Melissa + Josh
Most of you know that we are huge Dave Matthews Band fans. Growing up in Staunton, Virginia in the late 90’s everyone knew who this amazing band from Charlottesville was, and more importantly who they were about to become. Having followed the band for decades we enjoy each and every concert we get to see!
In the Charlotte, North Carolina airport, on our way to Atlanta, Mary approached someone sitting on a Pelican Case covered in DMB stickers. This was out of character for Mary, but she instinctively knew this guy was in some way connected to the band. In the end, we found out that Josh records the Friday Night Sirius XM Concert Series. By the end of the conversation we had become fast friends.
Since then we have had the pleasure of seeing Josh along the way in our quest to see and experience our favorite band on Earth. We even got to meet his wife Melissa and photograph them at the Gorge three-day Labor Day event, overlooking the Columbia River in Washington State. Having only minutes before the setting sun and the start of the first night show, we worked at a super fast speed to capture the gorgeous sunset, the Gorge Valley, and the beautiful Melissa and Josh. The sun was setting fast but we were able to get several perfect shots before it was too dark. Josh and Melissa were fantastic and the images we got were perfect. It was a great way to start the holiday weekend before enjoying three days of live music. We were so excited when Josh and Melissa chose our favorite shot for their hand painted oil portrait.
Since this unbelievable weekend, we have had the opportunity to run into Buddy Strong in the streets of Charleston, SC and we even met the sound producer, Rob Hall, who just produced their new album Walk Around the Moon. Actually we found out that Jamie had taken Rob’s senior portrait at Waynesboro High School back in his days working at Gentry Photography in Harrisonburg and Charlottesville. What a small world! Since then we have met all three band photographers and had the opportunity to purchase one of Sam Ericson’s original film and wet process prints, hand signed of course, as well as some unpublished images from all three of them.
We are so grateful and happy we had this opportunity to connect with the wonderfully talented people, who keep our favorite band moving forward and entertaining us all!
