionate kiss. Harry was quick to respond, never one to deny one of her kisses, she pulled back breathless not caring that the front of her sweatshirt was now wet. 

“As soon as you’re off that stage you’re mine,” you tell him.

Harry smirks clearly, able to see how affected he has made her during the show. He knows he’s in for a fun time after. With one last kiss he leaves her behind already counting the minutes before he was back in her arms ready to get lost in each other.

[diamondsinureyes]

Whatcha thinking bout, D? ✨ Steddie Edition✨

Y'all remember warped tour? (And boy, do i feel old asking that one) Imagine Corroded Coffin being on the lineup for their 3rd or 4th year. They have become familiar faces, partially because of their devoted fans and partially because of the charismatic Eddie Munson, the lead guitarist of the band. He's a bit of a natural flirt and he works it to his advantage, mingling with the other artists and guiding lost fans around the grounds when he's not headbanging to another band's set. He and the boys are excited for another year of touring the states and seeing the new faces. According to their agent, there's a big indie band from Chicago joining this year. (Eddie and Gareth almost lost their shit when it sounded like Dio despite Jeff reminding them there's no way that's possible in 2016, dipshits) The lead singer's supposed to be some kind of heartthrob himself, but nothing prepares Eddie for Steve Harrington, wth his tight jeans and colorful polos. His stage presence is cool and cocky, riling up the crowd with a smirk and lazy smooch towards the barricade. His his hair shine under the stage lights and his eyes are hidden by dark shades-excepts for when he shits them down for a particular song. They're a pretty amber that lock on Eddie just as Steve leans into the mic and delivers a sultry "look into my eyes and baby, whisper fool" (If Eddie walks away, 'blushing like a slut' as Gareth would say...well, that's his business.) Steve agreed to the tour last-minute, the band still doing damage contrl after their guitarist, Billy threw a shit fit and left when they told him to sober up or leave. Jonathan, who he knows from college and through their mutual "ex-boyfriend of Nancy Wheeler" status, fills in as a favor and brings his little brother Will along. The younger boy helps out with merch and coordinating meet&greets with Robin, their maneger. He hears about Corroded Coffin before he sees them, their reputation as friendly faces preceeding them. Robin babbles his ear off one night about their smoking hot merch girl, who apparently looks out of place surrounded by metalheads and mychem fans. Maybe Steve sees Eddie later, near one of the music education tents, walking a starstruck Dustin henderson through a riff pattern for one of Corroded's older songs. Dustin is a vocalist and guitarist for The Party, an up and coming pop punk band that's also new on the lineup. There from Hawkins Indiana, not far from Eddie's hometown and credit Corroded Coffin as one of their main insporations growing up. He's seen the older boy walking around dressed in leather and chains, glowing with sweat and the post-gig high Steve knows well. But watching his patient grin with the younger boys sparks something softer in Steve. Steve and Eddie chat for the first time waiting for The Party's 20-min set to begin; Eddie comming to support Dustin, and Steve there at the request of Nancy who's brother Mike happens to be the lead singer. After watching Eddie bop around in low-rise jeans and a crop top, bare hips swaing to the beat, Steve's sweating from more than just the sweltering heat. He talks to Jon, Tommy and Carol (his drummer and keys player) and they agree to add "Brand New Baby Girl" to the set with little question. They make it a point to watch each other's sets, either lingering sidestage or standing somewhere visible in the crowd. Occasionally, Eddie will crash a meet&greet, snagging Chrissy from the merch table to distract Robin. The fans start catching on and #Steddie becomes a popular tag on Tumblr, full of photos documenting their "bromance." A short video of them singing along to The Party's hit "Friends Don't Lie" goes viral.

[photos-of-space]

Photo of sidestages seperating from center core of Falcon Heavy. Photo credit: @emrekelly on twitter

[jeffcbliss]

Brit Floyd - San Diego Civic Theatre; San Diego, CA (7-16-23). @BritFloydBand @pinkfloyd #DSOTM

Photo: Jeff Bliss for @calimaglife

[space-pics]

Photo of sidestages seperating from center core of Falcon Heavy. Photo credit: @emrekelly on twitter

[white-cat-of-doom]

The last show (of the second last week) in Taipei, Taiwan for Asia Tour 2022-2023 (06 August 2023), before a well deserved day off. Tuesday kicks off the final week of the tour!

Taryn Donna has been covering Bombalurina for the weekend, and is having her fun, here with Saverio Pescucci as Alonzo.

Sophie-Rose Middleton was covering the mystical Tantomile.

Saverio captures a photo of some Kittens, Cian Hughes as Carbucketty and Gabrielle Parker as Jemima, who gets the sidestage photo treatment.

Johnny Randall as Mistoffelees is looking forward to the rest day, and Gavin Eden as Skimbleshanks is looking for a certain missing Munkustrap, played by Matt Krzan.

Matthew Levick as Bill Bailey does some exercising, and takes a break.

[nho-jungle]

Slamdunk

Boston Manor- I didn't originally plan to see them, cuz I've never listened to them before, but they were just before As It Is, and we were sat listening, and they were actually really good, so we went to go listen to them. The singer said this crowd was the worst one ever, because they weren't dancing then the singer urged everyone to start a circle pit. He got off stage, found a tall guy to hold his mic lead, and he stood in the middle while the circle pit went around him. It was very cool.  As It Is- Patty looked stunning but his mic wasn't turned up, so only the first couple of rows could properly hear him, but it didn't matter bc everyone was singing. We got pretty much to the front. Patty looked like 2005 Gerard Way at certain angles, and it was amazing. Also he had red suspenders on, and it looked so good. I was screaming to their songs, and I have a full on death metal scream when I'm loud, and a bunch of people looked really confused when they heard the voice and saw who it came from. 

Waterparks-TURBULENT IS AMAZING LIVE!!!! I got kicked in the mouth by a crowd surfer but it was cool. Awsten said he looked like a watermelon on purpose. He was talking about how coordinated his outfit was, and went, "first, appreciate my shoes!" And slammed his foot on the speaker, nearly kicking it into the front row. The mosh put for TANTRUM nearly killed me but it was AWESOME. I was yelling to my friend about how I'd let Awsten and Patty both punch me in the face at the same time and a bunch of people turned around and were like "me too bro."

Signings- the line for All Time Low was too long so we didn't bother. When we walked past, iDKHOW were doing an acoustic set, which was cool. My friend got Dallon and Ryan's signature on a poster, and got my ticket signed for me. We got to the other signing tent, too late for As It Is, but we could see them and I cried. But we managed to meet Waterparks!!!!!!! As they walked up to the tent they were waving at whoever waved to them, Awsten waved to my friend and Otto waved to me. Awsten was so sweet and Geoff and Otto both put a hand on my shoulder for the photo, and Geoff has very fatherly hands. He is a safe man to be around. It's hard to explain, but all of them, particularly Geoff, just make you feel safe when they're around, and they make sure their attention is 100% of you when you talk to them. 

IDKHow- Before IDKHow, Lights played, and Patty and his girlfriend were watching from the crew area. Also Lucas and Jawn were sidestage for IDKHow. Dallon kept being mean to Ryan but Ryan was absolutely adorable. We'd made some friends and were doing some really weird dancing, but it was fun. Also!!! Why does no one talk about Dallon's amazing high notes??????

All Time Low- we didn't get as close for All Time Low as we did for As It Is and Waterparks, but it was still awesome! Jack kept talking about Rian being a warm hole to put his fingers in. "it's really wet and my fingers are cold and I can't play guitar very well, but that's not the reason I can't play guitar, and I'm looking for a warm hole to put them in, but all I see is Rian Dawson." He also called Alex a cold hole, luke warm at best. Jack was complaining about how unfit he was, and went, “I feel like Tony Stark at the end of Endgame.” And Alex told him off for it. Later on he spoilt Game of Thrones too, and Alex got everyone to boo him. Awsten came on to sing with them for a bit and as he walked off Alex said "that's my son!". Also they played an unreleased song and it was really good!!! Alex told us to pretend it was our favourite song. They told us to turn to someone next to us and get on their shoulders, so I got my friend on mine and she now hates me cuz I was jumping up and down while she was up there. The mosh pit got really wild for Dear Maria, and someone slammed me in the face and now my nose and tooth hurt. 

Merch- I got the limited edition Waterparks Slamdunk shirt, and when you bought that you were also given another shirt that says “Waterparks. Watch what happens next,”  along with the Turbulent advertisement poster. I got the Slamdunk shirt that lists all the bands. I also bought The Great Depression and 1981 Extended Play on cassette.

Tags: @topmaxx , @puppybrendon , @icseyic , @sixx-shady , @geoffs-band , @a-walking-lovesong , @frankaiden

[drafee]

Alex was in Paris 2 days ago. Miles' French/Italian tour starts in Rouen tonight (

Idk about a reunion on stage, I think it's implausible, but Alex could show up at a show....... sidestage........maybe take a photo with his good friend

[kanyes-astrophysicist-cousin]

Photo of sidestages seperating from center core of Falcon Heavy. Photo credit: @emrekelly on twitter

[wordsandshawn]

Before Now - chapter 7

Previous Chapters 

Disclaimer: I know nothing about photography, but making Skylar interested in photography was the best way I could think of to make some of the main plot points work out, so please just bare with me.

7.

May 2018

Greg doesn’t know about the calls to Shawn. I don’t mean to keep secrets, but I know that if he found out he would be upset, and he wouldn’t approve. Besides, I’ve only spoken to Shawn a few times over the past couple of months. It’s really not a big deal and I don’t want it to be blown out of proportion. Greg has the tendency to do that sometimes. He’s not just protective. He can be possessive. I know it’s only because he loves me, but I don’t want to deal with it over Shawn, so I keep secrets.

Shawn invited me to a show he’s playing a couple hours away from my campus, and I haven’t told Greg. Under any other circumstance, I would have definitely said no, just like I did the last time Shawn invited me out to his show, but Shawn’s offer this time was too big for me to turn down. He invited me to come out and photograph the show because his normal photographer wouldn’t be able to be there. Up until now, my main focus in photography has been portraits, so I don’t have much experience at all with concert photography. I’ve done a few events at my University for some of the organizations, and I love photographing people in general. I’ve never been opposed to concert photography, especially because I love live music. I just didn’t have an opportunity to try my hand at it until now.  

Even at the risk of Greg being mad at me, I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t say yes to this opportunity. This could be my career one day, I’m not going to say no to this just because Greg might be mad and might not support me.

I tell Shawn I’d love to shoot the show, and he sends an email of information. I make up a lame excuse to Kristen, telling her that one of my photography professors had connections and got me this opportunity to shoot the concert. She’s completely ecstatic, especially when I tell her we’ll get in for free. I’m still trying to figure out the details of how I’m going to do this without her completely freaking out, but I didn’t trust anyone else enough to ask them to go with me and drive me. Even though she can be a crazy fan, I still trust her with my life, and I trust her with this.

The weekend of the show quickly approaches. I tell Greg I have a photography project to work on Saturday, and Kristen and I drive the two hours to the festival. She can’t stop talking about Shawn the entire two-hour drive there. I’m not exactly looking forward to her reaction when she actually sees him in person.

“We’re probably going to meet Shawn,” I tell her this when we’re about five minutes out from the festival grounds. The only reason I’m telling her is because I’m hoping that by giving her some time to prepare, her reaction will be a little less extreme, but knowing Kristen, that’s probably not going to happen.

“WHAT?” I’m afraid for a second that she’s going to drive off the road accidentally in shock.

“We’re probably going to meet him,” I repeat, even though I know she heard me the first time.

“How?” She’s still in shock.

“I told you, I’m photographing him, so I’m pretty sure that means we’ll meet him.”

“Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh. Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

“Because I knew you’d freak out, just like this.” She continues to freak out and is still freaking out while we’re trying to figure out where to go. It’s a little after 2pm when we arrive. I tell the guard at the front my name, and I have to show him my ID, but then he lets us in and tells us where to go, directions to Shawn’s trailer.

Now Kristen is freaking out even more after she heard we’re going to Shawn’s trailer. I’m trying to calm my own nerves, wondering how I even got here, and what I think I’m doing. If Greg finds out, he’s going to be pissed, and I don’t even fully understand why Shawn would ask me here in the first place, after everything that happened with us, and after the way I acted toward him. We’re at the door to Shawn’s trailer, and Kristen is about to faint from excitement. I knock. The door opens, revealing someone who looks familiar, although I don’t think I’ve ever met him, “Hey,” I force myself to speak, “My name’s Skylar Evans. I’m here to photograph Shawn.”

Recognition crosses his face, and he lets the door swing all the way open. “Of course, come in. It’s nice to finally meet you.” He sticks out his hand, “I’m Andrew Gertler, Shawn’s manager.” And that’s why he looks so familiar. I’ve heard his name so many times but just didn’t put it together in my mind before he introduced himself.

“Nice to meet you,” I say. Andrew extends his hand to shake Kristen’s, and for once, she doesn’t seem like she has a lot to say.

Shawn strides over to the doorway and pulls me into a hug. “I’m really glad you came.” He says, sounding genuine. Now Kristen really has nothing to say, as Shawn introduces himself to her, despite the fact that he probably knows he needs no introduction, and of course, Kristen goes in for a hug, although, thankfully she doesn’t scream. I think she’s in too much shock to realize that this is not my first-time meeting Shawn.

Andrew speaks before anyone else gets the chance to, and I’m glad for that. “You can leave your things in the trailer. Here are lanyards for you both to wear.” He hands us each a laminated lanyard that says, SHAWN MENDES CREW with ALL ACCESS right underneath. “This will give you access to pretty much anywhere on the festival grounds, so please don’t lose them. Shawn goes on in an hour. You’re welcome to explore or hang out and just let us know if you need anything.” His phone starts ringing. He pulls it out of his pocket, and I glance at Kristen who looks at me with wide eyes, like can you believe this, I just nod a little.

Andrew apologizes, saying he has to take the call and excuses himself. Shawn introduces us to the others in the room, most of them are his band members. They looked like they were practicing something, and I don’t want to be in the way, so I tell Shawn, “I think we’ll just go walk around for a bit.” He nods, and I put down my camera bag, taking my camera before forcing Kristen outside with me.

As soon as we get outside, she turns to me. “How are you so chill? I’m freaking out.” She says, actually starting to hyperventilate.

“Breathe,” I say, before walking off to see what else is going on here. I spend the next forty minutes wandering around with Kristen and taking photos, generally enjoying the atmosphere.

The goal for tonight is to get some solid photos, but also to be able to put together around a thirty-second video for the performance. I’ve roped Kristen into helping me, which worked out well because I had my own assistant in a way.

I snap a few photos of Shawn before he steps on the stage, and then once he’s onstage, I’m able to shoot from sidestage and even directly behind the stage. At one point, I even make my way down to the crowd, standing in the space between the stage and the barriers to keep the crowd back. His set is far too short for my liking, and I fear that I haven’t gotten good enough shots, but when his performance is over, there’s nothing I can do about it.  

Shawn’s sweaty, but clearly high off the adrenaline of the show, and I’m surprised I’m feeling very much the same as he is at this moment. Taking photos and feeling the energy radiating from the crowd was exhilarating. A feeling I haven’t felt before, but can’t help wanting to feel more. 

When Shawn steps off stage, I manage to see him for a few seconds. I tell him the performance was great, and he asks how it was for me shooting it. Its honestly the most normal conversation, but everything feels so strange. I keep trying to remind myself that it’s just Shawn, that he’s Shawn. This is so out of context for the Shawn I know, for the Shawn that I’ve always known that its strange for me.

I just watched his performance and realized that he’s amazing at what he does. I knew that he was good. I’ve always known that he was good, even when he used to force me to sing with him when we were little kids putting on shows for our little siblings, it was always clear he was good.

This was the first time I saw him live since the very beginning. When he was first starting out, my whole family would always go out to support him, but after his career blew up, I started trying to avoid any attention that came with knowing Shawn Mendes, which meant I stopped seeing him live or being seen with him in public.

He hugs both me and Kristen, and I don’t even complain that he’s sweaty. I ask if he’s going to stay to see the other performers, and he only shakes his head, and I see a hint of sadness in his eyes, although I’m not sure where it came from or why he’d be sad after a performance like that in front of so many people. “We have to head out to catch a flight tonight, in a couple hours actually.” His crew is rushing around getting ready to go, and he glances over at them before looking back at us, “I wish we could stay, but I have another festival tomorrow night.” That’s crazy. He’ll be in another city tomorrow playing another show. “Thanks for coming out, though. I hope it was worth it for you.” He genuinely sounds grateful, even though I should be the one thanking him.

“Thanks for inviting me, I really hope that you like the photos.”

“I’m sure I will. I saw you during the show, you were everywhere.”

I can’t help but laugh. “Thanks, I really do appreciate you asking me to shoot this show. It means a lot.” I say, trying to convey my gratitude. 

He just nods with a smile, like it’s no big deal, even though it’s a huge deal to me. I excuse myself, stepping back and picking up my camera for a few last-minute shots. Kristen starts talking to him for a few seconds. It’s taken pretty much this entire time, but she finally seems to have regained her composure. I take a few photos of them talking before filming the interactions and some of the cleanup going on around as Shawn and his whole crew get ready to leave.

Kristen and I decide to stay and watch a few of the other performers before heading back home. I put all my gear away and find Shawn to say goodbye to him.

“Thanks for coming,” He says as he hugs me goodbye. He tells Kristen it was nice to meet her and she basically swoons.

“Are you driving back tonight?” He asks and even Kristen is taken aback by this inquiry.

I nod, “We’re gonna stay for a while, but yeah we’re going home tonight.”

“Drive safely, okay?” He says with genuine care in his voice, and Kristen nods since she’s the one driving. “Text me so I know you got home safe?” He’s looking at me as he says this, and I nod, saying goodbye and dragging Kristen away.

She’s asking about what just happened, asking if I have his number, and about a million other questions. But I rush us both out to the crowd of people, ignoring her questions and glad for a distraction.

I almost made it out of there without Kristen realizing anything. At first, she was too excited to notice that Shawn and I weren’t meeting for the first time, and then everything else we talked about was all business, nothing too out of the ordinary. I could explain it all away, saying something about how I’m sure he talks to all his photographers that way, and he’s just a friendly person. But that last one isn’t something a singer would tell a photographer he just met. No matter how I try to frame it, I don’t think I’ll be able to explain that one, and Kristen is going to be looking for the truth.

For now, the questions are left unanswered, and she’s momentarily distracted by the crowd and the music, which means I have about an hour of complete and utter bliss of live music at a festival before I have to find a way to explain to my roommate that I grew up with her favorite singer.

chapter 8