Denver-based concert photographer Michael McGrath is something of a rock star in his own right. McGrath started shooting on a 99-cent, point-and-shoot camera.

“I got it at our corner bodega when I was about seven,” said McGrath in an email interview with The Denver Gazette. “But my first real camera was a Minolta x700 that I bought with my employee discount at Target. I was 23.”

Over the course of his four decades-plus career as a photographer, McGrath has lost track of how many concerts he has covered — on average, at least two per week for the past 35 years, he said.

“It’s been incredible to shoot my personal heroes: Lou Reed, the [Rolling] Stones, U2, Patti Smith, Public Enemy, Iggy Pop, Neil Young, Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse and Sinead O’Connor.”

McGrath has covered concerts for various media outlets.

“I had a photo of Denver jazz legend Ron Miles published in the New York Times,” he said. “And I have some photos of Yoko Ono included in a big, fancy, leather-bound anthology of her work, ‘Approximately Infinite Universe.’ That was a big deal for me. She’s an artist I love and respect.”

Respect runs both ways for McGrath, now engaged in perhaps the most challenging gig of his life: He was diagnosed this spring with stage 4 cholangiocarcinoma, a rare and especially aggressive bile duct cancer. In rebellious rock-n-roll fashion, he and his wife, Amy McGrath — co-director of the Video Cinema Arts Program at Denver School of the Arts — opted to thumb their noses at the grave disease and stage a life-affirming photography show and concert. And the live music community of Denver rallied ‘round in respectful support.

A concert to celebrate life and music

“We’re really excited about the show,” said Amy. “Despite a stern reprimand from his oncologist, Michael’s been calling it his ‘death party’ since we planned it in March. That seemed like an imminent possibility at the time.

“He’s feeling better now,” she added, “and we recently got a second opinion that has offered us a lot more hope, so I’ve been thinking about it as a real celebration of hope, but that’s not nearly as funny as ‘death party.’ Michael’s been a little worried that people will pay $20 to come to his death party and then feel ripped off to find out he might not die.”

The benefit show billed as “Still Loud: A Celebration of Michael McGrath” is May 30 at the Oriental Theater with doors opening at 6 p.m. The lineup includes the opener, Rowboat, followed by Porlolo with Erin Roberts, whom the McGraths consider a “forever friend.” Pink Mountaintops will perform a set. The concert will culminate with Peter, Paul and Gary — a local cover band that includes Amy McGrath’s brother, Colin Bricker, owner of the recording studio and sound production firm Mighty Fine Productions and the producer of the benefit concert.

“This is our extended family of wickedly funny and talented friends, and they’re cooking up all kinds of crazy shenanigans to celebrate Michael. It’s going to be so fun,” said Amy McGrath. “We’re also going to have a lot of Mike’s work around for everyone to enjoy, and lots of prints to sell.”

Music set the tone for McGrath’s life and career

Music has been the heartbeat for McGrath, who grew up in New York, in the Bronx and on Long Island.

“I was always interested in music and cruised around on my Schwinn listening to ‘70s hits on my bike radio,” he said.

“But it was The Rolling Stones that really solidified my obsession with music. I was a big fan from a pretty young age, maybe 10. I bought ‘Exile on Main St.’ when I was 11. I remember looking at the album’s collage of all these great photos by the Swiss photographer Robert Frank,” McGrath said. “I think that’s when I started thinking about taking photos of musicians.”

The British band lured McGrath from New York to the American West.

“I came to Colorado as a teenager to see the Stones play at Folsom Field in 1981, and I knew right away that Colorado was the place I wanted to be,” he said.

McGrath eventually studied photography and journalism at University of Northern Colorado and also took photography classes at University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

“I started shooting in the late ‘80s, I just fell hard for photographing live music,” he said. “That was a cool time for music, and for me.”

From dark room to Adobe Lightroom

McGrath cut his photography teeth in an old-school darkroom:

“My favorite place,” he said. “I worked as a staff photographer and photo editor at the UNC Mirror newspaper so I had open access to the darkroom and free paper. I still don’t love computers. But I’ve figured out how to make Adobe Lightroom do the stuff I could do in the darkroom, so it worked out.”

As a photographer, McGrath has captured countless images of his family members and dogs. He has photographed weddings and shot senior portraits, along with album covers and band promo photos.

“But shooting live music is always where I’m the most comfortable and ‘in the zone,’” said McGrath. “I shot music almost exclusively in black-and-white when I was shooting film. With digital, it’s easy to switch back and forth, so now I try to let the content decide. Sometimes stage lights and color is really fun, but I still think in black-and-white when I’m shooting.”

McGrath said his photography secret lies in paying attention. Very close attention. Asked what catches his eye, he said: “A spark of something. Energy, emotion, vulnerability, swagger, something cool, something human. When I’m in the pit, I usually feel really energetic, but also really focused. So I’m looking for those moments of focused energy on stage. Some artists are just exploding with it. But I like to find something interesting and unique in more reserved performers, too. I’m looking for emotion, for interesting movement, for surprises and cool compositions, moments of stillness or intensity.”

Another Denver-based photographer who is a fixture at local concerts, Tina Hagerling said: “I’ve shared many a photo pit with Michael over the last 15 years. He’s a unique individual and the ultimate curator of all things music. His photos are amazing, his stories — often about musicians — are entertaining and he seems to always know the next great band. It makes me smile when I walk into a venue and spot him down front. I know it’ll be a fun night.”

Covering concerts has both grueling and gratifying elements. The job comes with pressures, as well as privileges.

The church of live music

“Live music is just a different kind of church, a different kind of communion,” McGrath said. “The ritual of shows, all of it — going through security, finding the right place to stand, seeing friends, getting three songs to shoot, seeing amazing artists make incredible music — that gives my life the most meaning and structure.”

McGrath considers himself both a journalist and an artist.

“Mostly I think of myself as an artist who just really loves music, musicians, and capturing something about the magic of live music performance,” he said. “I’m shooting working musicians, but I’m usually thinking about making portraits. People sometimes tell me they can hear my images: That’s cool. But I’m also a huge music fan, and I love musicians and rockstars, so I want my work to communicate that — my love for all these great artists.”

For the McGraths, music is a family affair

The McGraths’ Denver home features a music room.

“We have a lot of records — several thousand,” Michael said. “I used to drag my kids with me to the record store when they were little, and now, Molly, my oldest, works at Wax Trax, which has been great. It’s always been part of our family. We always check out record stores when we travel. Listening to records, looking at records, shopping for records — we did that with our kids instead of board games. I hate Monopoly, but I love records.”

McGrath also loves the Oriental, where his benefit event will happen. He also sang the praises of other Denver concert venues.

“I love The Oriental because it’s Denver’s last real independent venue, it has a great vibe, and my buddy Andy Bercaw and the staff there are awesome,” he said. “I also love shooting at The Mission because it’s beautiful, it sounds great and it’s a 15-minute walk from my house. Of course, Red Rocks is always special. I get excited every time I get to shoot there. Denver has so many great venues, we’re spoiled.”

Concert goers are spoiled, too, by their phones’ ability to capture concert photos and footage.

“It doesn’t really bother me because I’m usually just paying attention to the show,” McGrath said of the ubiquitous phones at concerts. “But everyone having a camera and unlimited access to images in their pocket has definitely changed what it means to be a photographer and the general economic viability of it. It’s very, very hard to make a living as a photographer now.”

For McGrath, the beat goes on

Prints of McGrath’s concert photography will be on sale at the event and also is available online. The McGraths are in full production mode, printing concert photos for the “death party,” which McGrath admits is no joke.

“In early 2025, when I was first diagnosed with stage 4 bile duct cancer and the news was looking grim, I had a hard time listening to music. I was sad and worried that I was going to die and miss music forever,” he said. “But as I’ve continued treatment and I’m living with more hope, that’s really changed. I’m listening to tons of music now. Irish music has always been important to me. And in the last few months, I’ve felt lucky to shoot some really amazing shows. Seeing and shooting shows is definitely giving me energy and inspiration to keep going, and it’s great to have something fun to do when the rest of life is pretty challenging.”

How to purchase a McGrath print

In addition to Michael McGrath’s health challenges, the McGraths face financial difficulties from high costs of intensive oncology treatments. Colin Bricker started a GoFundMe campaign to raise $20,000. And the family is selling concert photos to help cover costs of medical care.

Amy McGrath said: “We’re trying to get as much of Michael’s great work out to the world as we can. His catalogue of work is 40 years deep. He does have a website, mcgphotos.com, but there’s so much that’s not up there. People can check out audiovore on Facebook or Instagram.

Most of McGrath’s images found online can be printed.

“Michael prints all his own stuff and then mounts them in signed mats,” said Amy McGrath. “For his party, we’re doing 11x14s for $150, 16x20s for $200 and framed 16x20s for $250. If people are interested in prints, they can email Michael at [email protected] and let him know what bands they’re looking for. He’s photographed so many bands and musicians across lots of genres.”