It was a long and tiring day but totally worth all the energy spent. I got to see a couple great acts again (The Rocketboys, Parachute Musical, and the always amazing Amy Godwin) and I was introduced to some other talented artists I’d never heard of before the event (Kopecky Family Band).

I’m a big advocate of “more is less” when it comes to sharing photo galleries but I’ve made an exception this time since the 84 photos below represent 12 different musical acts!

Bragg Jam 2011 is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Jym Davis and I both shot video of her performance and over the last five months he edited together this great video. It features live footage from the show intercut with stock images courtesy of NASA. The stock imagery was shot through various organic filters such as a Lensbaby, water, and oil. In fact, other than simple layering of video clips, no digital effects were used – it is all in-camera techniques that we worked on together.

Julianna Barwick Live Music Video is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

The first one is a flyer for John Mark McMillan and All The Bright Lights – two incredible bands that have gained a lot of popularity of late. I really don’t think Macon realizes how lucky they are to have this talent coming to town. If you haven’t yet, pre-order yourself some tickets for this Saturday, March 12th show!

This next design was based on the official poster design by the band’s promoter. We wanted to create a flyer geared specifically towards churches in Macon so the verbiage was added at the bottom.

My friend Arthur Alligood of Nashville, TN asked me to come up with this flyer for the CD release of his new album “I Have Not Seen the Wind.” He mentioned that he had been fascinated by old photos of tornado damage so I ran with that idea. For some reason the use of slide guitar on his record prompted me to find typeface created by a wooden letterpress. All the text was copied and pasted from a scan of a print made by the press.

I used a photo I took at some salt flats in the Mojave Desert of California with this poster for hardcore rockers XAVII, Manray, and Bambara. As with the others, the QR code linked directly to the Facebook event page.

More Concert Poster Designs is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

While I was in Johannesburg, I saw another big win for Africa – more specifically, a win for African musicians. The day before the World Cup began, FIFA held a 3-hour long “Kick-off Celebration Concert” at Orlando Stadium in the township of Soweto, just outside Johannesburg.

Though the show’s headliners were imported superstar acts like Shakira, Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys, and John Legend – in between those performances were African musicians who weren’t as well known to the rest of the world.

Following are my photos of those acts as well as some info about them and links to sample tracks and videos. Enjoy!

Lerato “Lira” Molapo (South Africa)

I hadn’t heard of this young South Africa star before. She opened the concert with famed South African flugelhornist Hugh Masekala. Here’s her video from her single “Feel Good“.

Angélique Kidjo (Benin)

Dubbed the “Queen of African Pop”, Kidjo has been recording since the early 90s. She has been nominated five times for Grammys and won one in 2008 for “Best Contemporary World Music.” She is well-known enough that she got to perform on the center stage at the concert and even did a duet with John Legend (after all, she’s been on the Simpsons, on a Jim Carrey film soundtrack, and has recorded with Santana). You can watch her Kick-Off Concer duet with John Legend here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1m-9LcCMY8

Soweto Gospel Choir (South Africa)

One of the main reasons I was taking pictures at the concert was to photograph the Soweto Gospel Choir. I was expecting them to perform on their own, but they ended up just having supporting roles as backup singers for acts like Shakira, Angélique Kidjo, and others.

Amadou et Mariam (Mali)

This was the act I was most looking forward to. I was really disappointed that they performed only two songs on a small stage while the elaborate Black Eyed Peas set was disassembled. Nonetheless, they killed with “Welcome to Mali”. This couple is so good that they’ve made it on three of my mixtapes.

Vusi Mahlasela (South Africa)

Another South African I wasn’t familiar with, Mahlasela is an “African folk” singer whose music was a big influence during the anti-apartheid movements in the early 90s. Part of his performance was an acoustic guitar instrumental piece to accompany an short documentary about Nelson Mandela.

Boureima “Vieux” Farka Touré (Mali)

Son of the legendary Ali Farka Touré, “Vieux” is a relative newcomer having released his first album in 2006 (months after his father’s death). His music definitely shows off his remarkable talent on the guitar which he inherited from his father. You can watch his performance of “Fafa” at the concert on YouTube.

Tinariwen (Mali/Algeria/Libya)

This group of Tuareg rebels cranks out some serious blues rock with a Middle Eastern twist. I do admit that their style didn’t quite fit in with the energetic pop that made up the Kick-Off Concert. As a result they got a lot of flack (especially from racist Twitter users). Nonetheless, I highly recommend you check out these legendary poet guitarists’ discography. Watch their FIFA performance of “Amassakoul’n'Ténéré” here.

Blk Jks (South Africa)

These Johannesburg locals had a rough start to their set with song on which Alicia Keys joined them. They followed that up with take on a popular apartheid protest song – something that  all the South Africans present loved, but all the foreigners were a bit perplexed by. I’d recommend you look up their polished records released by Secretly Canadian instead of judging them by their World Cup performance.

K’naan (Somalia)

I put K’naan’s “Wavin’ a Flag” on my last mixtape and thought he was still a relatively unknown hip-hop artist. When I got to South Africa he was everywhere! Mainly because Coca-Cola had licensed his song and built their entire World Cup advertising campaign around it. The man that I first heard of thanks to a small NPR SXSW showcase is now and international superstar and I couldn’t be happier for him. My only fear is that he might sell out to the mainstream crowd as the money flows in and the expectations are high. What has me concerned is the way he (or perhaps The Man) rewrote “Wavin’ a Flag” lyrics to make the song that was originally about his troubled & traumatic childhood in war-torn Somalia a generic football anthem. Here is his World Cup performance.

**Addendum – “But what about South Africa’s own The Parlotones?” you ask. “You don’t have any photos of their performance – in fact, not even a mention of their appearance at the concert!” That is because I was too busy covering my ears with both hands – I physically could not take any pictures. I’d sum them up as a crappy, poor(er) man’s version of Snow Patrol that dresses and wears makeup like My Chemical Romance. I was NOT impressed. Judge for yourself.

World Cup Kick-Off Concert: African Musicians is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Following are a few photos, the music video, and interview with the band. You can see more of my photos from the concert at TheBlueIndian.com. You can hear more of the band’s music (as well as download some tracks for free!) over at www.parachutemusical.com.

“No Comfort” music video

TheBlueIndian.com Q&A with Parachute Musical

Parachute Musical: Photos, Music Video, & Interview is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

World Cup Kick-Off Concert: The Stars is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

The concert at Orlando Stadium was attended by nearly 30,000 fans from all over the world. It was one of those wonderful occasions where people of all races, nationalities, religions, and languages come together in unity and peace. I was amazed at how well everyone behaved (despite the large quantities of alcohol being consumed) and the general excitement in the air was contagious.

This will be the first of a series I’ll post of photos I took at the show. Click the images to enlarge them.

World Cup Kick-Off Concert: Fans is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Hit their MySpace page to get a feel of their music. You can also get a free song download on their official website.

The Middle East @ The Masquerade is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

If you’re that dude that proposed, drop me a note via the Contact page. I’ve got a couple shots of you and your (now) fiancée as well as some video.
***UPDATE*** The engagement dude did contact me and I’ve got the shots headed his way! Congrats Brent!

Frightened Rabbit @ The Masquerade is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Following the photos below is video I shot of the last song of their set. Apologies for the terrible quality, but the lighting was really, really bad.

Video of Coyote Bones performing live at The 567 Cafe in Macon, GA

Coyote Bones @ The 567 is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

The concert was great and full of energy – the best dance party Macon has ever seen. The lighting was incredibly tough to work with for photography but with the high ISO capabilities of my Canon 7D and the new noise reduction features in Lightroom 3 I was able to get a few decent images. The video was mostly shot with a Lensbaby Muse but also with a 50mm f/1.8.

Willie Nelson in Concert is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

“Howling Light” – J.Tillman live at The Earl in Atlanta, GA on November 21, 2009

“Vacilando Territory” – J.Tillman live at The Earl in Atlanta, GA on November 21, 2009

Can’t see the videos? If you are not viewing this at whaun.com, you may need to head over there to see the video. http://www.whaun.com/2009/11/j-tillman-of-fleet-foxes-the-earl/.

Otherwise you might need to get the Adobe Flash Player.

J.Tillman (of Fleet Foxes) @ The Earl is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

The show was no different – we enjoyed the entire set they played and I’ve got a great video and some photos from their performance. The video was shot with the same camera as the stills: my new Canon 7D. I was not only impressed by the video quality in such low light, but the audio in this video clip is straight from the tiny, mono, in-camera microphone.

The Meeks Family @ The Earl is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Casting Crowns @ Centreplex is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development

Redman is an award-winning Christian praise & worship songwriter. I had never heard of him prior to the show, but instantly recognized his popular songs such as “Heart of Worship”, “Blessed be the Name”, and “Let Everything That Has Breath.”

Matt Redman @ Macon Centreplex is a post from: William Haun Photography, Video, and Web Development