{"id":421429,"date":"2026-01-21T20:03:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T20:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/421429\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T20:03:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T20:03:10","slug":"some-of-charles-danielss-never-before-seen-photos-are-coming-to-the-burren","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/421429\/","title":{"rendered":"Some of Charles Daniels’s never-before-seen photos are coming to the Burren"},"content":{"rendered":"

On multiple occasions, his work<\/a> has been published in the Globe<\/a>: snaps of Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart dozing mid-transit on a Faces tour, Steven Tyler in a see-through shirt with a \u201cfan\u201d on one arm and a bottle of wine in the other, Alvin Lee of Ten Years After hunched over an acoustic guitar backstage, cigarette clenched between his lips. <\/p>\n

The historic portraits and candids represent just one facet of Daniels\u2019s legacy in Boston, where he was a street photographer, on-air talent at WBCN, and emcee at the Boston Tea Party. They\u2019re also just a few crumbs from Daniels\u2019s 3,000-plus rolls of film, most of which were undeveloped when he died in 2024. <\/p>\n

Get Starting Point<\/p>\n

A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still find the odd roll of film stuck in a jacket pocket or a camera bag that I hadn\u2019t emptied out yet,\u201d says his life partner, Susan Berstler, who\u2019s been sending the mountains of undeveloped material to the Saskatchewan company Film Rescue International.<\/p>\n

But according to Berstler, the digitization process is \u201cwinding down\u201d at last, after a years-long journey that began during Daniels\u2019s final chapter, and has stretched to the present. Some of these never-before-seen snaps from Daniels\u2019s gold mine will be on display in Davis Square Tuesday night<\/a>, when the Burren hosts a celebration of Daniels\u2019s life and career, days after the second anniversary of his passing.<\/p>\n

The event will serve as a fund-raiser for further preserving Daniels\u2019s legacy, and also offers the Boston community a chance to celebrate the eras and music that Daniels documented with his eager spirit and judicious eye. Tuesday\u2019s festivities will feature a slideshow of 300 to 400 of Daniels\u2019s photos \u2014 some of which were previously displayed at the Nave Gallery in Somerville, and some that have never been shown publicly \u2014 and a performance from the Beasts of Burren, a Rolling Stones tribute act.<\/p>\n

\"AA portrait of Charles Daniels that his life partner, Susan Berstler, recently discovered.The Estate of Charles Daniels<\/p>\n

Appropriately, the event is a tailor-made tribute to Daniels\u2019s interests. The Burren was one of his and Berstler\u2019s favorite watering holes, and Daniels had a close connection to the Stones via Ronnie Wood, whom Daniels met when Wood was a member of the Jeff Beck Group. Wood notably invited Daniels to accompany the Stones on the 1975 tour; famed Rolling Stone staffer Annie Leibovitz was the tour\u2019s official photographer, while Daniels gained more intimate access to the group. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe had a number of funny stories about Annie sort of stepping in front of him on purpose to block a shot,\u201d Berstler says.<\/p>\n

Despite his proximity to the ultimate who\u2019s-who of rock history, Daniels never captured images for clout, and saw himself \u201cfirst of all, a black-and-white street photographer,\u201d Berstler says. Some memoir-worthy stories surfaced when the couple started the digitization process years ago; Berstler, for instance, was surprised when she discovered a snap of Keith Moon, whom Daniels had never mentioned knowing.<\/p>\n

The two men knew each other, all right. The photo prompted Daniels to recall the time he found the Who\u2019s wildcard drummer standing on a table, naked, in a Boston Tea Party green room. Then Moon launched himself onto Daniels and wrestled him to the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going, \u2018I don\u2019t know what\u2019s weirder, that you\u2019re telling me this story or that I\u2019ve known you for almost 40 years and I never heard that you even met Keith Moon,\u2019\u201d Berstler remembers thinking.<\/p>\n

Fans and acquaintances of Daniels seem to have a similar reaction to the breadth of his work. When the Nave Gallery hosted a selection of Daniels\u2019s photos in 2024, months after his death, Berstler says that visitors \u201cwere just as engaged, if not even more so, with the street images,\u201d compared to the rock photography.<\/p>\n

Now, with the full scope of Daniels\u2019s work to choose from and share with the public, Tuesday night\u2019s presentation feels like a continuation of his story, and the clearest depiction of his legacy to date.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that Charles got to see most of this happen before he passed is somewhat of a miracle and incredibly special,\u201d Berstler concludes. \u201cHe died feeling loved, recognized, and successful. I don\u2019t really think you can ask for anything more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

GIG GUIDE<\/p>\n

Friday<\/a> will be a serene night at the Boch Center Wang Theatre, as Gregory Alan Isakov<\/a> serenades guests with low-key folk from his most recent album, 2023\u2019s \u201cAppaloosa Bones.\u201d Last year, the South African-born singer embarked on a special \u201csymphony tour\u201d that incorporated orchestras local to Isakov\u2019s tour stops into his performances. Boston wasn\u2019t on the list, but Rhode Island fans can check out the experience when Isakov performs with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra on Thursday at the Providence Performing Arts Center<\/a>. <\/p>\n

During the week, Passim curates a similar atmosphere. After releasing a pair of singles last fall \u2014 \u201cNervous\u201d and \u201cWe Did Alright\u201d \u2014 Peabody-born folk and soul artist Ryan Montbleau<\/a> drops his backing band and goes solo for three consecutive acoustic shows at the club, Tuesday through Thursday<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Guests at City Winery this weekend will be seeing double, as NOLA\u2019s Rebirth Brass Band<\/a> stacks early<\/a> and late<\/a> shows on Friday, followed by a Saturday<\/a> doubleheader<\/a> from contemporary jazz saxophonist and flutist Najee<\/a> (not to be confused with Roxbury\u2019s own rapper and R&B standout, Najee Janey<\/a>). Also on Saturday<\/a>, Western Mass. group Misty Blues<\/a> \u2014 who were just announced as part of this year\u2019s Green River Festival lineup \u2014 heat up the winery\u2019s Haymarket Lounge.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s geography week, apparently. Sunday evening<\/a>, Michigan chamber-pop act Racing Mount Pleasant<\/a> perform at the Sinclair. Breezy pop singer Del Water Gap<\/a> \u2014 a Connecticut-born singer who nicked his name from the Delaware Water Gap \u2014 also brings some pep to Roadrunner on Tuesday<\/a> with material from his fall album \u201cChasing the Chimera.\u201d <\/p>\n

Venna<\/a>, a South London saxophonist and producer, stirs up his jazz-based blend of soul, bossa nova, and R&B at Brighton Music Hall on Thursday<\/a>. Haasan Barclay<\/a>, forever one of this columnist\u2019s \u201cwhy-aren\u2019t-they-famous-yet?\u201d picks from the Boston music scene, opens the evening with his equally sundry solo material. For a taste of his range, check out Barclay\u2019s sweet-talking single \u201cCall My Phone\u201d and the earth-shattering beats of Camp Blood, the industrial hip-hop project he cofounded.<\/p>\n

And, for something completely different in the Theatre District, break a New Year\u2019s resolution (or two) at Alleycvt<\/a>\u2019s Royale rager on Thursday<\/a>. The Virginia DJ and producer released her debut EP, \u201c9 LIVES,\u201d last fall, and performed at the most recent edition of Breakaway Mass, a Worcester EDM festival. <\/p>\n

NOW SPINNING<\/p>\n

Girl Tones, \u201cVolcano.\u201d<\/a> Attention, folks ready to buckle under the weight of current events: Have you tried the patented Girl Tones method for managing stress? \u201cCrash out at the bar\/ Threw my phone out the window\u201d goes the chorus of the sister duo\u2019s new single, a fuzz-rock pressure cooker called \u201cVolcano.\u201d Curt yet charming in its cynicism, \u201cVolcano\u201d is one part of 2026 we\u2019re happy to see bubble over. <\/p>\n

\"GirlGirl Tones’ new single “Volcano” is a fuzz-rock pressure cooker.Kate LaMendola<\/p>\n

Ali McGuirk, \u201cWhere Does All The $ Come From?\u201d (Foundation Movement Remix).<\/a> New year, new genre. Vermont blues singer-songwriter Ali McGuirk reinvents this socially-conscious track from 2025 with help from Boston emcee and activist Ernesto \u201cEroc\u201d Arroyo-Montano, whose lyrics infuse McGuirk\u2019s commentary on greed with an extra dose of reality. His choice final remark: \u201cIs the price of gold worth more than your soul?\u201d <\/p>\n

BONUS TRACK<\/p>\n

Juliana Hatfield<\/a> fans, where exactly do you find the room for all of those LPs? Roughly a month after releasing her 21st solo album, \u201cLightning Might Strike,\u201d<\/a> the Mass. alt-rock VIP has announced a 25th anniversary reissue of \u201cGod Bless the Blake Babies,\u201d<\/a> the 2001 album that reunited her with the band she cofounded at Berklee. Connecticut label American Laundromat Records will unveil the remastered Blake Babies album this spring; preorders are available now.<\/p>\n

Victoria Wasylak can be reached at victoria.wasylak@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her on Bluesky at VickiWasylak.bsky.social.<\/p>\n