New Orleans Jazz Fest
New Orleans · 2026The story keeps going after the set.
By Tara Lenehan · Published October 1, 2026
Read the story →Girls in the Pit — Amplifying women in music. Backstage, festivals, photography, and creative work.
Independent live music stories · Sacramento & beyond
There’s more to music
than the main stage.
Concert photography, festival stories, and conversations with the people who make creative spaces happen.
Women-led. Open to everyone who cares about the scene.
Photography: Tara Lenehan
Latest Episodes
From the Podcast
EP 01
Girls in the Pit | Welcome to the Pit: The Story Behind the Podcast
Tara sets the stage — what Girls in the Pit is about, the moment in the photo pit that started it all, and who's building pathways for women in live music culture right now.
Listen on Spotify ↗
EP 02
Girls in the Pit | Adam Carstens: The Art Behind the Band Tee
Tara sits down with artist and illustrator Adam Carstens — the hands behind merch and posters for Andy Frasco, The Main Squeeze, Railroad Earth and more — on the uncredited art you wear to shows, the real economics of creative work, and the women changing what bluegrass looks like.
Listen on Spotify ↗
EP 03 · New
Girls in the Pit | The Artist's Dilemma: Making Art Without Starving for It
Tara talks with photographer and videographer Jennifer Hylwa of Hylwa Media — hailstorms, lightning evacuations, and a three-camera rig in a carry-on — on shooting festivals with Live Music Besties, pricing your work, when (and whether) to work for free, and knowing your number. Plus her two books, The Artist's Dilemma and The Creative Entrepreneur.
Listen on Spotify ↗The work behind the words
A camera in the pit.
A point of view.
Girls in the Pit is founded and hosted by photographer and writer Tara Lenehan. The publication follows the people onstage, backstage, behind the lens, and in the crowd.
Coverage history & media information →Girls in the Pit coverage
Turnstile at the inaugural Project 70: Under the Bridge show, Denver · September 30, 2025.
Tara’s individual photography credit
Tara’s photography appeared in PEOPLE’s exclusive BottleRock Napa Valley 2023 gallery.
Prior individual publication credit; not a Girls in the Pit assignment.
From the Pit
Concert photography by Tara Lenehan. Individual photography work; not every image represents a Girls in the Pit assignment.
Who we are
Girls in the Pit is a place for the people who make creative spaces happen.
“Stories from the people keeping creative culture alive.”
Hosted by photographer and creative Tara Lenehan, GITP tells the stories behind live music, art, and creative work, from the people onstage, backstage, behind the camera, in the crowd, and everywhere in between.
We’re not a women-only platform. We do make a point of telling more stories from women and voices that have historically gotten less space, while bringing together artists, photographers, musicians, crew, makers, fans, and anyone invested in keeping creative communities alive.
Come for the stories. Stay to connect, collaborate, and figure out how we keep making cool shit together.
Learn more →Podcast
Real conversations with women shaping the music scene.
Listen →Photos
Concert photography centered on women in music.
View gallery →Stories
Interviews, behind the scenes, and stories from the pit.
Read more →Collaborate
For artists, brands, festivals, and creatives who want to work together.
Let's connect →Meet Us
The Crew
Tara
Host + CreatorPhotographer, storyteller, and the voice behind Girls in the Pit. Tara started GITP after a moment in a photo pit, looking across and seeing other women holding cameras. That spark became a mission. Based in Sacramento, with roots in the Denver live music scene and her own photography practice, TaraLens Media, she brings the stories, photos, and community energy that shape Girls in the Pit.
Ryan
ProducerProducer, filmmaker, and one of Tara’s oldest friends. They met in ski club at UC Davis, and once you can tame 80 drunk college students at a mountain resort, you can pretty much do anything. Same city, same creative wavelength. The collaboration was inevitable.
For artist teams, venues, promoters & festivals
Let’s make something
worth being there for.
Concert photography, social video, behind-the-scenes storytelling, interviews, and clearly labeled publication partnerships.
Client production through TaraLens Media. Publication partnerships through Girls in the Pit.
Work with us
The Pit
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