Another March, another SXSW come and gone. The highlight was seeing Khruangbin close a busy week by performing to a packed house at South by San José. The band, which fuses 60's Thai funk with surf and psych rock, would be equally at home on a Tarantino soundtrack as on a Glastonbury Music Festival stage. Experiencing the performance was a special treat for this Houstonian, as I first watched this Houston-bred band perform in 2011 at Cactus Music, Houston's oldest indie music store and my home away from home. That was shortly after the band had formed. It was great having them back in Texas, after touring in Europe and headlining in the US (including Houston's new White Oak Music Hall). After you take a moment to view the photos of their performance, please check out Khruangbin on Twitter, Facebook, Soundcloud, and Bandcamp. I am already looking forward to seeing them perform in June at Eleanor Tinsley Park for Free Press Summer Festival
Janelle Monáe at Day for Night Music and Art Festival
All the recent buzz surrounding this year's Day for Night music and art festival has me nostalgic for last year's show. I revisited the photos of one of my favorite acts of that festival: Janelle Monáe . That weekend I discovered the secret to photographing Miss Monáe:
attend a concert where she is performing,
point your camera in her direction, and
press the largest button on your camera.
Seriously. She is such an amazing and expressive performer that it is tough to take a bad photo of her. Here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy.
St. Vincent at Free Press Summer Festival
I had the pleasure of photographing St. Vincent for the Houston Chronicle during Free Press Summer Festival this year. You can read Craig's coverage HERE and Joey's coverage HERE. I hope the photos speak for themselves. I found her to be one of the most photogenic artists who I have shot it a very long time. The camera absolutely adores her.