What Moves You?

Lens-Artists Challenge #416: Music

I often hear people say that music is the universal language. At some level, music touches people and goes beyond language barriers. Whether it is sacred music, opera, pop, folk, country, jazz, soul, hip-hop, rap, or a genre I didn’t include here, when you connect with the music you hear, you show it in your expressions. You dance, you relax, you simply enjoy what you hear.

This week, Ritva gives us a challenge that is “all about capturing the energy, excitement, and emotion of live music—or anything connected to it.” In her post, you can find more details about the challenge. You should check it out.

I seldom photograph live concerts, and when I do, I focus on the performer rather than the crowd. My response focuses on live music, performers, and related topics. Here are a few music scenes I’ve collected through the years.

This first performer is none other than Guinga, one of Brazil’s top acoustic guitarists and songwriters. His music is complex and emotional. This image was captured in the KUT-Austin studio. A friend of mine interviewed Guinga live for the radio broadcast “Horizontes” and invited me to come help translate the conversation when necessary. In return, I was treated to a personal studio performance – if you don’t count the thousands of listeners to the show. Chatting with Guinga on and off the air was a thrill I’ll never forget.

Here’s something many people don’t know: for nearly 30 years, Guinga kept a parallel career as a dentist, writing music on the side. Stars like Elis Regina recorded his songs, yet he didn’t release his first album, Simples e Absurdo, until 1991, when he was already in his forties.

Here’s another famous guitarist: Stevie Ray Vaughan. This famous Austinite made his fame performing Blues music. He performed at legendary Austin music clubs like Antone’s Blues Club and Maggie Mae’s on Sixth Street, as well as outdoor community spaces like Auditorium Shores. He died on August 27, 1990, at just 35, when the helicopter he boarded after a show with Eric Clapton at Alpine Valley, Wisconsin, crashed into a ski slope in dense fog. Sculptor Ralph Helmick created this bronze statue, paid for by private donations, and installed it in 1994. Notice the poncho and wide-brimmed hat, part of Vaughan’s signature look. It stands at Auditorium Shores by Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin, one of the places where he loved to play.

This guy put on a dance show to some hip-hop music right by the Douro River in Porto, Portugal. The crowd was not very large, but everyone was enjoying his moves, especially that little boy in the multi-colored striped shirt. Breaking was born on the streets of the Bronx in the 1970s, and in 2024 it debuted as an Olympic sport at the Paris Games. Street performers like him were doing it long before it got a medal.

Living in Austin gives me access to some great shows at the Circuit of the Americas. The featured artists during the Formula 1 weekend form a very long list of well-known musicians. Here’s the 2019 post-race concert featuring live music by Kool & the Gang. The band started in 1964 as a group of teenage friends in Jersey City, New Jersey, first calling themselves the Jazziacs. They are considered one of the most sampled R&B bands of all time, and they were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024. I didn’t capture much of the crowd’s reaction, but they stayed on their feet near the stage the entire time.

Here’s another local legend: Willie Nelson. We have seen him a few times, and this particular performance was on the steps of the State Capitol in 2021. Don’t you just love his beat-up guitar? It has a name: Trigger, after Roy Rogers’ horse. It’s a Martin N-20 nylon-string guitar he has played since 1969, and decades of strumming with a pick wore that hole through the top. More than 100 friends and fellow musicians have scratched their signatures into its wood. The man commands a crowd like no other.

In closing, I feature the organ in the Igreja Matriz de Santo Antônio in Tiradentes, Minas Gerais, Brazil. This 18th-century instrument was built in Porto, Portugal, by organ builder Simão Fernandes Coutinho and inaugurated in the church in 1788. It crossed the Atlantic by ship to Rio de Janeiro, then traveled through the mountains of Minas Gerais in crates carried by mules. After a full restoration completed in 2009, the organ is still in use, and scheduled concerts let you hear its beautiful sound. I photographed it during our recent trip to Brazil in June of this year.

I’ve said it before: whenever I photograph landscapes, I am often reminded of music. This connection of photography and music transports me to a different plane. Each photo leads to its own soundtrack. Here, the soundtrack is the subject.

Thank you, Ritva, for this excellent challenge. I hope her post inspires you to contribute your own photos. Don’t forget to link to her post and use the hashtag “lens-artists” so others can find your contribution in the Reader.

Anne’s challenge last week got us moving in all directions. I love how creative you are and the photos you shared. Next week, I will be your host with a new challenge. It will go live at noon EST in the USA. Tune in then to find out more about the challenge. Please see this page for more information about the Lens-Artists Challenge and its history. If you don’t want to miss any future challenges, please consider subscribing to the team members’ websites. Here they are:

• Tina of Travels and Trifles.
• Patti of P.A. Moed.
• Ann-Christine of Leya.
• John of Journeys with Johnbo.
• Anne of Slow Shutter Speed.
• Sofia of Photographias.
• Egídio of Through Brazilian Eyes.
• Ritva of Ritva Sillanmäki Photography.
• Beth of Wandering Dawgs.

That is the story behind the shots. For more like this, enjoy these related stories: Brazil, Cityscapes, Guinga, Kool & The Gang, Lens-Artists, Minas Gerais, Portugal, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Tiradentes, and Willie Nelson. Until the next shoot, keep chasing the light and the wonders it reveals.

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Sources

• Wikipedia — Guinga — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinga
• Wikipedia — Death of Stevie Ray Vaughan — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Stevie_Ray_Vaughan
• Wikipedia — Stevie Ray Vaughan Memorial — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stevie_Ray_Vaughan_Memorial
• Circuit of the Americas — Kool & the Gang added to Formula 1 USGP weekend lineup (2019) — https://circuitoftheamericas.com/blog/2019/10/17/circuit-of-the-americas-adds-kool-the-gang-to-formula-1-usgp-weekend-music-lineup-sunday-night/
• Hoboken Girl — Kool & the Gang’s Jersey City band history — https://www.hobokengirl.com/kool-and-the-gang-jersey-city-band-history/
• Wikipedia — Trigger (guitar) — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trigger_(guitar)
• Concerto — Elisa Freixo, Marília Vargas e o órgão de Tiradentes — https://www.concerto.com.br/textos/opiniao/elisa-freixo-marilia-vargas-e-o-orgao-de-tiradentes
• Estado de Minas — Órgão histórico e único no mundo é alvo de embate em igreja de Tiradentes (2022) — https://www.em.com.br/app/noticia/gerais/2022/09/01/interna_gerais,1390544/orgao-historico-e-unico-no-mundo-e-alvo-de-embate-em-igreja-de-tiradentes.shtml
• Villa Alferes — Órgão de tubo da Matriz de Tiradentes — https://www.villaalferes.com.br/orgao-de-tubo-da-matriz-de-tiradentes