Each year, Consequence of Sound hits up more festivals, more concerts, and more events. Almost every other night, our trusty photographers scatter across the globe to capture moments you can experience from the comfort of your own home. It’s an unenviable task that’s sometimes dangerous, almost always tedious, and the death of your mind, body, and soul. Ever haul four bags of groceries and think, Almost there, almost there, almost there? Try doing that for a whole weekend, surrounded by ultra hyper festivalgoers, and underneath a barrage of rain. The word “hell” comes to mind.
Because we reap so many benefits from their hellish endeavors, we feel it’s our duty to return the favor and pay homage to all their best work. Over the next few pages, you’ll find a couple of things. For one, 175 photos from over a dozen of our greatest photographers. What’s more, we’ve also gone ahead and named our Photographer of the Year, a first for our Annual Report and something we’ll continue for years ahead. So, throw on a pair of headphones and revisit 2013 in the most stylish way we can offer. If you’re a fan, hit up their provided social networks and follow their ensuing adventures.
On a related note, we’d like to take this opportunity to remember Andrew Youssef. On Monday night, the renowned Los Angeles photographer lost his fight with colon cancer at the age of 38. Although Consequence of Sound never had the opportunity to work with Youssef, we’ve long been fans of his portfolio and were deeply saddened by the news. Please revisit his epic work and, if possible, donate to a PayPal account he set up for his family prior to his death.
Photographer of the Year: Ben Kaye
He’s already the coolest teacher in the New York area, and now he’s this year’s top photographer. By day, Ben Kaye teaches English as a Second Language to 16-60 year olds at the ELS Language Center on Adelphia University’s Manhattan campus. By night, he’s Assistant News Editor for Consequence of Sound. During the short free time he does have, however, he finds himself at nightclubs, or arenas, or festivals, snapping shots for his own written coverage. He’s like Peter Parker, only with less spandex.
Reliable, dedicated, and resilient, Ben makes this stuff look easy, capturing each moment with the emotionality and depth we typically find in person. Performers look natural yet the surroundings feel vivid and that’s exactly what I look for when it comes to pairing visuals with editorial. While choosing his best photos, I found myself amused and also frustrated, knowing damn well I’d be leaving some goodies behind. I can’t wait to see where he goes in 2014 and what he turns up.
His favorite moment of 2013: “As challenging as Bonnaroo is to shoot (or attend, really), it’s also the coolest place on earth and always rewarding. This year I fist-bumped Officer Dangle at “Weird Al”; danced with McLovin during Jim James when the guards neglected to kick me out after the usual “first three songs” and I got to watch the entire set from the photo pit; and, perhaps most memorably, handed Action Bronson a joint. Some fan tossed the J on stage, but it got trapped under a speaker right in front of me. Bronson was fishing around for it, so I just reached up, pulled it out, and handed it to him. He sparked it up, and I snapped this picture. Afterwards, he mugged straight at me at the “pose for the cameras” line during “Steve Wynn”, but this shot is way more Bronsino.”
Action Bronson
ASAP Rocky
Deer Tick
Diarrhea Planet
DIIV
HAIM
Kendrick Lamar
Lady Lamb
Major Lazer
James Murphy
Amanda Palmer
Passion Pit
Tom Petty
Phoenix
Solange
“Weird Al” Yankovic
Robert Altman
His favorite moment of 2013: “It’s so hard to pick a ‘favorite’ moment from the year- each show is so different. It would be an easier task to pick one moment PER show. In today’s video dominated/24fps world, I love being able to stop time and freeze one special instant that captures a performer, a concert, and an evening. Sharing those ‘perfect’ moments is what it’s all about.”
Drake
The Postal Service
Allyce Andrew
Fred Armisen
Dan Deacon
FIDLAR
Maroon 5
Mute Math
Willie Nelson
Paramore
Phoenix
Joseph Annoreno
His favorite moment of 2013: “Even though I’ve shot photos at the Metro a few times before, taking the pit for James Blake was a bit more a challenging than past shows. Capturing Blake’s airy dubstep aura all depended in finding the right setting on my camera. As soon as the band stepped on to the stage, they immediately found their groove and played an intimate and stunning performance coated in thumping bass lines and lush orchestration.”
James Blake
Gretchen Bachrodt
Her favorite moment of 2013: “I remember the day I shot Pearl Jam at Wrigley Field as one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life. Apart from the stress of the sweltering heat, wall-to-wall people, and fatigue, I will also never forget the excitement of hearing the sold out stadium’s roaring reaction to when Pearl Jam finally took the stage. It was like a dream come true: standing in one of my favorite childhood places, working my dream job, shooting one of the most successful bands in the world. As one of my first concerts I’ve ever shot, it was quite a way to set the bar for my career.”
Ben Folds
Pearl Jam
Meghan Brosnan
Her favorite moment of 2013: “One of my favorite pit moments this year is from MIA’s performance at Pitchfork. She was all over the place — grinding on speakers, jumping into the audience, climbing the stage — it was mayhem. I like an over-the-top performance because it’s challenging to try to document and incapsulate all the craziness in a single image. And if you’re able to get that perfect shot it can sometimes be more satisfying than the actual performance.”
Björk
The Dismemberment Plan
Sky Ferreira
Foxygen
MIA
Joanna Newsom
R. Kelly
Jason Bryant
Glastonbury
The Rolling Stones
Tom Clayton
Mark Mulcahy
Philip Cosores
Dr. Dre
Miguel
Tom Petty
Yetunde Dada
Her favorite moment of 2013: “There’s something surreal about seeing some of your favorite musicians live on stage and for me this was most apparent when I was shooting MGMT at Firefly Music Festival earlier on this year. It was like time stood still and the amazing visuals that they used have made it an incredible memory. As a South African concert photographer, it’s not often that I get to see some of my favorite alternative acts, unless I’m traveling, so that memory is burnt deep and I’ll never forget it.”
MGMT
Nathan Dainty
OMD
Debi Del Grande
Her favorite moment of 2013: “I’ve been very fortunate to photograph my favorite musicians, including The Cure, Radiohead and Björk. One band that I hadn’t photographed was Depeche Mode. DM was my very first concert (Rose Bowl 1988) and the last time they played in Santa Barbara, I was behind the rail with my point and shoot. This year, I was in the photo pit about to take photos and this enormous surge of excitement grew in my chest as they were about to go on. I had many friends at the rail I spoke with and we were all giddy. I just remember singing as I shot and Dave twirled.”
Local Natives
Queens of the Stone Age
Wolfmother
Dale W. Eisinger
Adam Yauch Park
Paul McCartney
Nick Freed
Gogol Bordello
Adam Gasson
His favorite moment of 2013: “For the first time in years I managed to survive a Glastonbury weekend without being soaked through thanks to the British ‘summer’ rain. But I was hit in the face with a snowball and a tomato. It’s those moments that make Glastonbury a (painful) pleasure to shoot each year.”
Deap Vally
Glastonbury
Rita Ora
Sasha Geffen
Her favorite moment of 2013: “Savages are pure joy to shoot, and I was lucky enough to end up at the edge of their stage with a camera a few months ago. While I’d been impressed with their debut, my suspicion that I hadn’t really understood the band yet was confirmed when they packed Chicago’s Metro. The band’s songs are solid but they’re really just vehicles for presence, scripts for Jehnny Beth to work a defenseless crowd. She’s all charisma and fierce quick gestures, but her bandmates carry a huge, quiet presence beside her. Bassist Ayse Hassan was particularly wonderful to photograph as she loomed right above me at the left side of the stage, totally absorbed in her playing.”
Savages
David Greenwald
His favorite moment of 2013: “Wavves — both Nathan Williams and Stephen Pope — were dealing with pre-tour sickness the day I interviewed them. But they soldiered through breakfast, a few rounds of FIFA, and a photo shoot that included impromptu basketball and this American flag mural, which framed their tired, stoner glory.”
Wavves
David Hall
Desaparecidos
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
Matt and Kim
Nine Inch Nails
Pearl Jam
Reignwolf
Voodoo Experience
Zach Hart
Killer Mike
Kaitlyn Herzog
Her favorite moment of 2013: “I’ve been following Bon Iver for years, so photographing Justin Vernon’s Volcano Choir was a welcomed opportunity. I was quickly immersed in the Metro’s atmosphere with the haunting lighting and textural backdrop. Vernon was a prime subject to photograph while addressing the audience from his mossy podium.”
Volcano Choir
Chris Jorgensen
His favorite moment of 2013: “Bonnaroo is always a blast to shoot. Fans want the music to be good, while photographers just want the artists to move. Father John Misty jumped, swooned, pleaded, collapsed, twirled and flopped. It was beautiful.”
Ed Helms
ZZ Top
Heather Kaplan
Her favorite moment of 2013: “Reignwolf’s set at Lollapalooza proved to be one of my best pit moments of 2013. Jordan was performing with so much gusto, and I knew that an EPIC. JUMP. would be happening at any moment. There’s nothing more frustrating than missing the opportunity for an awesome jumping photo so I went into hyperfocus mode. Jordan climbed up on the bass drum; I took a big gulp of air and waited for what seemed like an eternity (I was willing to sacrifice the ability to breathe if it meant avoiding a blurry photo). When I snuck a peek at my screen and realized I got the shot, it really pumped me up for the rest of the day!”
ACL Festivalgoers
Nick Cave
CHVRCHES
The Cure
Divine Fits
Ellie Goulding
Green Day
Grimes
HAIM
Jim James
The Postal Service
Reignwolf
Lionel Richie
St. Lucia
Vampire Weekend
Jessie Ware
Wild Belle
Eric Kayne
His favorite moment of 2013: “Photographing Arcade Fire has been the highlight assignment of 2013 for me. I travelled and photographed the band for their two week mini-tour in October in New York, Miami and Los Angeles. The Meserole show was off the chain – the costumes, location and energy are something I’ll never forget!”
Arcade Fire
Amanda Koellner
Her favorite moment of 2013: “This year marked my third Bonnaroo but my first with a glorious media wristband, and although I lacked a photo pass, I toted my camera around all weekend. After tag-teaming a spot in the six-hour-long Paul McCartney fan pit line with a small chunk of my Bonnaroovian family, I ended up about six rows back with nearly 80,000 people behind me as we sang along to the likes of ‘Hey Jude’, ‘Let It Be’, and ‘Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da’ on the farm, solidifying the set as my all-time favorite concert. I, a writer on the CoS team, ended up with the only Paul McCartney photos thanks to my proximity, and the shots I took catapulted me further into the world of photography. Largely thanks to Sir Paul, this summer saw me clicking away in the photo pits of Pitchfork Fest, Outside Lands, and Chicago’s A.V. Fest/Hideout Block Party, Lolla after-shows, and more. All hail Macca.”
The Hideout Block Party
Ellie Goulding
Paul McCartney
Superchunk
Shervin Lainez
Jim James
Jeremy D. Larson
His favorite moment of 2013: “Between crippling food poisoning at SXSW and Tropical Storm Andrea at Governors Ball, it wasn’t the best year for being in photo pits for me. The former had me throwing up just as Ezra Koenig was singing, ‘I can feel it coming,’ from ‘Cousins’ and the latter was so wet and wretched I was punch drunk at the end, laughing at the possibility of never being able to feel my toes again. But other than that, shooting Paramore at the Chicago Theater was one of the best gigs. Not only are Paramore playing at their very best right now, they put on a show that’s fun to shoot. All of the big shows and big stadiums with lights and projections and props are fun to shoot, but often you want to get right out of there. Paramore was an exception — a huge show full of cheap tricks that I very much enjoyed to the very end.”
A Place to Bury Strangers
Azealia Banks
Chance the Rapper
Foxygen
Guns ‘N Roses
HAIM
The National
Paramore
Sigur Rós
Trash Talk
Kanye West
Gilles LeBlanc
His favorite moment of 2013: “Not to get all ‘First World Photog Problems’, but I’m used to dealing with 30 or 40 other accredited photographers in a given festival pit. At Riot Fest Toronto, there were 75 of us in one of the tightest spaces I’ve ever experienced. The fact that a certain pioneering alt-rock band was playing their first show in 22 years probably had something to do with it. There was no room to move once we all got in there, but thanks to my stature and savviness, I was pretty happy with the shots I took of Messrs. Stinson and Westerburg!”
The Replacements
Pat Levy
His favorite moment of 2013: “In all of the photo pits I was a part of this year, the lasting image for me is Action Bronson taking the stage at Milwaukee’s The Rave on his 2 High 2 Die joint tour with Danny Brown. Equipped with a sleeve of red Solo cups and a bottle of Grey Goose, he came out to R. Kelly’s ‘Bump N’ Grind’ and tossed cups to the first few rows before pouring shots for everyone who could reach. It was reminiscent of Michelangelo’s ‘The Creation of Adam’ as Bam Bam towered over his adoring fans and graciously extended to them the offer of free booze from his rider. Getting to share a shot with Action Bronson and a few dozen excited fans was by far my photo pit highlight in a year where I got to ‘share’ the stage with Crystal Castles and experience huge bands like New Order and Haim.”
Action Bronson
Mumford and Sons
The Orwells
Wavves
Ted Maider
His favorite moment of 2013: “For the past couple years, Trash Talk is a band who has consistently delivered photo-worthy performances. For Coachella, they put on quite a spectacle, but there was nobody else in the photo pit beside myself. I stood right next to singer Lee Speilman as he climbed the barricade and let kids scream into the microphone. After snapping some top-notch photos, I decided to rock out too. Since I had the whole photo pit to myself, I was able to solo mosh for the next two songs, right there with the band. It was everything an aged punk could have ever wanted.”
Atoms for Peace
Beck
Blur
The Breeders
Death Grips
Earl Sweatshirt
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Fun Fun Fun Festivalgoer
Janelle Monáe
Nine Inch Nails
Nick Offerman
The Shouting Matches
Sleigh Bells
The Tallest Man on Earth
Terror
TV on the Radio
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Joshua Mellin
His favorite moment of 2013: “What stands out in 2013 is sinking into the Gulf Shores sand at Hangout, stepping on to Soldier Field for Jay Z & Justin Timberlake, and running alongside Alex Ebert at Bonnaroo’s Which stage. For Lollapalooza, though, I bypassed the pits and wandered Grant Park to great benefit. During Crystal Castles’ set I caught Alice Glass as she marched out into the crowd along the barrier, out of sight to those in the pit. After enjoying a complete show from Vampire Weekend I found myself in a prime location for Phoenix, evident by the shot of Thomas Mars crowd-surfing overhead.”
CHVRCHES
Crystal Castles
Father John Misty
Lollapalooza
Paul McCartney
Phoenix
Frank Mojica
His favorite moment of 2013: “‘First three songs. No flash. Remain constantly on the move while changing settings and minding the other photographers.’ The joys of the photo pit were fairly new to me this year, and while the crash courses in concert photography have been exhilarating and challenging, one moment stands out as especially rewarding and educational. Sometimes it really pays to be in the front of the crowd, and due to the hyper-kinetic sci-fi spectacle of the Janelle Monáe live experience, I cannot imagine seeing her from any other vantage point. I thanked the concert gods for both the opportunity to be even closer than the front row ever so briefly and something every photographer can use: the gift of illumination. In response to the bright lights, however, I cranked up my shutter speed, only to discover that even speeds of 1/160 second were often outpaced by Monáe’s fancy footwork. Nothing is ever too easy, expect the unexpected, and be prepared for anything? Lesson learned.”
How to Destroy Angels
Janelle Monáe
Zola Jesus
Daniela Montelongo
Her favorite moment of 2013: “Getting covered in GWAR blood, shoes being destroyed, and ringing in my ears are just some of the highlights from the photo pits at Riot Fest this year. What other photographers may have seen as a pain, are what I spend all year waiting for. Watching Laura Jane Grace perform as the crowd screamed along to the Against Me! set made every second of standing in the pouring rain and sliding around in mud worth it.”
Blondie
Joan Jett and the Heartbreakers
The Replacements
Kathy Paz
Her favorite moment of 2013: “This has been a year involving various career decisions and big changes as I’ve continued to assimilate myself into the world of journalism and find my perfect niche in this field. Because of that, and definitely not for lack of want, my time in the photo pit has been limited. It’s been the first time since discovering a passion for live music photography that I haven’t been able to indulge deliberately or whole-heartedly. That means that any moment I actually got to spend there, capturing and losing myself in moment, was special and unparalleled.”
Muse
Michael Powell
His favorite moment of 2013: “While much of the world brunched Sunday at noon, an extremely fortunate 100 superfans and a small group of (ugh) press types enjoyed an hour-long retrospective of The Flaming Lips inside a sunlit gallery above downtown Louisville’s Muhammed Ali Center. Still not sure how I lucked out on this.
Stripped down it was not. Donning The Greatest’s golden boxing gloves, an especially animated Wayne Coyne engaged in rapid-fire “storytellers” banter as the band selected a song representative of each era within their mercurial three decade career. Beyond the intimacy, the real treat for me was hearing the seldom played “Bag Full of Thoughts”, the first official Lips song, and the decibel shredding “Unconsciously Screaming”, my personal favorite pre-Soft Bulletin anthem.
Personally, this intimate performance felt more spirited and anthemic than Saturday night’s subdued set in front of 30,000+ people at Waterfront Park — a notion that beautifully punctuates The Flaming Lips’ storied tradition eschewing all convention.”
The Flaming Lips
Amy Price
Her favorite moment of 2013: “There were lots of incredible moments this year, from being caught in an exuberant mosh pit at The Damned, to shooting Phoenix taping for ACL, to capturing Sir Elton’s smile and getting a ‘thank you’ at the benefit for the Andy Roddick Foundation. But the best moment came at the Bonnaroo Rock & Soul Superjam, where I was in the pit for the entire show. John Oates and Jim James led a seriously all-star cast. Just imagine: Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes wailing “Satisfaction”, R. Kelly channeling Sam Cooke, Billy Idol sneering right at my lens, and Larry Graham, the original slap-funk bassist, leading the band ‘Higher’. Even ‘McLovin’ himself was my impromptu dance partner for the evening. It was a dance party fueled communion between artists and audience, perfect in almost every way. Simply awesome!”
Cut Copy
Patton Oswalt
Sparks
Television
Carl Pocket
His favorite moment of 2013: “Even though they made us shoot from back of house, the most memorable moment shooting in 2013 was easily the Sound City Players show at the Hollywood Palladium. Watching Dave Grohl on acoustic guitar, sit on a stool and strum out “Landslide” with Stevie Nicks belting out the vocals… it was easily the most chilling moment I had this year.”
Sound City Players
Shaun Regan
His favorite moment of 2013: “The lighting and smoke were near perfect. This was the moment myself and a large conglomerate of black-clad Slayer fans had been waiting for. There aren’t many bands that can compete with the sheer velocity of Slayer. As I shot the band opening with ‘Hell Awaits’, I turned around and saw a young man in a wheel chair crowd surfing his way towards the photo pit! He wore the biggest smile and even brought a grin to Tom Araya’s face. I felt extremely lucky to be a part of that moment.”
Slayer
Michael Roffman
His favorite moment of 2013: “No idea. I will say this, though: The hardest thing about taking photos is having to spend so much time with them afterwards — especially when you’re madly in love with the artists or performers. It’s torturous and you start feeling like Travis Bickle or someone similarly creepy. I don’t know; I guess I’m just a weird guy. Whatever the case, Iggy hasn’t returned my calls.”
Free Energy
Sky Ferreira
Palma Violets
Pissed Jeans
Iggy and the Stooges
Phillip Roffman
His favorite moment of 2013: “As lame and ultra cheesy this may sound…my favorite aspect of this year, ranging from Lollapalooza to Austin City Limits, was the fact that no one was rude and every photographer I met just wanted to make sure everyone else was comfortable and able to get a shot. Especially Lollapalooza 2013. Maybe that’s just the Midwestern hospitality, but either way, good stuff.”
Kendrick Lamar
Joe Runge
His favorite moment of 2013: “Oh, thats an easy one! Back in May, CoS invited me to shoot this year’s Soundset Festival. I was in the pit when Juicy J sprinted on stage. At this point I was really ‘getting into the zone’ because Juicy J is one of my favorite artist. The second song into his set he actually splashed a little bit of his Rosé on me. I had already realized this prior to now, but this moment struck me. It’s a moment like this that makes me so excited about my future in photography.”
P.O.S.
SchoolboyQ
Katie Schuering
Her favorite moment of 2013: “Fiona Apple’s performance was one of the hardest yet most rewarding experiences to shoot. I spent the three-song limit crouched awkwardly in the aisle at the Bank of America Theater (no pits or barricades). In spite of the workaround, her passion and intensity as a performer are hard to miss while photographing. She is just a powerful, mesmerizing presence.”
Fiona Apple
Flag
Pixies
Wei Shi
Her favorite moment of 2013: “It was the night before Thanksgiving and Bowery Ballroom was packed all the way to the exits for Lauryn Hill’s return. And when I say ‘packed,’ I mean, ‘Omg, I hope the girl next to me isn’t going to punch me because it’s so crowded that I can smell her hair between this camera shoved in front of my face.’ Thankfully, I made sure to get there early enough for a decent angle since there was no photo pit. Lauryn moved with such grace and sang with such soulful perfection that I couldn’t help smiling while snapping photos. She conversed intimately with the crowd and everyone seemed to just enjoy themselves. I’d only moved to NYC from LA two months ago so shooting this show and hearing the familiar 90′s hits made me feel at home again.”
Lauryn Hill
Nate Slevin
Björk
Father John Misty
The Lumineers
The Wu-Tang Clan
Cory Smith
His favorite moment of 2013: “Just before Pitchfork Paris, my wife suffered an injury, leaving her on crutches. Ever the trooper, she’d stand at the front of the stage, not allowing her injury to interfere. I’d enter the pit, shoot three songs, then join her. Security soon noticed and took pity on her. Midway through night two as I turned to exit, I noticed a pair of crutches near the photo gear. I looked over to see my wife seated on the gating separating us from the crowd. Security allowed her to sit comfortably and enjoy the show. I was confined to a three song limit, she apparently was not.”
Danny Brown
Deafheaven
The Knife
Panda Bear
Omar Souleyman
Colin Stetson
Matthew Solarski
His favorite moment of 2013: “Always good to see mindfulness in the pit. The guys and gals who, while taking great photos, are considerate of the artist (who probably doesn’t appreciate bright flashes or cameras all up in their face), the audience (who probably don’t want to hear shutters clicking through the quiet parts), and their fellow photographers (we’re all in the same boat here): I raise my glass to these people, the mindful.”
Julia Holter
The xx
Derek Staples
His favorite moment of 2013: “As a concert photographer, even when shooting a favorite, I try to sustain a sense of professionalism. Killer Mike and El-P (aka Run The Jewels), make the task damn near impossible. Be it photog or fan, the duo understand how to make a connection. During the inaugural US edition of Laneway Festival, the pair was extra hospitable, passing along some Grey Goose for the pit and first few rows to enjoy. Possibly due to the sharing of libations, Killer Mike seemed extra photogenic in the mid-day sun, his powerful form working the camera like the most seasoned of professional models. Thus making the job easy, and placing this set atop my most memorable of 2013.”
Crystal Castles
Flying Lotus
Run the Jewels
Diana Talyansky
Her favorite moment of 2013: “My favorite moment was realizing that the rain wasn’t going to stop, and that the festival was going to get real sloppy real fast. In the best possible way, of course.”
Billy Joel
New Orleans Jazz + Heritage Festival
Catherine Watkins
Animal Collective
Gary Numan
