Remind me

A photojournalistic exploration of Austin's underground at SXSW. This Must Be The Fan is what happens when the media goes "unofficial."

The Pop 'stache crew & select photos from the trip:

Matt Avignone

Clayton Hauck

Cassandra Gates

Gavin Paul

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Pop 'stache, a Chicago-based music publication, is curating a new project, "This Must Be The Fan," which aims to redefine coverage of a live show. By stepping out of the photo pit and avoiding the PR machine, TMBTF will restore the voice of the crowd with a new form of storytelling. No longer focused on the "first three no flash" mindset that has become the standard, TMBTF aims to document the entire concert experience. TMBTF is what happens when the media goes "unofficial."

Austin's annual SXSW is the perfect springboard for "This Must Be The Fan: Vol. I." With "unofficial" bands outnumbering the nearly 2,000 "official" bands, the city is ripe with artists arriving in Austin to create their own story. Pop 'stache is following a similar ethos sending a top-notch group of fringe-loving photojournalists to capture the experience "unofficially," without wristbands or prior contact with publicists. The goal is to create a template for future volumes, which will be compiled from a submission-based website supported by you. The first volume will be a testament to what a small group of photojournalists can accomplish at a live event without any official credentials.

Pop 'stache needs your help to make this project a reality. $3,000 is the minimum amount required to pull this project off. If we're fortunate enough to go over our goal, additional funds will be put towards a designer to layout the book & magazine, additional features for the website, and most importantly, the ability to shoot more film while in Austin.

Your pledge helps us:

Print & distribute a limited-edition publication in both magazine and hard-bound form. A $15 commitment gets you the magazine and $110 gets you the extended hard-bound edition.
Design & develop a website so this project can live on indefinitely.
Host a gallery show here in Chicago
Purchase film and get it developed for those of us ditching the digital format altogether.

Who we are: