'There's a lot of talent': Man captures Austin music scene with Polaroids
AUSTIN (KXAN) — With a Polaroid and a dream, Jared Burress wants to capture the people who make Austin the Live Music Capital of the World.
"These are all people that are taking risks and they're trying to make it in music," he said. "And I'm trying to help them."
Burress spends his evenings and weekends seeing local bands, asking to take a Polaroid of them, and giving them the photo.
To date, Burress has posted over 300 images across spanning artists, venues and genres--from hip hop to country folk to goth country to blues. His Instagram account polaroid.atx chronicles his shots with locally and nationally known artists.
His goal is to spread the word about the up-and-coming talent in Austin. He said the hardest part is being at the right place at the right time.
"If you love photography and you love promoting music, you can do it with a basic idea," Burress said.
With these snapshots, Burress created a guitar with the faces who make Austin's music scene what it is. He partnered with a guitar maker, The Graphic Guitar Guys, to make the one-of-a-kind piece.
"Those people on that guitar...there's a lot of talent," he said. "Those are the next ones up... in my opinion."
One Polaroid shot sticks out in his memory: taking a pic of Willie Nelson at Luck Ranch. He called it "a game changer" for his account.
Burress doesn't have firm plans for the guitar. He'd like to do something good with it, he said. One possibility is asking one of Austin's most famed musicians to play it.
"I want Willie Nelson to play it. I want to put it in his hands for everything that he's done for Austin music...everything that he's done for the culture here. That would be a huge goal for me," Burress said
Dream guest on his Instagram? To name a few: Sierra Ferrell, Ricky Duran, Charley Crockett, Ryan Scarton, Sydney Conklin and—dreaming big—Post Malone.
"Why not Post Malone? He's a cool guy. He probably do it locally," Burress said.
The project is self-funded, and Burress wants to keep his passion gig going.
"I just want to keep growing," he said. "I want to keep discovering other artists."