Live Concert Photography: Steve ‘N’ Seagulls with ClusterPluck at The Knitting Factory 9/18/19
Like countless people across New York and across the globe, I’ve been following social distancing guidelines when I’ve gone out, but for the most part I’ve been in quarantine. With the seemingly endless hours at home, I’ve been busy. Most of my time has been consumed with work. Although live concerts in the traditional sense aren’t happening — and won’t be happening at any point in the near future, artists from all over the world are still actively releasing music. There seems to be a sense among the community that art of all stripes can offer people some solace and connection in these bleak and uncertain times.
Unsurprisingly some of that work has included editing photos from my extensive archives of previously unedited photos.
Finnish bluegrass act Steve ‘n’ Seagulls — Irwin Remmel, Pukki Kaalinen, Puikkonen, Hermann and Wild Till Hiltunen — have received attention across Scandinavia and elsewhere for bluegrass renditions of well-known and beloved metal and hard rock songs, including a cover of AC/DC‘s “Thunderstruck,” which has amassed over 88 million streams on YouTube. Much like Gangstagrass does with hip-hop, Steve ‘n’ Seagulls make a vital connection between bluegrass and metal and hard rock, reminding listeners that they all essentially come from the same source.
Last year, Steve ‘N’ Seagulls went on a lengthy North American tour, which included a stop at The Knitting Factory with Southern Illinois-based bluegrass/Americana act ClusterPluck. Check out photos from the show below.
ClusterPluck is a Southern Illinois-based act — featuring Chris Rader (vocals, banjo, guitar, dobro, mandolin), Justin Torres (vocals, bass, guitar) and Derek Rutter (vocals, mandolin, guitar) — that specializes in a sound that meshes bluegrass, folk, rock and country centered around arrangements featuring both electric and acoustic instrumentation. 2016’s full-length effort Thousand Miles to Go was supported with a schedule of relentless touring that found them playing at a number of well-known venues including Denver‘s Cervantes Masterpiece and Cervantes’ Other Side; St. Louis, MO‘s Delmar Hall and The Old Rock House; Lawrence, KS‘ The Bottleneck; Fayetteville, AR‘s Georges Majestic; Columbia, MO‘s Rose Music Hall; as well as Wakarusa Festival, Harvest Festival, Summer Camp Festival and Revival Festival. 
For these photos and more, check out the Flickr set here: https://flic.kr/s/aHsmMyKfbk
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