As the return to live music continues, it’s great to see the sheer happiness it brings to artists, audiences and all involved in the industry. During the shutdown of the majority of venues, there was lots of support via fundraisers and promotional campaigns to try to keep things going until they could open up again. Now that we’re that step further along, please keep in mind that many performers, venues, promoters and crew have suffered a massive loss of earnings and income over a sustained period of time, and that support is very much still needed. Buying a ticket, some merch, chucking in a small donation on Spotify, paying more than the minimum on Bandcamp – everything helps and works towards ensuring that the live music environment is healthy, accessible and inclusive for everyone. It’s good to be back, it will be better if we can all stay.

Any music photographers out there, it’s getting near to that time when we ask you to pick out your favourite live shots of the year. And in the meantime, we’re currently accepting submissions for images of your favourite album covers, more details here.

Music writers – drop us an email to chat about what you’d like to cover.

Keep testing before you go to gigs and look after yourselves and each other. Happy October!

Cover shot Nuha Ruby Ra performing at Psyched Fest by Siobhan at 16 Beasley St Photography

1st October 2021