Here and There Fest: A beautifully queer meeting-ground for the uncannily unique (a confessional)

Shooting Courtney Barnett’s Here and There Fest was, indubitably, one of the best times of my life.

It’s rare that a photo gig elicits such a deep-rooted emotional state so as to cause me to quite literally cry in the pit in the midst of shooting, but this event did just that (multiple times. It’s fine. I’m fine). The festival featured seven artists/bands: Hana Vu, Bartees Strange, the Beths, Caroline Rose, Faye Webster, Lucy Dacus, and, of course Courtney Barnett. The lineup speaks for itself. But it wouldn’t really be me writing this if I didn’t make it personal.

As a young queer woman, I have cried on the shower floor to Dacus’ Night Shift. I’ve sped down the suffocating roads of my suburban hometown to Barnett’s Pedestrian at Best. Faye Webster has been a constant breath of fresh air in navigations of my relationships with self and other. Caroline Rose and Hana Vu were both discoveries within the safe haven of my college radio station that I found at one of the darkest points of my life and for which I will forever be thankful. Both Bartees Strange and the Beths were recently and fortuitously introduced to me by some of the most cherished people in my life. Long story short, I did not approach the prospect of photographing these artists for Sunbow lightly. It is with complete honesty that I say that shows like these are truly why I do what I do, and why I keep pursuing photography while feeling like, one might say, an “expert in a dying field” (The Beths’ lyrics hit home on that one for sure).

Long story short, ramblings like these don’t often accompany my coverage of live events, but this time around, it only felt necessary. Enjoy the event through my little lens, and, of course, be sure to check out whether Here and There is coming to a city near you!

Hugs and gratitude always,

Ella