Oakland DIY music photos 2015-2021

This project presents 6.5 years (2015-2021) worth of my photography documenting the people I’ve encountered (and in many cases, become real friends with) while actively participating in the Oakland DIY music scene. This is not intended to be a definitive document of the whole scene, but I’ve captured a ton of people, so it’s somewhat comprehensive.

The Oakland DIY music scene is definitely the most politically radical music scene I’ve ever participated in. It has a stronger “punk” cultural element to it than the “indie rock”-centric scenes I’ve been in (and identify with) in my life, even though a lot of the bands in this scene I would say are stylistically “indie rock”.

People in the Oakland DIY scene strive to be moral, but occasionally there’s reckless social media behavior. The Oakland DIY scene is also amazingly embracing of openly neuroatypical people, and I deeply appreciate that I have felt accepted here with my unusual personality.

What I love most about Oakland is that ever since I moved here (in 2012), I’ve never been bored. I don’t think I can say that about any other city I’ve lived in, even though I’ve had tremendous fun in other cities. The music here is also pretty consistently interesting. I would say the radical politics here keep people emotionally sharp in their art.

As someone who loves taking candid portraits, Oakland has been a better city for me to do this in than any of the other cities I’ve lived in and been photographing in. People in the Oakland DIY scene come across as sincere and happy in my photos of them, and when I look at these photos, they make me happy.

Go to: 2015 / 2016 / 2017 / 2018 / 2019 / 2020-21