Music

Photographing FoCoMX 2026 – Saturday

Photographing FoCoMX 2026 – Saturday

Romey

After an amazing Friday night, I stayed on the south side of Downtown Fort Collins, starting with the Pamlico Sound at the Colorado Room. It’s always great to check in with them at every FoCoMX, and it was a feat seeing just how many people they could fit on that stage.

The Pamlico Sound

Senorita Sometimes

I then walked over to the Atrium to catch Senorita Sometimes take the stage. They gave a great performance, matching the energy of an extremely packed venue eager to see them. This was the first time taking pictures at the Atrium, which features a skylight over the stage. I found that the musicians in the back of the stage had wonderful natural lighting, but the front of the stage was extremely dark. I did manage to get some cool contrasting shots.

Leah Casper & the LuneAtics

I then drove northward to the Lyric to meet up with Amy (my friend and lead singer) and see our friend, Kimberly, play guitar for Lead Casper & the LuneAtics. They had an eclectic instrumentation, including a harp and melodica. The Lyric’s psychedelic lighting poses a creative challenge for photographers.

Atom Son Of Man

We then ventured to 830 North to see our good friend, Felix, play bass in Atom Son Of Man. This had had a ton of charisma, especially for a three-piece, and was extremely entertaining.

King Crawdad

After having dinner, Amy and I met up with some friends to watch my friends Tucker and Miles play in King Crawdad at the R-Bar. We played this venue a few FoCoMX’s back, and the stage puts all the musicians on the same horizontal plane (as opposed to the drums often being in the back). Once you get adjusted, it’s a fun play, and they rewarded a great crowd with an incredible show.

More Than Physics

Coming full circle, we went back to Wolverine Farm to watch the amazing handpan percussion group, More Than Physics. They provide one of the most unique experiences of the festival, entrancing a full room of music-lovers.

Sorry, Sweetheart

At this point, I was planning to head back, but Amy convinced me to stay out a little longer and check out a few other bands, including Sorry, Sweetheart at Surfside 7. I’m glad she did, as I got one of my favorite pictures of FoCoMX.

CHIEF OJIH

One of the best aspects of FoCoMX is discovering new music and styles you normally don’t see. We ended our night experiencing CHIEF OJIH, an EDM artist, at the Atrium. His amazing set was the perfect way to cap off a surreal weekend of music!

Photographing FoCoMX 2026 – Friday – Part 2

Photographing FoCoMX 2026 – Friday – Part 2

Romey
Check Out FoCoMX 2026 Friday – Part 1

Angels in Electric Chairs

I got to Surfside 7 early to ensure I could see Attack on Venus and caught a good segment of Angels in Electric Chairs, a powerful 3-piece rock band from Denver. I was blown away by the level of sound and energy they projected. It made for some really fun pictures.

Attack on Venus

Attack on Venus took the stage next and maintained that powerful energy level into their set. Having some of my bandmates and other friends in the audience made for an incredibly fun show.

2MX2

I got to experience 2MX2 for the first time when they opened for Ozomatli in the fall of 2024. I was eager to see them again on the colorful Soundbar stage. They made things well worth the wait! It was challenging to move beyond the left side of the stage, confining my pictures to that side for this show.

The Swashbuckling Doctors

As Friday night was drawing to a close, I ventured down to Avogadro’s Number to see the last band of the night, our good friends, The Swashbuckling Doctors! Their shows are always entertaining, and their music is always so catchy! It was the perfect way to end an awesome FoCoMX night 1!

At the end of the day, I logged over 17,000 steps traversing through downtown Fort Collins, but for my music-loving ears, this was one of the best ways to spend an evening. Night 2 is coming up!

Photographing FoCoMX 2026 – Friday – Part 1

Photographing FoCoMX 2026 – Friday – Part 1

Romey

This winter has been extremely busy for me, sucking up time from many of my passions, including drumming and photography. FoCoMX gave me an opportunity to reconnect with both. It was a soul-replenishing weekend that reignited my creative sparks.

Heart Medicine was lucky enough to play again this year. We were one of the first bands of the weekend, playing at Wolverine Farm at 5:30 pm. We were grateful to see so many friends make it out! With our set finished, I put my cymbals (we were backline sharing) away and broke out my camera, setting out to capture some amazing bands.

Eva Rose King, Robin Lewis, and Ingrid Avison

We actually had a little bit of time before our set and were able to catch some talented musicians. We saw Eva Rose King at the Magic Rat, then Robin Lewis on the Wolverine Farm patio. We need to extend our deepest apologies to her, as the proximity of our soundcheck likely disrupted her set. After packing up, I snapped a few photos of Ingrid Avison, who was playing at the Wolverine Farm patio.

Antonio Lopez Band

I popped into Salt Road Brewing to catch the Antonio Lopez Band. Fun fact: Antonio Lopez actually supported us in one of our first gigs, back in 2015, playing an acoustic set between our full-band sets. I love the instrumentation of his full band. I went a little crazy photographing Jonathan on the marimba. The lighting was perfect, his colors were vibrant, and he was playing an instrument that made it fun to capture motion.

Commander Yo and the Plutos

I journeyed back to Wolverine Farm to see Commander Yo, who I was pleasantly surprised to learn is the stage name of John, a bandmate of mine from my time in the Wiseacres Jazz Band! They put on a great show!

Foxfeather

I ping-ponged back to Salt Road Brewing to check out Foxfeather. who was a new “Heartthrob” shout-out band. They really rocked out the place!

Drunken Hearts

As the night wore on, it was becoming harder to pop into packed venues. I had to adjust my game plan by arriving at the venue long before the band you wanted to see took the stage. On my way back to Surfside, I managed to catch part of Drunken Hearts’ set on Old Town Square.

With all the photos I’ve taken, I’ve broken up Friday’s post into two parts. Be sure to check out Part 2.

Photographing Peter Knudson’s last FoCo show

Photographing Peter Knudson’s last FoCo show

Romey

I’ve had the privilege of running in the same drumming circles as Peter for over twenty-five years. Peter was a longtime staff member and instructor over at the legendary Colorado Drum shop, where I purchased the vast majority of my gear over my thirty years of playing. Peter has been a fixture in our Northern Colorado drumming community, whether it was at numerous clinics, drumming events like The Big Beat, or at other educational opportunities he created for his fellow drummers.

He’s moving to New York to begin a new chapter and will be greatly missed. I was glad to hear that he planned a final show at Avogadro’s Number, featuring his quartet and a reunion of The Atoll, an incredible band that featured Peter on percussion.

It was my privilege to bring my camera and capture a few shots of this fantastic evening, reconnecting with some of my fellow drummers, and being able to give Peter a send-off with gratitude and love.

Peter started the evening playing the drum set with his quartet (which had five members that evening). This group featured instrumentals and tunes with Peter on vocals. It was fun trying to figure out some of the song meters and appreciating all the incredible musicianship on stage.

The Atoll then took the stage, showcasing these incredible musicians.

Lastly, Peter took the stage to give a “goodbye” drum solo to his Fort Collins community. I was glad we stuck around to witness such a sentimental musical gesture.

Thank you, again, Peter, for all of the musical memories and for being such a tremendous influence on my drumming. I wish you all the best in your New York chapter!

Photographing FoCoMX 2025

Romey

After a busy winter, I was able to dust off my camera for the first time in months and photograph FoCoMX in April. Aside from being one of the best music festivals around, it’s also a great chance to shoot several bands in a short time span.

However, being that it is an April weekend in Colorado, the weather isn’t always going to cooperate for an indoor and outdoor music festival. Snow ended up falling on Friday, combined with the bitter cold, made it difficult to shoot bands outside. However, I was still able to get some great shots.

Swashbuckling Doctors

I love watching the Swash Docs play, but the previous year, they were playing at the same time as Heart Medicine. Watching them brave the cold weather on the New Belgium Main Stage inspired me to put my raincoat over my camera and capture a few shots. They turned up the heat during freezing weather.

Atom Son of Man

It was such a pleasure catching my friend Felix’s band, Atom Son of Man, rocking the unique space that is the Art Lab. With their energy, they made that small room feel like an arena.

Old Man Saxon

I couldn’t resist the unique lighting of The Magic Rat and took the opportunity to go see the provocative and prolific rapping of Old Man Saxon. He gave an amazing performance in front of a packed room, making it challenging to stake out a photo spot.

Cactus Cat

We stuck around the Magic Rat to watch the Cactus Cat, an eclectic band that features saxophones. Like many FoCoMX venues, Magic Rat remained crowded, confining me to sneak towards the front of the stage to get a few shots.

I had an early morning at work on Saturday, so we called it a night. After working for most of the day, Heart Medicine played our FoCoMX slot at 830 North.

Drifting West

Our good friends at Drifting West played immediately after us at 830 North, and I had my camera on hand to take advantage of their unique lighting. We go far back with this band, and it’s been a pleasure watching their band mature into their fantastic lineup.

The Pamlico Sound

We left 830 North and went to Odell Brewing Co. to see The Pamlico Sound. They always energize the stage, and in addition to their funkadelic music, they had dancers waving colorful fabric. It was one of the most entertaining sets we saw at FoCoMX!

Kind Dub

The weather got cold again, bringing a few of the previously outdoor bands indoors, including Kind Dub. They still rocked out Illegal Pete’s upper room.

Tim Hanauer

I went behind Illegal Pete’s, into Salt Road Brewing, and caught part of Tim Hanauer‘s set. Salt Road Brewing is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in Fort Collins to watch live music, it’s such a cool vibe!

Eclectic Pickup

I ended the night by catching Eclectic Pickup at Scrumpy’s Hard Cider. I was thrilled to see my friend Rob’s band get to play FoCoMX. It was a great way to end a fantastic musical weekend!

I always have a blast shooting bands and wish that time and opportunity would allow me to do it more often. FoCoMX fills my cup every spring.