John Wilhelm and Alysia Kraft, pictured in 2015 during a performance at the Cowboy Bar and Saloon in Laramie. (Susan Moldenhauer)

Photo exhibit ‘NOCTURNE’ reveals musicians in the moment

Laramie photographer prefers the musical intimacy of dark barrooms and other small venues.

by Dustin Bleizeffer April 10, 2026April 9, 2026

There’s something about the expression of a musician in the throes of their craft during a live performance in an intimate setting. It’s honesty and vulnerability, said Laramie photographer Susan Moldenhauer.

“I keep watching for those moments when they’re not aware of the audience so much, when they step away from the microphone and they have their own little guitar riff or something. There’s a moment in there when they’re one with the music.”

Moldenhauer pored through about 15 years of her live music photography, choosing 14 framed black-and-white images to feature in the new NOCTURNE exhibit, which opens Sunday at the SOK Gallery in Laramie.

John Poland pictured in 2018 during a performance at the Mid-Winter Meltdown in Medicine Bow. (Susan Moldenhauer)

The 15-year span documents both her growth as a photographer as well as the evolution of the southeast Wyoming music scene. From outdoor music festivals to bars and theatres, Moldenhauer has watched musicians progress in their craft, sometimes while shifting bands and in different jam settings. It’s a community that, with its audience, creates a scene continually in flux.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020, “It was just gone.” The loss spurred Moldenhauer to reflect on the importance of documenting a cultural cornerstone that helps unite a community.

“It’s been coming back,” Moldenhauer said. “It feels like it’s just really blossoming, and it’s really fun.”

J Shogren, of J Shogren Shanghai’d, pictured in 2018 at the Gryphon Theatre in Laramie. (Susan Moldenhauer)

Though outdoor music festivals offer their own charms and challenges for a photographer, she prefers small indoor venues where she can get close to the musicians — places like the Buckhorn Bar and Parlor, the Cowboy Bar Saloon and Dance Hall and the Ruffed Up Duck Saloon. Typically, nighttime gigs, the dark, comfy settings inspired Moldenhauer’s NOCTURNE theme.

“Sometimes these smaller venues are even more challenging,” she said. “Like the backroom at the Buckhorn, there’s just two lamps on either side of the stage.”

As Moldenhauer anticipates photogenic musical moments, she’s also maneuvering to reduce “clutter” in the frame — a sort of dance and groove to isolate the “grace and beauty” of a performer. Sometimes it pays to study a musician for two or three songs before shooting, to get a sense of their movements, “like which way they break from the microphone. Those personal moments, I have to anticipate when it’s coming.”

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Dustin Bleizeffer

Dustin Bleizeffer covers energy and climate at WyoFile. He has worked as a coal miner, an oilfield mechanic, and for more than 25 years as a statewide reporter and editor primarily covering the energy... More by Dustin Bleizeffer

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