Photograph

18" x 12"

Artist Bio:

Tarbell moved to Charlottesville in 1987 to attend UVA. He was an aspiring musician but knew he had limitations. He aged, settled down, and essentially gave it up. He was still around musicians, though, and picked up “a crappy old digital camera.” He taught himself to point and shoot, then improved. According to Tarbell, if you can take pictures in concert conditions, you can do it anywhere—“it’s like learning to drive stick in the mountains,” he says.

Still, it was never technical excellence that gave Tarbell’s work weight. It was being backstage and around talent, being to Charlottesville musicians what Jay Blakesberg was to the Grateful Dead, Ricky Powell was to the Beastie Boys, or Danny Clinch was to the Boss.

For Tarbell, befriending local music talent led to access to regional talent and eventually national talent. In the case of the Dave Matthews Band, Tarbell’s access grew from local to national on its own. — C-ville Weekly, Nov. 24, 2021