pamlico sound

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 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.

Photographing the Pamlico Sound at FoCoMX

Photographing the Pamlico Sound at FoCoMX

Romey

Last month I was lucky enough to both play and see some amazing bands at the Fort Collins Music Experiment – FoCoMX. Due to my single dad duties, I was only able to go on Friday – the night that I played. Playing obviously entails packing my gear before and after, it really limited my ability to get out and see some other bands that night. Unfortunately, I was only able to photograph three acts.

One of those acts was The Pamlico Sound, a funk band that I subbed in for a short time before my daughters were born. In following that band, it’s been inspiring to watch them resolve their issues and transform themselves into a staple in the Northern Colorado funk scene.

They performed in front of New Belgium Brewing Company, an awesome outdoor space! The shade and shadows made for a bit of a challenge, but I hope I captured the gist of the energy that was there.

Great job, Pamlico Sound!

New Artwork: Pamlico Sound

Jeromey Balderrama

it’s been a while since I’ve had a reason to play with some graphic design work, but I got an opportunity to do a little for a band I’m playing with tonight, The Pamlico Sound.  They’re doing their CD release show, and had the idea of giving away a song from their new CD. I designed this 4×5 postcard that we’ll be putting on the tables at the bar. I set up a quick script to collect email addresses for the mailing list in return for the file.  I’m sad to say that this is my first foray into responsive web design, but found it surprisingly easy.

PamlicoCard

I’m pretty satisfied with the art work, but definitely could use some improvement on my script. For something quick & dirty: it’ll do the job.  I’d definitely welcome any feedback (especially on the artwork).

Also if you happen to find yourself in Boulder on Saturday (Feb 23), come out to the Lazy Dog and check us out! We’ll be playing around 11pm.