Michael McGrath is one of the premier live music photographers based out of Colorado. Born in the Bronx, McGrath found himself seeing the Rolling Stones play Folsom Field in Boulder in 1981 and found a resonance with the state and has lived in New Mexico and Colorado since. Having studied at University of Northern Colorado in Greeley and University of New Mexico in Albuquerque he took advantage of his access to camera equipment and film processing facilities to focus on his early endeavors in live music photography. Since around the mid 90s McGrath has shot for New York Times, The Denver Post, Vice, Relix and various other publications. His photos of Yoko Ono were included in the impressive one volume career retrospective of her work titled Infinite Universe At Dawn. These days McGrath is the primary photographer for the music website Audiovore. All of these details, though, leave out McGrath’s presence in Denver as one of the most active photographers of live music for over a decade and a half always capturing the essence of the show and knowing how to get the right lighting and angle to convey the life inherent in the subjects of his photos with high quality equipment. You can see him patiently and quietly getting the perfect images knowing so many of the rooms well and the lighting situations he is likely to encounter and how to adapt to dynamic situations. But beyond being a photographer McGrath has become a part of the local music community because of his expansive personality, inherent friendliness and unpretentious grace. The world of music through McGrath’s lens is a better place than we’re used to and one you want to be involved with because it lends the art a timeless and compelling quality that isn’t present in all concert photography and an intuitive sense of composition born of inherent skill and honed practice. The interview presented is very casual with plenty of surprises and left turns.
Listen to our interview with Michael McGrath on Bandcamp and follow his work at the links below. He, his wife Amy and one of their children Molly, a musician and writer, will be guests at the next Analog Salon at Posner Center for International Development on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 with doors and DJ at 6pm, talk at 7pm during which the family will in the tradition of the event discuss some of the records that most impacted them. Molly’s band Tassles will also play a set.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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