Elephant Revival is a unique group of instrumentalists and singers based in Colorado. I have been listening to their mix of Americana, Celtic, Folk, and Transcendental Folk music for close to a decade now. Elephant Revival is the first band I ever photographed and they have enriched my life in many ways.
Funny story about how I met these guys and how they became an integral aspect of my artistic and spiritual growth for the last decade. It was December 29, 2011 and I was at the Ogden Theater on Colfax in Denver to enjoy the Railroad Earth show. A friend of mine is the Sound Engineer for the group and I was there to meet up with him, take a few pictures, and enjoy their music. I had no idea Elephant Revival was opening nor did I know any of their music. As I was listening to their opening song, I found my foot tapping and my soul becoming excited about the rhythms and lyrics I was hearing. I became immediately entranced, I was hooked. At the end of the song, I spoke out loud “Damn, these guys are amazing!!!” The lady standing next to me heard my exclamation and said “yes they are” with a smile. I asked if she had heard them before and her reply “Yes, the fiddle player, Bridget Law, is my daughter.” I’m an extrovert and of course I began an enthusiastic conversation with her. This led me to meeting their publicist and their road manager that night. Which then led me to covering their show at the Fox Theater in Boulder the following night and then back to the Ogden Theater on the third night, New Years Eve. During those three shows I met a slew of musicians from many different groups, a number of band staff members, and people in the music industry. Then, 6 days later, I was shooting The Wailers and my band/concert/musician photography career began (I was also a full time secondary teacher). Funny how things happen, I was only there at the Ogden on the 29th to meet a friend and listen to Railroad Earth. A serendipitous meeting with a fiddle player’s mom placed me on an ever changing and exciting artistic and spiritual path!
As a result of being at this show, I’ve been fortunate to photograph some amazing musicians in the years that followed. Elephant Revival will always be ‘the’ one special group!! I am writing about them now as they are back performing after a small hiatus and I want others to experience their amazing music and energy. Check out their music and tour dates on: https://www.elephantrevival.com You can also find their music on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@elephantrevival and on Spotify. One of my favorite songs is Sing to the Mountain – click the link and listen (I just happened to photograph this show).
Cheers, Drew Frederic
