BACKLINE BEAT
Who We Are
Backline Beat was born out of the love of photography. I shot my first show in 2009, and while there may have been some time from then to now where I stepped away from concerts to go a shoot other things, its draw just couldn’t keep me away. But when I came back, I wanted to do things a bit differently than I’d done before. I was looking to go more in-depth. Luckily when I came back from a break, one of the people I shot with while I was on it had her own site and brought me on and gave me the freedom to pursue what I wanted. After ups and downs and some bad luck I finally got back into shooting in November 2019. With some big plans for 2020. Well…need we go there? In that time the site I was shooting for shuttered. While I did think about taking it over, it wasn’t the time to do so. Once things started up again I was freelancing, but I wanted my own thing, shoot what I wanted how I wanted. So I did the thing I’d dreamt about for long time. I finally took the plunge and started my own site: Backline Beat.
Below you’ll find some of the things we do here. But we’re always up for collaborations and suggestions.
Thanks,
Jade Dempsey (founder)
Who We Are
Backline Beat was born out of the love of photography. I shot my first show in 2009, and while there may have been some time from then to now where I stepped away from concerts to go a shoot other things, its draw just couldn’t keep me away. But when I came back, I wanted to do things a bit differently than I’d done before. I was looking to go more in-depth. Luckily when I came back from a break, one of the people I shot with while I was on it had her own site and brought me on and gave me the freedom to pursue what I wanted. After ups and downs and some bad luck I finally got back into shooting in November 2019. With some big plans for 2020. Well…need we go there? In that time the site I was shooting for shuttered. While I did think about taking it over, it wasn’t the time to do so. Once things started up again I was freelancing, but I wanted my own thing, shoot what I wanted how I wanted. So I did the thing I’d dreamt about for long time. I finally took the plunge and started my own site: Backline Beat.
Below you’ll find some of the things we do here. But we’re always up for collaborations and suggestions.
Thanks,
Jade Dempsey (founder)
Concert Galleries
Ah, the bread and butter of any local music outlet. Luckily with the amount of experience we have, we can go into any situation and come out with the shot, no matter how bad the lighting is. To go with the galleries, we pair them not with the traditional what was good and what wasn’t write up, though there is a short summary. Right now the focus is more of a “living gallery” (not to be too pretentious, or anything). So instead of just putting up a slide show for the photos to be scrolled through, they’re paired with quotes form the stage. Giving those who weren’t there a visual glimpse into the night, and to those who were, a replay. The real emphasis being on the photos. But as more voices are added to the roster, they’ll be able to bring others to the shows in the way they experienced it.
The shows covered include; The Flaming Lips, Larkin Poe, Tenille Townes, King Princess…and a lot more!
A Day With...
It’s the series idea that inspired Backline Beat. The wanting to go beyond the typical three songs from the pit (which is also fun), and take a more candid glimpse of what goes on behind the stage. The series itself is at its core a fly on the wall photo story of an artist or band on a show day. Though since its inception it has grown to include video. This all depends on the artist, whether or not it will lean more towards photo or video, with the other in compliment. And if time permits, is “A Cup of Questions”, a short interview, adding another dimension to the piece.
Show days can be hectic, but a main focus on candids, we are able to seamlessly melt into the fray…That being said we can also get a one minute before showtime portrait done, if needed.
With all of this we’re able to create a multi-dimensional piece that brings the reader/audience into the life of a touring musician.
Interviews
Influences, favourites, secret songs with significant others?! Those are just a few things you can find talked about in our interviews.
The first interview for Backline Beat was with rising blues star Ally Venable, as she was getting ready to play her first ever show in Canada; opening for Colin James. Since then artists interviewed include; Ariel Posen, Stephen Fearing, Noah Guthrie, Tyler Bryant, and more. Speaking of Tyler Bryant, he was the first guest on the Backline Beat Podcast. Hint: he’s the one with the secret song.
While some of our interviews stand alone, others have been paired nicely with shots from their show.
And as mentioned before is “A Cup of Questions”, which are interviews taken on show days where there isn’t a ton of time. So the artist or band answers ten or so questions, you guessed it, from a cup.
—You can find all the interviews on Backline Beat, with most being written even if they’re video interviews. You can also find the videos on YouTube (@BacklineBeat), as well as audio on Apple and Amazon Podcast (Backline Beat Interviews), it will be expanding to other Podcast networks.
A Growing YouTube
Starting in earnest when the site did, Backline Beat’s YouTube really got it’s start in April 2023, with the re-imagined “Turn it up Tuesday”, as a more in-depth, monthly look at the album being recommended.
Since then the channel has garnered 30,000+ views, and has upped the offerings to include, “A Cup of Questions”, which is a short interview from backstage, “Who Is/Was?” which is a quick history of the musician featured, “A Day With…”(an expansion of the original photo story), a unique take on concert photos from a show (shorts), and the already established Backline Beat Podcast (interviews).
And some fun things on the horizon.
Concert Galleries
Ah, the bread and butter of any local music outlet. Luckily with the amount of experience we have, we can go into any situation and come out with the shot, no matter how bad the lighting is. To go with the galleries, we pair them not with the traditional what was good and what wasn’t write up, though there is a short summary. Right now the focus is more of a “living gallery” (not to be too pretentious, or anything). So instead of just putting up a slide show for the photos to be scrolled through, they’re paired with quotes form the stage. Giving those who weren’t there a visual glimpse into the night, and to those who were, a replay. The real emphasis being on the photos. But as more voices are added to the roster, they’ll be able to bring others to the shows in the way they experienced it.
The shows covered include; The Flaming Lips, Larkin Poe, Tenille Townes, King Princess…and a lot more!
A Day With...
It’s the series idea that inspired Backline Beat. The wanting to go beyond the typical three songs from the pit (which is also fun), and take a more candid glimpse of what goes on behind the stage. The series itself is at its core a fly on the wall photo story of an artist or band on a show day. Though since its inception it has grown to include video. This all depends on the artist, whether or not it will lean more towards photo or video, with the other in compliment. And if time permits, is “A Cup of Questions”, a short interview, adding another dimension to the piece.
Show days can be hectic, but a main focus on candids, we are able to seamlessly melt into the fray…That being said we can also get a one minute before showtime portrait done, if needed.
With all of this we’re able to create a multi-dimensional piece that brings the reader/audience into the life of a touring musician.
Interviews & Podcast
Influences, favourites, secret songs with significant others?! Those are just a few things you can find talked about in our interviews.
The first interview for Backline Beat was with rising blues star Ally Venable, as she was getting ready to play her first ever show in Canada; opening for Colin James. Since then artists interviewed include; Ariel Posen, Stephen Fearing, Noah Guthrie, Tyler Bryant, and more. Speaking of Tyler Bryant, he was the first guest on the Backline Beat Podcast. Hint: he’s the one with the secret song.
While some of our interviews stand alone, others have been paired nicely with shots from their show.
And as mentioned before is “A Cup of Questions”, which are interviews taken on show days where there isn’t a ton of time. So the artist or band answers ten or so questions, you guessed it, from a cup.
—You can find all the interviews on Backline Beat, with most being written even if they’re video interviews. You can also find the videos on YouTube (@BacklineBeat), as well as audio on Apple and Amazon Podcast (Backline Beat Interviews), it will be expanding to other Podcast networks.
A Growing YouTube
Starting in earnest when the site did, Backline Beat’s YouTube really got it’s start in April 2023, with the re-imagined “Turn it up Tuesday”, as a more in-depth, monthly look at the album being recommended.
Since then the channel has garnered 30,000+ views, and has upped the offerings to include, “A Cup of Questions”, which is a short interview from backstage, “Who Is/Was?” which is a quick history of the musician featured, “A Day With…”(an expansion of the original photo story), a unique take on concert photos from a show (shorts), and the already established Backline Beat Podcast (interviews).
And some fun things on the horizon.
