This month, we brought Jay Blakesberg to the Rialto, where he shared his experience falling in love with photography while growing up in Clark and how that passion evolved into capturing the most impactful musical artists of our time. 

Jay Blakesberg is a photographer, filmmaker, and public speaker. He has worked with many legendary artists, including the Grateful Dead, Neil Young, Carlos Santana, Tom Waits, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Flaming Lips, among others. His work has been published in thousands of magazines worldwide, countless books, hundreds of CD packages, and many documentary films. He has published 17 coffee-table books of his work, 14 of which are under his self-publishing imprint, Rock Out Books. Jay’s third solo museum exhibition, RetroBlakesberg: The Music Never Stopped, opened November 15, 2024, at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

Explore his website at www.blakesberg.com

Watch the full conversation below to hear how Blakesberg's passion for photography, sparked growing up in Clark, NJ, evolved into a career capturing some of rock and roll's most iconic moments.