Out of Tune

“Every part of me is fed by my life as a musician”

For the past four years, Washington-area photographer Oliver Contreras has been performing as a percussionist with local bands at small gatherings, bars, festivals and fundraisers. Over the years, he has met a variety of full-time musicians from different backgrounds, coming to a better understanding of how they make a living doing what they’re passionate about.

With the pandemic halting live performances, tours and recording sessions, the vulnerabilities that full-time musicians face have never been clearer. Most are independent contractors with few labor protections and little savings to fall back on. Without being able to do the thing they love most — simply playing in front of an audience and sharing their art with the public — their professional lives are at risk, and their futures in limbo. In the meantime, they try to make do by practicing at home or performing online for virtual audiences.

Contreras photographed several of these musicians, and through his portraits, he conveys the uncertainty of this moment, and asks us to reconsider the importance of music in our daily lives and what its presence — or absence — means. He asked each the same question: “How has the pandemic affected your life as a musician?”