We actually had a summer this year, too much of a summer for some of us but you have to make the most of it, droughts and all. It gave Allan a chance to get out and do something a little bit different with his gig photos. He’s probably the best person to tell you about the differences between his usual work and outdoor gigs during a long hot summer.

You spend the winter in dingy basements trying to wring the maximum out of your camera’s sensor in terrible lighting conditions and then you emerge blinking like a mole into the outdoors in the spring with a whole new set of challenges to contend with, but they’re good challenges. The increase in light levels creates opportunities for much sharper photos with better depth of field and freezing motion. Basically, you have more options to play with. Here are a few shots from this year’s outdoor gigs, including three from the summer sessions in the courtyard at St Martin-in-the-Fields.

Amy Taylor @St Martin-in-the-Fields

This is a really interesting gig; it’s in the courtyard of the church and it’s free admission with artists provided by Talentbanq. You can sit down in the sun and listen to great live artists and you can buy a coffee, a beer or wine and a snack and soak up the atmosphere. It’s fascinating to watch tourists and Londoners wander past, hear the music and decide to come in to hear what it’s all about. On this day, Amy opened up the proceedings  at noon. When she walked on stage the courtyard was empty, twenty minutes later it was half full and in another fifteen minutes it was packed. What was really interesting was that Amy’s original songs had a better reception than the few covers that are obligatory at gigs like this. It was fascinating to watch a gig build up like this.

Ags Connolly @Folk in the Park, Sutton

Folk in the Park was a festival in Sutton, Surrey put together by Sound Lounge owners Hannah White and Keiron Marshall, two very talented people who are totally committed to live music. The music was virtually non-stop throughout the day with two stages alternating to keep the interest high. The night ended with a storming set from The Magic Numbers, but there were lots of great artists performing on both stages during the day. Phil Hooley performed on the Folk/Americana stage and Dan Owens put in a storming show on the main stage, but my favourite photo of the day was of the Ameripolitan artist Ags Connolly, who was also having a belated birthday celebration.

Zoe Wren @St Martin-in-the-Fields

I spent a bit of time here over the summer, mainly because it was a lovely place to be listening to live music on warm summer days. When I first photographed Zoe, she was the archetypal singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar but she’s added a few more elements to her repertoire now, including a loopstation occasionally, which broadens out her sound a little. She has a great collection of original material including the classic ‘London Town’ and has a few well-chosen covers for gigs like this one.

Hollie Cook @High Tide, Twickenham

High Tide Festival in Twickenham has been steadily building up over the last few years since Phil Penman and Kevin Jones from Eel Pie Records started the event in 2019. It’s a one-day event with a main stage at the end of the High Street and loads of satellite venues running smaller stages. The programming for the festival is always eclectic and even showcases up-and-coming local bands. It’s a fabulous family event and each of year I’ve shot there, the weather has been perfect. This year Hollie Cook was headlining the main stage with her reggae style that was just perfect for a glorious July day. This one was always going to be a colour shot.

Natalie Shay @St Martin-in-the-Fields

I’ve seen Natalie play in a wide variety of indoor and outdoor and watched over the years as her songwriting’s developed. She’s always been a confident performer and she knows how to go onstage and win over an audience. She’s also a very physical performer and seems to be in constant motion. Using a high shutter speed to freeze the action also meant that background distractions were out of focus and minimised.