We were lucky to catch up with Brit Obrien recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Brit thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

March 12th felt sudden. I sort of remember the details but mostly remember the period of time. Everything was happening all at once, and the world was changing in ways we truly couldn’t comprehend.

I was determined to use the 2020 era to work on something meaningful. So many things were happening around me.
After March happened, time slowed. The enitre music industry collapsed? How? It couldn’t last, right?

I’ve spent my entire career on tour. I’ve followed bands around the world documenting everything. I didn’t tour at all in 2020. But…. no one else did either. What were are the other crew folks doing? How we’re they coping?

I decided to find out. I wrote a proposal for a book titled “LAST TO OPEN”, a collection of photographs featuring the handwritten messages and stories of the crew members who, up until that year, had spent their lives on the road.

Soon after submitting my proposal, I was given a grant to create the book. From that moment I was determined to make something that would feature a piece of the crazy history that was unfolding every day.

I packed up my camera bag for the first time in eleven months and I flew to Nashville. I was determined to hear the stories and feel the pain of all the crew members who had lost everything; the collective anger of those who knew no other career path, the sadness of those who felt they’d never head back out in the van, and even the joy from those who decided they were finally able to rest and develop a routine in one place.

I finished the project at the end of 2021 and it was released in 2022. I didn’t look at it for over a year. It was hard to write and put together — the wounds from the pandemic were too fresh. I finally revisited it last year and am very proud of my past self for documenting that moment and collecting those stories.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Brit O’Brien. I am a touring photographer & artist manager. I got interested in photography as a teen — I was always the kid who had the point-and-shoot of the friend group, and I just documented everything we did. I got involved with my high school yearbook. And then all my friends were in bands, so I would take the camera from yearbook class to go take photos of them playing. I moved to San Francisco after graduating to figure out how to “do photography”, and from there I found an internship in the area. That’s where I learned everything and started getting into the local music scene.

From there I began touring, diving deeper into music and here we are.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think a lot of people who aren’t involved in creative industries think it “isn’t work” or “is fun all the time.”

The most incredible thing I ever saw about working as a creative person was actually a meme. It said “i didn’t want to work a 9-5 so now i work 24/7” and nothing has ever been more true.

It’s awesome to control your future/fuel your own decisions – but everything has a price!

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

I won’t be making them…..but also who knows. I say things like “eh, not into it” and then, like three years later, i’m doing it!!

Contact Info:

• Website: brittanyobrien
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/britobrien/
• Facebook: N/A
• Linkedin: N/A
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/britobrien_
• Youtube: N/A
• Yelp: N/A
• Other: N/A

Image Credits
brit o’brien