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LIVE MUSIC — EVENT COVERAGE — 29 MARCH 2026
Rock 4 Dementia — The Prince Albert, Brighton
Iconic artists. A packed pub. Ambient light only. A night that raised money and made memories — shot on OM System M4/3 in the dark.
Rock 4 Dementia is one of those events that reminds you why live music matters. Not a headline show at a 5,000-capacity venue. Not a polished production with a corporate rider. A pub. A stage. A room full of people who came because the music and the cause meant something to them.
The Prince Albert on Trafalgar Street, Brighton — a venue that punches well above its size — hosted the 29th March 2026 event. The bill featured iconic artists across a night of live performances, raising funds for dementia research and awareness. The room was packed. The energy was genuine. The lighting was whatever the venue had that night — which, for the photography, meant ambient only, no flash, no second chances.
[[TEAM: Add 1-2 sentences on the event history/background and how much was raised if known]]
I’ve been shooting events like this for fourteen years. The brief never changes: get in, read the room before anything happens, and be in the right place when it does. The Prince Albert on a sold-out night is exactly the kind of environment that separates the shot you planned from the shot you got.
THE NIGHT
Event: Rock 4 Dementia
Venue: The Prince Albert, Trafalgar St, Brighton
Date: 29 March 2026
Lighting: Ambient only. No flash.
Cause: Dementia research & awareness
The Cause
[[TEAM: Add context about Rock 4 Dementia as an organisation/event series — who runs it, what the funds support, how long it’s been running, next event details if available.]]
Dementia affects 900,000 people in the UK. Events like this — raw, unpretentious, built around music that means something — are a reminder that the best fundraising doesn’t ask you to give, it gives you something first.
If you’d like to support the cause or find out about future events: [[TEAM: Add Rock 4 Dementia website/social links here]]
THE CAUSE
900,000 people in the UK are living with dementia.
[[TEAM: Add fundraising total raised on the night if available]]
The Artists
[[TEAM: List the artists who performed. One paragraph per act or a combined overview — draw from the image captions on the gallery page. Key angle: these are iconic artists, the calibre that makes this event special beyond just the cause.]]
[[TEAM: Note any stand-out moments — a particular song, an interaction with the crowd, anything that made a set memorable.]]
What struck me from behind the lens was the way the room responded. There’s a different energy at a benefit event — people aren’t just there for the music, they’re there for a reason. That comes through in the faces, in the way people hold each other, in the moments between the songs. Those are the shots.
“There’s a different energy at a benefit event. People aren’t just there for the music. That comes through in the faces, in the moments between the songs. Those are the shots.”
Xavier Clarke
GALLERY
Rock 4 Dementia — Full Gallery
All images shot on OM System M4/3 · Prince Albert, Brighton · 29 March 2026 · Ambient light only
Behind the Lens
I had three bodies with me. The EM5 Mark III and the OM 5 — both OM System M4/3. And the Nikon D750 full frame, which came along as a backup and got used early in the night.
The Prince Albert has the kind of lighting that tests a system. Coloured gels, directional spots, deep shadows across the stage. ISO 3200 minimum, often pushing to 6400. No flash — the room is too small, the vibe too intimate. Flash kills that energy instantly.
The OM 5’s 7.5-stop IBIS earned its keep. At 1/60s on a 40mm equivalent — settings I’d never trust handheld on anything else — the stabilisation held. The subject-recognition AF tracked through the lighting changes without hunting. The D750 files were clean. The M4/3 shots were the ones that worked.
The best images from any event like this aren’t the technically perfect ones. They’re the ones where you were in the right place at the right moment, and the camera got out of the way. That’s what happened here.
KIT USED
OM System OM 5 (primary)
OM System EM5 Mark III
Nikon D750 (backup)
Ambient light only — no flash
ISO 3200–6400 · f/1.8–2.8 · 1/60–1/500s
Affiliate links (Amazon Associates · xcphotogruk04-21). Commission earned on qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
OM System OM-5
The body used on the night. 7.5-stop IBIS, weather-sealed, built for exactly these conditions.
Amazon →OM System OM-1 Mark II
The pro flagship. Stacked sensor, subject-recognition AF. The ceiling of what M4/3 can do.
Amazon →WHAT TO READ NEXT
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