Ratso, 17th October 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
It’s that time of the year where many in the music media industry around the world are taking a misty-eyed look back on the year and reminiscing on the highs (and sometimes lows) of what was by many accounts a pretty strange year.
From the enforced time spent away from live music, while trapped within our lodgings during the start of the year to major big name international artists slowly making their way back to our shores (but more often than not denying local grassroots media any kind of access to said shows) to a large cachet of really really good new music being created and slowly shared with the world (sometimes one gig at a time, with local tours being announced and postponed, re-announced, postponed again, then sometimes outright cancelled), as I said, it’s been strange.
As a music photographer, I’m not gonna lie – it’s been a struggle. Past years have seen me out multiple nights a week covering a wide plethora of exciting artists. This year, my gig count has been comparatively low (I have only managed to hit the grand total of 41 shows over the past 52 weeks). But, that’s the nature of the beast these days eh?
So, really this has been a long-winded way of getting to the point, and saying that I won’t be ranking anything this year. No top ten gigs. No best releases of 2022. Instead, I’m going to share one photo from every gig I photographed this year. A “Doug Peters, this is your (photography) life 2022” if you will…
L.A.B, 22nd January 2022, Western Springs Outer Field, Auckland, New ZealandKendall Elise, 1st April 2022, Wine Cellar, Auckland, New ZealandGarageland, 30th April 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.Georgia Lines, 16th May 2022, Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland, New Zealand.The Bronx, 31st May 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.Cate Le Bon, 5th June 2022, The Hollywood Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand.Perfume Genius, 6th June 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.Chelsea Wolfe, 10th June 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New ZealandJoan As Police Woman, 11th June 2022, The Hollywood Theatre, Auckland, New ZealandL.A.B, 2nd July 2022, Globox Arena, Hamilton, New Zealand.Orville Peck, 17th July 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.Yungblud, 20th July 2022, Shed 10, Auckland, New ZealandLiam Gallagher, 21st July 2022, Spark Arena, Auckland, New ZealandJimmy Barnes, 23rd July 2022, Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.Joy Crookes, 24th July 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.Biig Piig, 25th July 2022, Auckland Town Hall, Auckland New Zealand.JPEGmafia, 26th July 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.Tami Neilson, 30th July 2022, Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand.Holly Humberstone, 31st July 2022, The Tuning Fork, Auckland, New ZealandSigur Rós, 6th August 2022, Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.The Hu, 11th August 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.AJR, 27th August 2022, Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.Pop Will Eat Itself, 14th September 2022, The Tuning Fork, Auckland, New Zealand.Dimmer, 16th September 2022, The Hollywood Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand.Teddy Swims, 20th September 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.Tove Lo, 21st September 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New ZealandMorgan Evans, 8th October 2022, Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.Troy Kingi, 14th October 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.Tame Impala, 15th October 2022, Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.Steel Panther, 17th October 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.The Darkness, 22nd October 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New ZealandKings Of Leon, 23rd October 2022, Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.The Sisters of Mercy, 25th October 2022, Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.IDLES, 29th October 2022, The Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand.STÖNER, 11th November 2022, The Tuning Fork, Auckland, New Zealand.Written By Wolves, 12th November 2022, The Tuning Fork, Auckland, New Zealand.Akon (Friday Jams Live), 13th November 2022, Western Springs Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand.Alex Cameron, 2nd December 2022, The Hollywood Theatre, Auckland, New Zealand.2CΞLLOS, 4th December 2022, Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.Pixies, 15th December 2022, The Town Hall, Auckland New Zealand.L.A.B, 30th December 2022, Wharepai Domain, Tauranga, New Zealand.
So there we have it, one image from each headline set I photographed in 2022. And now, finally, I also want to add a huge thank you for everyone who has contributed and/or supported Ambient Light in 2022. It’s a pretty hackneyed phrase, but I do need to emphasise that without you all Ambient Light simply wouldn’t be where it is today. Here’s to an end of this strange time we’ve been living in and onwards to a much brighter, far more enjoyable 2023 – we all deserve it.
Doug Peters Editor in Chief / Photographer
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