Any aficionado of rock or soul music
knows that Macon is ground-zero. Otis
Redding. James Brown. Jason Aldean.
Little Richard. Bill Berry and Mike Mills
(REM). The Allman Brothers. Wouldn’t
it be nice to have a photography gallery
devoted to musicians located in Macon? Gallery West displays exclusively the
photographs of Kirk West. Kirk is a professional photographer who began his career
as a contract photographer at the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times, and
continued working for them and other publications for most of the 1970s and 1980s.
In the 1970s, Kirk befriended members of the Allman Brothers, and in the 1980s, he
documented their Reunion Tour. The band asked Kirk to work as their tour manager,
which he did for over 20 years. Coincidentally, he photographed the band along the
way. These images comprise portions of what is on display at Gallery West.
Kirk also photographed the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, Bob
Marley, the Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Albert King, Johnny Winter,
and more. Kirk’s wife, Kirsten, owns Gallery West, and is always willing to share the
stories behind the photographs. Located in the renovated storefront at 447 Third
Street, the gallery is a must-see for any music lover visiting “the heart of Georgia.”