I speak with award-winning music photographer Michael Weintrob about his unusual path through the visual side of music, and how keeping his head down and his heart open has resulted in one of the most exciting careers in the business.

Michael and I met around 2013. I was instantly struck by his combustible hustle, a kind of leaning forward in life. I was rocking bowties back then (call it my Willie Wonka phase) and… he grabbed me in my native habitat.

I’ve been following him ever since — through his launch of the Instrumenthead series, his installations at Jazzfest in New Orleans, the two exquisitely crafted Instrumenthead coffee table books, and the Instrumenthead Live concert series he produced during the pandemic, which featured more than 70 concerts filmed and broadcast out of the Weintrob studio. 

Pivot, move forward, pivot, move forward. 

Along the way Michael has cemented his reputation as a go-to live concert photographer for some of the coolest venues in the world: Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Ascend Amphitheater, the Newport Jazz Festival, the Newport Folk Festival, the Barcelona Jazz Festival and Bluegrass Underground. 

In this wide-ranging conversation, we talked about the evolution of Instrumenthead, from its genesis as a spontaneous idea backstage, to a slowly accruing catalogue of artists and opportunities. How it was anything but an overnight success.

We also share stories of loss and tragedy — Michael going through a cousin’s suicide and the death of my little sister — and how those life experiences changed our perspective and priorities. 

I also share a story I’ve never told before about a fated trip to see the Grateful Dead my senior year of high year, and the tragedy that happened along the way.

Throughout, we take a look at some of the artists captured in Weintrob’s camera, and learn why he chose the poses he did. Artists like Derek Trucks, Rhiannon Giddens, Bootsy Collins, Mickey Hart, and… me.

I have a ton of respect and admiration for Michael Weintrob. A guy who not only blazed an original path through a fraught industry of intense competition and constant uncertainty, but who came out of it creating somethingculturally important, historical even.

Website https://michaelweintrob.com/Instagram https://www.instagram.com/michaelweintrob/

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