This feature appears in FLOOD 13: The Tenth Anniversary Issue. You can purchase this deluxe, 252-page commemorative edition—a collectible, coffee-table-style volume in a 12" x 12" format—featuring Gorillaz, Magdalena Bay, Mac DeMarco, Lord Huron, Bootsy Collins, Wolf Alice, and much more here or at Barnes and Noble stores across the US.
Whether it was Kendrick Lamar breaking out as a headliner back in 2015 or Chappell Roan’s meteoric rise at music festivals across the country in 2024, we’ve been able to live vicariously in the photo pits through thousands of stunning images featured on FLOOD’s site over the last decade. We could literally fill volumes of issues with our favorite live shots, but here’s just a sampling with 40 incredible images over the years, along with some memories from the artists behind the lenses that captured them. — Randy Bookasta
Florence + the Machine at Lollapalooza 2015 photographed by Chad Kamenshine
Florence + The Machine
Lollapalooza
Chicago, IL
August 2, 2015.
Photo by Chad Kamenshine
“Exhilarating, otherworldly, and powerful—it only seemed natural when the sky opened up and lightning struck as Florence + the Machine commanded the stage at Lollapalooza 2015.” — Chad Kamenshine
Kendrick Lamar
Outside Lands
San Francisco, CA
August 8, 2015
Photo by Misha Vladimirskiy
“Most festival shoots are a whirlwind, but Kendrick’s set stood out. I recall freezing a moment that felt like the dawn of superstardom.” — Misha Vladirmirskly
Mac Miller
Camp Flog Gnaw
Los Angeles, CA
November 14, 2015
Photo by Rozette Rago
FKA twigs
Pitchfork Music Festival
Chicago, IL
July 17, 2016
Photo by James Richards IV
Radiohead
Lollapalooza
Chicago, IL
July 29, 2016
Photo by James Richards IV
Lorde
Lollapalooza
Chicago, IL
August 3, 2017
Photo by Carlo Cavaluzzi
“Lorde’s set got three songs in before getting cancelled due to thunder. As I began to evacuate, I realized my phone got stolen out of my pocket. Was it worth it for the photo? Probably.” — Carlo Cavaluzzi
CHVRCHES
Life Is Beautiful
Las Vegas, NV
September 21, 2018
Photo by Andy Sawyer
St. Vincent
Austin City Limits
Austin, TX
October 6, 2018
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
“A once-in-a-lifetime artist, it’s hard to spend three songs so close to Annie Clark without falling into a hypnotic gaze. I have to remind myself I’m there to photograph. At times it seems she is not from this realm.” — Daniel Cavazos
JPEGMAFIA
Pitchfork Music Festival
Chicago, IL
July 21, 2019
Photo by Joshua Mellin
“While sometimes those seemingly wild moments with artists entering the pit are actually carefully choreographed, this one obviously wasn’t. I just luckily grabbed the last remaining step, took a pop up, aimed for First Baptist Congregational’s iconic steeple that framed the P4K skyline, and caught this photo that looks like JPEG’s basically sacrificing himself to the audience.” — Joshua Mellin
Tierra Whack
Austin City Limits
Austin, TX
October 5, 2019
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
“The energy Tierra Whack brought to a 3 p.m. set at a major festival was insane. She had the presence of a headliner and an enthusiastic crowd to back that vibe. I’ve seen her two other times since then, and within minutes she had the crowd in the palm of her hand.” — Daniel Cavazos
Billie Eilish
Austin City Limits
Austin, TX
October 2, 2021
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
“My first pop star to shoot from the pit. Until then, I’d never felt fandom up close and personal. Her star power was palpable.” — Daniel Cavazos
Tyler, the Creator
Austin City Limits
Austin, TX
October 3, 2021
Photo by Daniel Cavazos
“I remember walking away from the first three songs wishing I could shoot the whole set because I just knew an artist like Tyler, the Creator was going to have a dynamic show worthy of being captured in its entirety. That was a hard one to walk away from.” — Daniel Cavazos
Tame Impala
Outside Lands
San Francisco, CA
October 31, 2021
Photo by Wilson Lee
“Halloween weekend, 2021. The triumphant return of Outside Lands after COVID. What started out as a set by The Wiggles (in full neon costumes) soon transformed into the psychedelic laser show and dance party one comes to expect from Kevin Parker." — Wilson Lee
Fontaines D.C.
Underground Arts
Philadelphia, PA
April 22, 2022
Photo by David Iskra
“From the very first song, I knew this band was something special—and that it would be the last time I’d see them in such a small club. Grian Chatten was simply too big for that tiny stage.” — David Iskra
Caroline Polachek
Coachella
Indio, California
April 23, 2022
Photo by Mallory Turner
Nine Inch Nails
The Met
Philadelphia, PA
May 24, 2022
Photo by David Iskra
“Stepping into the photo pit for NIN is nerve-racking. You push through the thick haze, unsure of what awaits. The bass rattles your bones, strobes explode in disorienting bursts, and the fans pressed against the barrier would climb over you without hesitation if given the chance. I can’t wait to do it again.” — David Iskra
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Primavera Sound
Barcelona, Spain
June 11, 2022
Photo by Joshua Mellin
“The main stages were especially high and set back, with lots of filming and production in front, so the performances this year felt very distant—almost like watching a TV show being filmed and shooting it between the cameras. It didn’t feel like I really experienced the show, or got any good photos, but that’s the roulette wheel of music photography: everything can go wrong, and you still walk away with a winner.” — Joshua Mellin
IDLES
Glastonbury
Somerset, England
June 24, 2022
Photo by Joshua Mellin
“IDLES’s hometown of Bristol is less than 30 miles from Glastonbury, so this was basically one of the largest home-field-advantage shows any band could play. They were ready to make a mess. So it was right into the crowd with guitarist Lee Kiernan. It was all over in a flash, but their energy reverberated through the weekend.” — Joshua Mellin
Pink Pantheress
Primavera Sound LA
Los Angeles, CA
September 16, 2022
Photo by Kevin Allen
Turnstile
Hollywood Palladium
Los Angeles, CA
November 3, 2022
Photo by Kevin Allen
Weyes Blood
Brooklyn Steel
Brooklyn, NY
March 3, 2023
Photo by Julia Drummond
Ethel Cain
Kilby Block Party
Salt Lake City, UT
May 14, 2023
Photo by Christian Sarkine
Arctic Monkeys
Red Rocks Amphitheater
Morrison, CO
September 18, 2023
Photo by Skylar Watkins
“Red Rocks shows are always special. This was my first time seeing Arctic Monkeys and it was worth the wait!” — Skylar Watkins
boygenius
Madison Square Garden
October 2, 2023
Photo by Skylar Watkins
“The ending of this show was electric, with Phoebe jumping off stage into the crowd and then ripping her shirt off with Lucy once back on stage. This remains my favorite time I’ve seen boygenius—or any of their solo projects—to date.” — Skylar Watkins
Pulp
Corona Capital
Mexico City, Mexico
November 17, 2023
Photo by Annie Lesser
“Musicians don’t tour Mexico as often as the States or South America, and travel restrictions make it difficult for Mexicans to see acts in the US, so crowds there are always electric at shows in that country. Pulp was one of the only acts that didn’t allow photographers in the pit at Mexico City’s Corona Capital 2023, so I took this photo deep in the crowd near the soundboard, over 200 feet from the stage. Although it was difficult to shoot, being around those fans was the greatest way to see one of my favorite bands for the first time.” — Annie Lesser
Chappell Roan
Governors Ball
New York City, NY
June 9, 2024
Photo by Merissa Blitz
“When I took this photo of Chappell arriving on stage in the Big Apple, in a big apple, I didn’t know I was about to witness a historic performance. That Gov Ball set will forever be mentioned when talking about her meteoric rise—to have watched an amazing talent get the recognition she deserved in real time was incredibly special.” — Merissa Blitz
Maggie Rogers
Bonnaroo
Manchester, TN
June 14, 2024
Photo by Christian Sarkine
Chappell Roan
Bonnaroo
Manchester, TN
June 16, 2024
Photo by Christian Sarkine
“I remember it being the literal hottest part of Bonnaroo weekend. In between songs, Chappell crouched down and I just thought, ‘The eye makeup is so cool, I need a shot of that.’ So I went into crop mode on my camera and got a photo of her face as close as I could, then cropped it in when I went back to the media lounge. I love this pic and love how it turned out.” — Christian Sarkine
Childish Gambino
Barclays Center
Brooklyn, NY
August 26, 2024
Photo by Skylar Watkins
“I felt very fortunate to be able to shoot this show, being one one three approved photographers. It was my first time seeing Childish Gambino. The performance and production were absolutely incredible.” — Skylar Watkins
PJ Harvey
Terminal 5
New York, NY
September 15, 2024
Photo by Dutch Doscher
“I tried to capture PJ Harvey’s Terminal 5 performance as a blur of light, movement, and emotion—a raw poetry and beauty where every gesture felt timeless.” — Dutch Doscher
Syd
Camp Flog Gnaw
Los Angeles, CA
November 17, 2024
Photo by Wilson Lee
“The crooner. The rebirth of cool. The highlight of Camp Flog Gnaw 2024 without a doubt. This set also marked the first time I ever shot side-by-side in the pit with my son, Josh.” — Wilson Lee
The Marías
Camp Flog Gnaw
Los Angeles, CA
November 17, 2024
Photo by Wilson Lee
“My favorite band in the world since meeting them back in 2019 for a ‘Backstage Camera Roll’ piece for FLOOD. Witnessing their ascent to the top of charts, festivals, and couture has been nothing short of amazing.” — Wilson Lee
Katie Gavin, Hayley Williams, Jenny Lewis, Pierre de Reeder
G*ve a F*ck Benefit for LA Wildfire Relief
Hollywood Palladium
Hollywood, CA
February 5, 2025
Photo by Skylar Watkins
“This was such a special show to be able to capture, particularly this moment which is a crossover between Hayley Williams, Rilo Kiley, and MUNA.” — Skylar Watkins
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Barclays Center
Brooklyn, NY
April 17, 2025
Photo by Kimberley Ross
“Shooting Nick Cave at Barclays for the first time, I was struck by how he could make such a huge space feel so intimate and electric.” — Kimberley Ross
RZA of Wu-Tang Clan
Crypto.com Arena
Los Angeles, CA
June 22. 2025
Photo by Sklyar Watkins
“It was an honor getting to shoot the Wu-Tang farewell tour. In this particular moment, most of the other photographers in the pit shied away from RZA, as none of our gear was covered, but I stayed right where I was. A little champagne never hurt anyone.” — Skylar Watkins
Cage the Elephant
Lollapalooza
Chicago, IL
July 31, 2025
Photo by Bella Peterson
“I’d wanted to shoot Cage for years, and knew this moment would be coming and exactly how I wanted to frame it. I had an entirely different vision for the final edit, a brightly saturated color version, but in the end I didn’t think anything but the high-contrast black-and-white worked. Nothing else was as striking.” — Bella Peterson
Olivia Rodrigo
Lollapalooza
Chicago, IL
August 1, 2025
Photo by Christian Sarkine
“When I heard we’d be allowed to shoot from the pit, I knew I had to lock in. Olivia rarely gives photographers that access, so it felt like a special opportunity. My goal was to capture a shot that truly embodies her rockstar persona, and I think this one does just that. It was such an electric set, and I couldn’t be happier with how the photos turned out!” — Christian Sarkine
Doechii
Outside Lands
San Francisco, CA
August 8, 2025
Photo by Wilson Lee
“Honestly, I had no idea I had this shot until I got home and downloaded it! The explosive energy and non-stop movement made it nearly impossible for anything but spraying and praying.” — Wilson Lee
Charli XCX
August 10, 2025
Helsinki, Finland
Photo by Joshua Mellin
“Since her headlining set at Pitchfork in 2019, I’ve always looked forward to photographing Charli XCX; there was always something bold and forward about how she presented herself. This was at the second-to-last date of her BRAT tour; as soon as she added the rain element earlier in the tour—I believe at her Coachella performance—I just knew I had to capture this enigmatic moment.” — Joshua Mellin
LCD Soundsystem
Portola Music Festival
San Francisco, CA
September 20, 2025
Photo by Wilson Lee
