HOOTENANNY: A Community
A Photo Exhibition by Tony Nelson
In November of 2006, Minneapolis writer, music critic, journalist and songwriter Jim Walsh (aka The Mad Ripple) started a weekly Hootenanny in the basement of a local coffee shop. Since that time, songwriters have regularly come together to swap songs and tell stories.
Tony Nelson, a Minneapolis-based photographer, attended one of the first ‘Hoots’ and saw it as an irresistible photo opportunity and began documenting as many of the shows as he could. Nelson decided to take the documenting process a step further and began making portraits of the performers in their own space – where they write or record, wherever they feel creative or find inspiration.
Nelson, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, has concentrated on the world of music for the past 20 years. He has pursued photography professionally in both the fine arts and commercial worlds. His photography ranges from portraits to documentary style work with the occasional dabbling in fashion and still life.
His work has been exhibited at the Minnesota Center for Photography, pARTS Photographic Arts gallery, Gallery Schmallery, The Katherine E. Nash Gallery, the Art Center of Minnesota and The Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
He has been a regular contributor to, Spin, Rolling Stone and Interview Magazines as well as the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Metro, MPLS ST. PAUL, Minnesota Monthly and City Pages. His photos have also appeared in Harp, Musician, Fretboard Journal, Remix, Urb, Backstreets, The Rake, Request, and Tracks magazines. He was Photo Editor and photographer for Cake and Toast magazines from 1995 to 2001. His work has also been featured by many record labels, both locally and nationally.
Pictures from the Opening Party!
Hottest Bartenders in Town!
