We're Feeling The Blues, and we welcome you to feel it, too.

Welcome to Feeling The Blues, based in Youngstown, Ohio. Our objective is to capture the most memorable moments of the show to share with artists, fans, and everyone in between so we can all spread the news about the blues. While you're here, feel free to take a look at the photo gallery, the blog, and the merch. Thank you.

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Mike Zito _ Pittsburgh Blues & Roots Fest 30July2022 (10).jpg

Norm Nardini _ Pittsburgh Blues & Roots Fest 30July2022 (5).jpg

Duwayne Burnside _ Kent Stage 15July2022 (22).jpg

Tinsley Ellis _ Pittsburgh Blues & Roots Fest 31July2022 (1 (20).jpg

pierce dipner _ biker brewhouse 8june2023 (17).jpg

pierce dipner _ biker brewhouse 8june2023 (14).jpg

SPREADING THE NEWS ABOUT THE BLUES!

Enjoy the SONG OF THE DAY as you peruse...

coco montoya _ kent stage 20oct2023 (2).jpg

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coco montoya _ kent stage 20oct2023 (17).jpg

coco montoya _ kent stage 20oct2023 (15).jpg

coco montoya _ kent stage 20oct2023 (14).jpg

tab benoit _ kent stage 13dec2023 (22).jpg

dirty dozen brass band _ kent stage 13dec2023 (12).jpg

willie phoenix _ eldorados 16dec2023 (23).jpg

damian knapp _ harpersfield winery 31dec2023 (5).jpg

damian knapp _ harpersfield winery 31dec2023 (3).jpg

memphis honey _ octave 19jan2024 (12).jpg

joe bonamassa _ covelli ctr 21feb2024 (5).jpg

Contact

When I photograph a show, you can count on me to be in stealth mode; I will be as invisible and non-intrusive as I can, abiding by all rules and preferences and maintaining a professional appearance and demeanor while capturing spectacular pics of the show's most special moments.

Photographer

Melissa Durse

John Bernat

Videographer

We are Feeling the Blues

About the Photographer

Up to, Including, and Beyond the Pit

I set foot on this path by chance in 2003, with a cast-off digital camera and a Joe Bonamassa show just a few miles from home. A few months after sharing those first few digital files, local promoter Eric Ryan asked if I would photograph Three Doors Down for him and then for several years I photographed all the national acts that came to town.

Since then, I've had the good fortune to photograph many artists as they perform live at music festivals and concerts, enjoying each one and sharing my photos far and wide. Serendipitously, I also appear in A Year in the Pit: A Journey into Music Photography, an award-winning documentary released in September 2021. Although music is where my heart can most frequently be found, I enjoy using my camera to capture moments of places and people off of the stage, as well, in places near and far.

Please do not hesitate to contact me for your show, blues or otherwise (although blues is my favorite); I would be happy to do it. If you see me there, please feel free to say hi; I'll be the short one with the tall lens, in the pit and in the crowd, capturing the best moments of the show and, in general, feeling the blues.