There's an unparalleled and wildly unique emotion associated with the shared joy of experiencing live music. Acclaimed photographer and filmmaker James Marcus Haney knows this all too well, having toured the world with the likes of Elton John, Coldplay, The Strokes and Mumford & Sons. Now, James Marcus Haney is sharing these moments with us, in his first photobook FANATICS, based on the people that make these memories extraordinary – us. The fans.
Haney's FANATICS features a curated selection of photographs of fans during his time touring with artists and bands, alongside the countless festivals and shows he’s been to right across the world. Captured over a decade long period – 2010-2020 – the images represent the spirit and sheer elation of witnessing live music with friends; an experience we are deeply missing right now.
Accompanying the moving images are stories and testimonials from musicians Haney has toured alongside, including Chris Martin of Coldplay, Alex Ebert of Edward Sharpe, Maggie Rogers, Lars Ulrich from Metallica, Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons, Albert Hammond JR of The Strokes, who each touch on the important role fans play in the music industry, as well as anecdotes and memories of their own experiences as fans themselves. The piece de resistance is the touching foreword penned by Elton John, which truly sets the tone of the book.
Here's a sneak-peak.
The inspiration behind the book is based on Haney's experiences as a young college student, and fan, who couldn't afford to go to music festivals or attend the concerts of his favourite artists.
"I couldn’t afford to go to music festivals so I would sneak into them with my friends. Often, I used a ‘borrowed’ camera from school and posed as a press photographer. I filmed all the bands I loved and used the guise of a fake press pass to get as close to the stage as possible. After a few festivals, I cut together a short documentary of my friends and I sneaking into Coachella and Bonnaroo," shared Haney.
His story begins with said documentary, after he shared the film unknowingly with a member of Mumford & Sons' team. The rest, is simply history – a history, however, remembered and cherished through his many photographs.
“This book is a culmination of a decade of touring the world and the truckload of film negatives that have amassed in that time. It captures the emotions, fashions, and faces of the 2010 decade through live music. And it is only now, from the depths of the pandemic, do these photographs remind us of a time, so recent yet so different, and represent the ultimate experience to look forward to again.”
You can pre-order James Marcus Haney's FANATICS, here.
Image: Instagram
