Musicians are barely getting a slice of music industry revenue, largely eating off of live performances instead. For ‘Tour Tales,’ we dig into the rider requests, delayed shows, diligent preparation, and future of touring by talking with the multitude of people that move behind the scenes. Record executives, photographers, tour managers, artists, and more all break down what goes into touring and why it’s still so vital to the livelihood of your favorite artists. What happens on tour stays on ‘Tour Tales.’

The mark of a good photographer is capturing the moments everyone wants to see without being seen. Candid photos of artists backstage or in private are golden glimpses into their lives, which are precious gems. Twenty-four-year-old photographer Sam Cones has captured some of the biggest rappers at their most intimate moments and has grown to understand how difficult, yet necessary, that can sometimes be.

“These guys want their personal space. But, they also want things documented. It’s really tough. You have to play a fly on the wall mentally and take yourself out of situations so you can shoot it naturally,” Cones told REVOLT TV.

In this installment of “Tour Tales,” Cones explains hiding in bathrooms to get photos, A$AP Rocky performances that were hot enough to fog his camera, and getting Lil Nas X’s approval about a pic after a show. Check out the conversation below.

Before you were a hired photographer, how did you get access to photograph artists?

My favorite finesse is the time at TLA (Theatre of the Living Arts) in Philly in 2014 for Flatbush Zombies. I ran into the venue three hours early and I hid in the backstage bathroom until I heard them come into the dressing room area. Then, I popped out. One thing about me is I’ve always been personable and I guess we clicked off that. I’ve been able to work ever since. I started when I was fairly young, so I wasn’t able to be in a lot of the places I wanted to be in.

You were a teenager when you started. How did you balance school with photographing shows?

I didn’t even really want to go to college because I wanted to stay in Philly and keep working on the stuff I was working on. I think right around that time I went to college, Lil Uzi [Vert] was just starting to blow up and there were these things I didn’t want to leave. But, my parents wouldn’t let me stay in Philly, so I went to college in Colorado. When I was out there, I was working for a magazine trying to continue covering concerts. I did some. But, there was just so much going on in Philly and New York that I knew when I came back that summer, there was nothing else I wanted to do.

How do you establish comfortability with artists like YG, A$AP Rocky and Lil Uzi Vert to shoot them in private settings?

I try to be very respectful. I’m very cautious about when I do and don’t take photos. I’ve grown up with a lot of artists, so I’ve worked with a lot of artists for a very long time. So, when artists see other artists let photographers in and trust them, it helps. These guys want their personal space. But, they also want things documented. It’s really tough. You have to play a fly on the wall mentally and take yourself out of situations, so you can shoot it naturally.

A$AP Mob backstage at Skyline Stage at The Mann in Philadelphia (Sept. 2017)

You do a lot to get the right shot. You got a beautiful one of Billy Ray Cyrus and Lil Nas X performing at Rolling Loud earlier this year. How’d you get that one?

I knew it was going to be a really big moment because I heard Billy Ray was there. When I go to festivals, I’m kind of a photo hunter. If I know two people are there, I try to get that certain photo. I got onstage for it because I was working with Audiomack on some of their coverage. It was interesting. A lot of artists won’t let a lot of photographers onstage. But, I think because it was a short set and there was a lot going on, pretty much all of the photographers were allowed onstage.

Then, I saw people on the DJ booth where the DJ was performing, and that was kind of the ideal shot of the fans and everything. When shooting from the stage, you have to choose your angles really well because there’s a lot of times you’re missing the front of the artist. You’re kind of sacrificing that.

That was probably one of the more memorable photos of that festival.

I thought about posting it right after I took it because I knew it was a banger. I actually got it to him and he posted it before I did. It was really funny. My friend was shooting for [‘Panini’ producer] Take A Daytrip and I was showing my friend the photo. Then, he grabbed this guy who was standing next to him in a black hoodie and it was Lil Nas X (laughs). He showed it to him. I probably gave it to him maybe three or four hours after his set.

Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus at Rolling Loud (May ’19)

That performance was in May in the middle of Lil Nas X’s historic run on the charts . What was the crowd reaction to his set?

It was fire. It had been delayed constantly that day because of scheduling stuff. I had seen the crowd go crazy for his performances at all the festivals leading up to Rolling Loud, as well. So, I knew it was going to be a crowd favorite, which it turned out to be.

Back to Rocky for a second. What’s the most memorable A$AP Rocky show you’ve photographed?

When Rocky came out with Carti at the Terminal 5 show last year, the walls were sweating. It was in August. It was so foggy, my lens fogged up. So, you have this crazy glare, it really looks amazing, and you could understand how the walls were sweating.

Those are the moments at shows when the environment forces you to adapt as a photographer. Can you remember another time when you had to adapt at a show?

I had my camera completely snatched out of my hands by a security guard once. I was at South by Southwest (SXSW) in either 2016 or 2017 and I was shooting 2 Chainz. I was shooting him from the stage and I guess the security guards didn’t know I was cleared to shoot. Next thing I know, my camera was smashed on the ground by 2 Chainz’s security guards. We’ve since talked it out. I saw him a few years later. It was funny.

Metro Boomin backstage at The Jimmy Fallon Show (Feb. ’19)

You’ve been in places most photographers only dream of like at ‘The Jimmy Fallon Show’ with Gunna and Metro Boomin. What was it like shooting photos there?

You’re never allowed to shoot the show. You’re honestly not really allowed to have a camera in the hallways in there. They’re definitely pretty tight, but it’s always pretty cool. There’s always a bunch of industry people running around. That was really, really fun. I’ve worked with Metro for a while. I’ve known him through Sonny Digital. Sonny’s someone who’s vouched for me through everything. He’s always looked out for me and he’s an amazing person.

You work with Cinematic Music Group. When did you start shooting with them?

My first gig was T-Pain’s acoustic tour, which was a little under two years ago. From that, I came on full time.

What were those acoustic T-Pain shows like?

They were awesome. I hadn’t really toured with someone with so many hit records. The response was great. It was a big time for him. It was the first tour him and John [Shipes] had worked on together.

What’s the most memorable show you’ve ever shot?

One of Uzi’s first Christmas shows (A Very Uzi Christmas) in Philly [in 2016] when Wiz [Khalifa] came out was insane. He brought Carti out and Fabolous, too. A lot of the early Uzi shows were really big because he was one of the first artists that I’ve worked with that became so successful so quickly.

Lil Uzi Vert (left) and Wiz Khalifa (right) performing at A Very Uzi Christmas in Philadelphia (December ’16)

How did you develop your style?

The photographers I looked up to were really good at making you feel like you were in the room that a lot of people couldn’t get into. I’ve always taken the approach where I want to show people little insights into things that everyone can’t see. I really like film photos. I do a lot of flash [photography] outside because I was messing around with a lot of disposable cameras and sometimes a disposable camera will shoot flash outside in the daytime, and the photo comes out looking super cool. So, I try to mirror that on a digital camera instead of shooting on film.

Which artists that you’ve worked with are the most comfortable with having their photo taken?

Rich the Kid is always great. T-Pain is hilarious (laughs).

What’s your favorite backstage story?

Oh, I have a great one for you. One of the first artists I worked with in Philly was Freeway. He came out at Made in America in 2016. I ended up onstage shooting Lil Wayne. I ended up in their dressing area and I have this portrait of Wayne. I had completely forgotten I had got in that room for two weeks. I didn’t find that photo until two weeks later and it ended up being one of my favorite portraits.

Lil Wayne backstage at Made in America (Sept. ’16)

Have you noticed a change in the last few years of live show photography that you think may carry on into the new decade?

Yeah, I think there’s a lot of photographers out now and everyone is trying to get pictures up the fastest. Something I would do a lot is rush to get my photos up on Instagram. I think a lot of people are racing to see who can get certain posts and reposts, which is tough sometimes. I constantly found myself rushing to go home right after a show to edit a photo, throw it up on Instagram, wake up and hate the edit. Recently, I’ve really tried to take a step back and look at things in a bigger picture instead of in small increments.

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