MMF is pure love to me.

This was only my 2nd year taking photographs at MMF and I could not have been more excited. As so many of you were there in 2019 and went through the storms that cut MMF off on Saturday night, to going into 2020 realizing that it just wasn't going to happen sure made 2021 feel a bit more special, almost surreal. My love affair with live music started very young with my Grandma Spears taking me to barn dances and church singings at a very young age and my memories of that time stand out to me even more now. I would say my first MMF would have been around 1997 I think with only missing one or two. Walking onto festival field this year felt like coming home seeing all the smiling faces, greetings and overall enthusiasm from a crowd that was definitely larger for Friday and Saturday nights. My excitement grew even more with every band and musician that hit the stage through out the weekend. The cool thing about photographing such an event is people watching and capturing those moments that show you not only the incredible talent on stage but the emotion, interaction and pure joy coming from the crowd of fans. I am always amazed how music can bring people together from all over world and all walks of life. I know for sure we had a diverse mix of music along with a diverse crowd who took the weekend to put aside whatever differences there may be to just enjoy and be one community. So for me Master Musicians Festival is so much more than just the music, it is pure love at its core. I am grateful to be a small part of what will hopefully continue for many more years and for that one weekend every year we come together, we love, we listen, we let the music take us away.