The question I am asked the most is “How do I get photo passes to concerts?” There is no simple answer. But one of the most important principals is DON’T START BY TRYING TO GET A PASS FOR THE ROLLING STONES!!!
Start small- every band who is playing arenas was at one time traveling around in a van, playing in clubs, usually having no problem with people photographing them.
A prime example:
In 1981, I was asked to photograph a 10 day music festival in downtown Chicago called Chicagofest. Many stages, and at least 4 bands per day per stage.
On July 30th I went down to the rock stage in the middle of the afternoon and found a bunch of really cute women sunning themselves on the lakefront before they played their set. I looked at my schedule and found out that they were called the Go-Go’s. They were more than glad to pose for some pictures before they went on, and we remain friends to this day.
A little more than a week later, on August 9th, I went to the same stage to photograph Jimmy Vaughn, who had just quit the Fabulous Thunderbirds to go solo. He told me I should catch his brother Stevie Ray, who was opening for him. WOW! Stevie invited me to his show at a club that night, where I did some photos of him. We remained friends until his tragic death in 1990.
