Pandemic-Era Portraits: Photography by Shervin Lainez at Firefly 2021

ALUNA

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

The AlunaGeorge singer and solo artist put the fire in Firefly Festival this year.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

ARLO PARKS

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

Calm and reserved, Rolling Stone Australia asked Arlo Parks to tilt her head up into the sun for this photo. She made it elegant and effortless, not an easy task given the location against a backstage festival fence.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

BAND OF HORSES

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

Shervin Lainez captured a band on the brink of a new era backstage at Firefly. The Seattle band recently announced details of their first new album in five years, 'Things Are Great’ (out on January 21, 2022).

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

DUCKWRTH

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

The sheer confidence US rapper and songwriter Duckwrth (AKA Jared Lee) exudes onstage was mirrored backstage at Firefly, making this portrait shoot the quickest of all. Shervin described the South LA artist “like shooting a model”, perfectly posed against a blue sky.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

IANN DIOR

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

Multi-Platinum artist Iann Dior may have collaborated with big-name acts like Travis Barker, Clean Bandit and Lil Baby, but he’s proven he can hold his own thanks to his genre-agnostic sound. His Firefly Festival set served as one of his warm-up shows to his headlining Better Things Tour, which is set to hit 23 cities across Europe in early 2022.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

JUDAH & THE LION

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

Utilising the blazing midday festival sun as the backdrop for the portrait. Shervin asked the band to lean in and stare directly into the lens.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

PEACH PIT

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

Vancouver indie-pop band Peach Pit are in their element on tour. Rolling Stone Australia asked Neil Smith, Chris Vanderkooy, Mikey Passcuzzi and Pete Wilton to huddle in for their backstage portrait.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

POM POM SQUAD

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

Punk rocker Pom Pom Squad, AKA Mia Berrin, has been raising the bar with her high-femme imagery and glorious queerness. Pictured here in black and white, Berrin is a woman coming into her own.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

SYLVAN ESSO

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

In a moment of serendipity, the photoshoot for North Carolina band Sylvan Esso took place in the artist compound area near some vintage video games. The aesthetic fits the Grammy nominated band’s trademark brand of nostalgic, crossover indie-pop perfectly.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

TAKING BACK SUNDAY

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

Pop-punk heavyweights Taking Back Sunday took some time out backstage for an intimate portrait shot. The band is currently on tour with fellow scene heroes Jimmy Eat World and The Beaches, which is set to wrap up at the end of this month in San Diego.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

THE KILLERS

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

Just moments before their headlining set, alt-rock juggernaut The Killers agreed to pose for this photo. The Killers have spent two decades on stages and in studios; the seasoned photoshoot subjects needed very little direction, posing naturally right before they walked directly to the stage.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

THE KILLERS WITH IANN DIOR

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

THE KILLERS

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

The Killers just moments before they walked directly to the stage.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

WIZ KHALIFA

Backstage at Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware (Sept 23-26)

The hip hop luminary was on a time crunch backstage at Firefly Festival, giving Shervin just a few moments to capture his portrait. “He walked out of the dressing room in a cloud of smoke and perfectly gave me an iconic pose,” said Shervin.

Photograph by Shervin Lainez for Rolling Stone Australia

Rolling Stone Australia sent NYC-based photographer Shervin Lainez backstage at four-day music festival Firefly to capture the excitement, the gratitude, and the fire that so many music industries across the globe are missing right now due to COVID-19. His portrait photography of acts like The Killers, Wiz Khalifa, Taking Back Sunday, Aluna and many more offers glimpses of life pre-COVID for anyone in Australia.