a short story by william hammel.
on 04/15/26 i sent emails and dm’s to san holo, tej, dredz, and neil. i didn't hear anything back until 04/23/26 (day of the show)… at 14:00 i got a text from a team member on tej’s team saying that if i’m open, i could photograph the show tonight.
i was at the springfield zoo at the time so left from there to grab all my camera gear!
i arrived at the venue a little before 20:00. got in and met a lot of cool people!
before the show, tej comes out from the green room and we then proceeded to an ally nearby to take some portraits against various walls.
tej and i had a great conversation during the shoot about his music, life on tour, and next plans!
when we got back into the venue, nil was playing. he had a crazy set, got the crowd all warmed up! he has great energy on and off stage!
after nil, dredz took the stage. i was not expecting his set at all, the sounds were insane! mixes, insane! however it was really tough to photograph his set because of the lighting but the set itself was incredible!
tej was next after dredz. i will say, thankfully, he had better lighting during his set! tej played some of his own songs while throwing in various remixes!
several parts during the show he would go around the table to the crowd, him jumping and running across stage caused the crowd to get loud and hyped!
after tej’s set was over, san holo’s crew got the stage ready for a few moments before his set. san holo had visuals behind him during the set and much better stage lighting! this would be the 2nd time i've personally photographed him (4th show attending) and his shows are always incredible! always on point. sound, lights, visuals, everything!
speaking of on point, san holo has a great team! during various parts of the show, san holo’s set had almost no light on him. intentionally of course, for use of lasers and other visuals… but during these moments, i photographed his team in action! it was fascinating to watch his crew work so fast and well together, mind you, working in almost complete darkness! it impressed me how well they knew the setup!
all the photos i took can be found in the “concert” section here on the site. they are also posted on social media also! @thereelmoment.
it was a great night! hopefully they all return to springfield, mo soon!
- will
