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…
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
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.