CTRL+ALT+REPEAT: Our Best Photos of 2025
As a collective, Off The Record covered over 170 different events in 2025, from sprawling festivals to sold-out venues. Thousands of photos were taken, countless songs were sung, and more than a few late nights were spent hunched over laptops, creating the perfect edit. Our photographers were hard at work all year, capturing the moments that structure the live music scene.
These are some of their favorite snapshots from the year and the stories behind them — the reasons that make it all worth it.
Nico Beauchamp, Senior Photographer
My favorite experience with Off The Record this year has to have been the incredible opportunity I was given to cover Salt Lake City’s Kilby Block Party back in May. This was my first time ever covering a festival, and I learned so much about photography, time management, and networking, among other things. Arguably most importantly, I learned the value of packing a good pair of boots, because I was running back and forth across the festival grounds, through dirt, asphalt, mud and grass all weekend. I had the privilege of covering artists like Yo La Tengo, Wishy, Momma, Peter McPoland, Slowdive, Beach House, Friko, George Clanton, Wisp, BCNR, Wallows, Weezer, Suki Waterhouse, Geese, and Justice, to name a few! It was truly such a formative experience for me, and I am so grateful to have contributed photos of such incredible performers for our OTR Kilby coverage.
Pictured here (left to right): Cameron Winter (Geese), Dylan Minnette (Wallows), Peter McPoland, Suki Waterhouse.
Alex Stefan, Live Coverage Editor
From the moment they step out on stage, The Home Team is absolutely magnetic to watch. Impossible to keep up with, and managing to draw you in completely, they feed off of the energy in the audience and multiply it back ten fold. Running, dancing, and jumping across the stage, their music exceeds genre. Pop hits combined with heavy rockers create the perfect anthems to scream and dance to, something the audience commits to unrelentingly throughout their sets. An unstoppable growing force, The Home Team repeatedly prove they’re one of the best live acts in the game right now, and if you’re fast enough to catch them in focus and snap a picture, it’s well worth the wait.
Pictured below (left to right): Brian Butcher (The Home Team), Mercedes Arn-Horn (Softcult), Rebecca and Megan Lovell (Larkin Poe), Isabella Lovestory.
Sloane Johnson, Co-Editor-In-Chief
I love the portrait session I did with Remi Wolf. This was the first time I felt that I was able to translate an image I had in my head to real life. I wanted to honor Remi’s style, which is bright, neon, and unapologetically saturated, and combine it with my style, which is usually grainy and super textured. I pushed the saturation and played with the angles, and it truly felt like the photos could be an album cover.
I was both excited and nervous to try something new. When I’m editing, I’m typically thinking about whether my photos will look cohesive together or if they will match my Instagram feed, but this time around, I ignored that voice. I think it’s important to showcase my range and all the different types of work I can do. I’m really proud of these because the photographers I admire and look to for inspiration have taken photos like them. I felt like I finally cracked the code, like I stepped in line with the photographers who shaped me and my work.
Pictured below: Remi Wolf.
Natalia Pfeiffer, Senior Photographer
There’s always such a thrill and excitement for me surrounding any show I may be covering. But beyond this, there is another layer of anticipation at play. On nights when I get to walk into the venues where my favorite bands are playing, the work becomes more than just getting the shots I knew I was going to get. It becomes a love affair between what I already know I can achieve and the ways I want to push myself to grow and learn from every shot I take.
My favorite artists inspire me and push me to be a better artist myself. Getting to photograph bands like Movements, Citizen, and Scowl all in one night is a prime example for me of just how electric the energy in the air can be when artists bring their best work to the table.
Pictured below: Movements, Kat Moss (Scowl).
