Songwriter Death Battle 2.0 at The Waiting Room | Photo Essay

photos and words by Jared Bakewell

Taking photos and videos of local bands started as an excuse for me to meet musicians I wanted to get to know. And it gave me something to do when I was flying solo to a show.

Last night’s Songwriter Death Battle at The Waiting Room curated by John Klemmensen (Landing on the Moon & John Klemmensen and the Party) was the epitome of that opportunity. More than 40 songwriters shared the stage and guitars, performing one song a piece.

I tried to capture each person with a photo which embodied their song to me — all from slightly different angles and all composed slightly differently. I employed a single lens, shooting five photos of each performer and then narrowed it down to the best one before their song finished.

Some were taken from under tables, some from behind the stage. There were veteran performers, and some were singing in publicly for the first time. They supported one another and thanked Klemmensen for letting them join his party.

Omaha’s a special place to be a songwriter, and last night’s death battle was a killer case in point:















Jared Bakewell is an occasional Hear Nebraska contributor and bassist for Omaha band The Big Deep. He’d probably send any of the performers from Thursday their photo if they emailed him at band@thebigdeep.com.