Rüfüs Du Sol’s Inhale/Exhale world tour turned camerawoman Leah Barylsky into an unexpected onstage attraction, with fans filming her as she captured the group’s performances for the giant LED screens flanking the stage.
The tour sold 1.7 million tickets and grossed $158 million, making it the highest-grossing and bestselling electronic tour of all time, according to Billboard Boxscore. Across 98 headlining shows and additional festival dates over two years, Barylsky helped shape what those audiences saw while moving among Tyrone Lindqvist, James Hunt and Jon George.
As the group’s motion director and a full-time member of its team, Barylsky appeared onstage for 10 to 13 songs each night—about half of the show. Her camera supplied a live feed to the production’s IMAG screens, often while she filmed only inches from the musicians and their instruments.
“Dancing with the band is how I approach it mentally,” Barylsky said. “I consider what I do more dancing than anything.”
The physical demands were substantial. Barylsky moved quickly around the stage while making continuous creative decisions about angles, height and timing. She said even her Oura Ring failed to register all of her movement, leaving her without a complete step count.
Creative director Katzki described her work as both intensely athletic and a live response to the music. “The camera is her instrument,” he said, noting that she could move between musical moments while still leaving room for chance and discoveries during the performance.
From Recap Videos to the Main Screens
Barylsky grew up in Hawaii, where she filmed weddings and local concerts. She moved to Los Angeles with her sister in 2017 and later met Lindqvist, Hunt and George through a mutual friend while the group was writing its 2018 album, Solace.
After the band and Katzki—whose real name is Alex George and who is Jon George’s brother—saw a video Barylsky had directed for another group, they asked her to make the video for the 2018 song “No Place.” An invitation to tour followed, and she subsequently joined the band’s runs supporting Solace and 2021’s Surrender.
Before Inhale/Exhale, Barylsky would film onstage and later edit the material into social-media recap videos. She continues to create those edits, but the addition of IMAG screens changed her role by connecting her camera directly to the live display.
Her first experience with the format came during Rüfüs Du Sol’s 2023 headlining set at Osheaga, when she filmed one song, “Surrender.” By the group’s Portola 2024 appearance, where it introduced new music from Inhale Exhale and unveiled a new setup, her live contribution had expanded to three songs.
After Inhale/Exhale was released on Oct. 11, 2024, the group held two weeks of rehearsals in an arena space in Beaumont, Texas. Barylsky and Katzki studied the setlist and developed a visual approach for every song she would shoot.
That planning still allowed the performances to remain unmistakably live. Barylsky said she tripped only twice during the tour: once at a show in Poland in the summer of 2025 and again earlier this month at Austin City Limits while stepping onstage during “Breathe.”
At ACL, she fell to her knees in front of Lindqvist, but the IMAG director left her feed on the screens. Barylsky immediately stood and continued filming in front of a crowd she said numbered 70,000.
“It’s honestly one of my favorite moments,” she said, explaining that the fall reinforced the fact that the visuals were unfolding live.
Her favorite—and most difficult—sequence involved the transition from “The Life” into “Until the Sun Needs To Rise.” Barylsky passed her camera to Katzki, who carried it into the pit before returning it to her during “Levitating,” creating the sensation that the camera itself was floating. She recalled being exhausted but propelled by adrenaline as the two coordinated the handoff.
Near the end of each show, “Innerbloom” gave Barylsky a rare opportunity to take in the audience. When Lindqvist sang “I’m yours” and the crowd answered, she stood with the band amid the roar. She called it an emotional reminder: “Wow, this is your life.”
ShowBiz Take
Barylsky’s rise from behind-the-scenes filmmaker to visible participant shows how decisively the Inhale/Exhale production integrated live camera work into the performance itself. The screens did not simply magnify the musicians; they presented her immediate, physical interpretation of what was happening onstage.
That transformation also explains why audiences began pointing their own cameras at her. After appearing before upwards of two million people when festival crowds are included, Barylsky now gets recognized in hotel lobbies. She said the attention has required an adjustment because she never intended to become part of the show in this way.
What Happens Next?
The tour concluded earlier this month with Rüfüs Du Sol’s Austin City Limits headlining set. For now, Barylsky has returned to backend duties, including editing. She is also expected eventually to film Lindqvist, Hunt and George when they return to the studio.
Despite the scale of the tour, Barylsky said some of her most treasured moments happened privately. Before each show, she, the three band members and Katzki would spend 15 quiet minutes together, sometimes laughing, hugging or chanting before walking into the crowd noise as a group.