As I’m photographing JBEX on stage at the Too Good open-mic competition, I check the time on my phone and a familiar question crosses my mind—How many of us have work in the morning?
I mean, it's 12:30am on a Wednesday night, pretty valid question if you ask me. But let’s dig a little deeper. How many of us actually cared enough to miss this opportunity? How many of us cared enough about tomorrow's work to not give tonight our all? Most of us are missing sleep for this moment, living our dreams, even if only until the sun comes up.
Tonight feels like a secret between us all, one the daylight isn’t privy to —yet—.
Most importantly, while we live in a system that expects us to give the best of what we have to our day jobs, theres something special, and a little rebellious, about saving a piece for ourselves and each other.
So the next time you come home from a long shift, questioning if you should forego your studio session, open-mic, or vinyl night at The Native because you have work in the morning, just remember, that rebellion is what dreams are made of.
written by dira starr
check out the rest of the photos from tonight in Visual Collections