Chloe Ware doesn’t compare herself to a fly on the wall when she takes photos of live music. “Maybe a little mouse on the floor,” she laughs. “I like to hide and curl up so everyone can enjoy the essence of it.”
Regardless of the animal, Ware has been a keen observer of Dead & Company’s residency at the Sphere, capturing her father, Bob Weir, with his band, along with many of the Deadheads who flocked to Las Vegas this summer to experience some psychedelic magic. “I love documenting these amazing Deadheads doing what they do,” Ware says via Zoom. “It’s really cool.”
Dressed all in black—usually in leggings and a T-shirt—with a camera belt and double-breasted belt, Ware spends the entire set capturing the experience on her Sony A7 III (she also shares a Sony A7R5 with her father). She then spends six to seven hours editing, sifting through some 4,000 images. On sets, she doesn’t miss a song. “I’m out all the time,” she says. “I like to enjoy every minute.”
Ware got her first camera—a Polaroid—when she was seven, and would often bring it on tour with her father. “I’m doing a more sophisticated version of that today,” she jokes. She shot the cover of Pop’s 2016 album Blue Mountain When she was 14, she took a photography class in high school. Now, media studies is one of her double majors in college (along with anthropology). “I fell in love with film and being in the darkroom. I love it more than anything else,” she says.
Ware became Dead & Company’s official photographer during the pandemic. “They needed a photographer for the livestream, but because of the bubble, they couldn’t get anyone in,” she says. “So I was like, ‘I’m going to do it!’” She began photographing Bob’s concerts, including his June 2021 show at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado. “My dad is really supportive and loves that I can do what I love, and he does what he loves,” she says. “At the end of the day, we work together.”
Ware credits veteran photographer Jay Blexberg with teaching her how to shoot digitally. “There are no words to describe how grateful I am to Jay, to have him in my life and to have been able to learn from the best,” she says. “Not only is he an amazing photography mentor, but he’s also a really fun person.” Photos by Ware and Blexberg—along with the work of drummer Mickey Hart—are currently on display at the Dead Forever Experience at the Venetian Resort.
In the gallery above, Ware takes us through some of her favorite images from Dead & Co.’s residency at the Sphere. “What’s amazing is that there are so many visuals dedicated to both historical moments and references to specific songs,” she says. “You’re in a room full of glowing scarlet begonias, or you’re in historic locations like the Fillmore, Madison Square Garden, Red Rocks, Cornell, and more. My images don’t even scratch the surface of what it’s like to be in this amazing place. This is just the beginning.”
