concert

It's no secret that everybody loves music. For every generation, a person or a group of musicians reinvent musical styles that stand the test of time. However, nothing compares to the feeling of seeing your favourite musical artists live in concert.

A concert is often regarded as the peak musical experience because it creates a sense of community and belonging among fans who share a common love for the same music. Of course, it's also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see musical legends in person. For this reason, people make it a point to get concert memorabilia, such as posters. However, many people don't know that the concept of a concert poster goes deeper than colourful paper, which we'll discuss in this article.

The Early Years of Rock n' Roll

Rock n' roll was popularised by radio DJ Alan Freed, who used the term to describe the type of music he played on his show. The term quickly caught on, and soon, it was used to describe a new genre of music that combined elements of blues, country, and rhythm and blues.

There were no concert posters during the early years of rock n' roll because it was still a new genre of music, and concerts were not yet common. The first rock n' roll concert wasn't held until the Moondog Coronation Ball in 1952, with a poster that didn't feature anything more than the artists' names. The top billing groups were Paul Williams and the Hucklebuckers and Tiny Grimes and the Rocking Highlanders.

Later, more prominent names such as Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Jerry Lee Lewis took the radiowaves and made names for themselves around the mid to late 50s. At this point, their concert posters became vibrant and colourful, which helped attract audiences.

Folk Music Concert Posters

Folk music originates from the songs sung by everyday people instead of professional musicians. In the 1940s and 1950s, artists like Woody Guthrie popularised folk music, further popularising it in the 1960s by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. The civil rights movement used folk music as a form of protest, and groups like the Freedom Singers performed at sit-ins and other events. This folk music was often performed in small clubs and coffee shops across the United States. These shows' posters were usually simple, featuring words, photos, and basic graphics.

Folk festivals were popular in the late 1950s, and early 1960s and many iconic posters came out during this time. The Berkeley Folk Festival, which began in 1958, featured artists such as Pete Seeger, Doc Watson, and Joan Baez and was also the first place that Bob Dylan went electric. The Newport Folk Festival began in 1959 in Rhode Island. An annual folk festival held at San Francisco State College also featured Jerry Garcia and Janis Joplin before they were famous.

The British Invasion

The British Invasion was a period in musical history with British acts taking over America. At the forefront of this movement were four bands: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and The Kinks. These groups regularly toured and had concert posters that featured their logos, photos of the band, and simple graphics. The Beatles were especially well known for their iconic album covers, often used as posters.

Psychedelic Concert Posters

The Charlatan's first concert poster, The Seed, was created in 1965 to advertise their shows at the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada. George Hunter and Michael Ferguson, the band members who made The Seed, were inspired by the success of their shows at The Red Dog to bring psychedelic music to San Francisco. The Family Dog, a group of people interested in psychedelic music, took notice of The Charlatans' success in Virginia City and began to emulate their style in San Francisco.

Bill Graham was a concert promoter who began working with a theatrical group in San Francisco in 1965. In early January 1966, he promoted a show featuring The Warlocks, which had recently changed its name to The Grateful Dead. This show propelled The Grateful Dead to stardom.

Concert Posters Today

Nowadays, concert posters are typically very simple, thanks to the advancements in digital technology. Most designs are just an artist's name or logo with a few colours and use typography to convey the most important information. This makes it easy for promoters to quickly and cheaply produce posters for their events without sacrificing quality.

Conclusion

Concert posters are a valuable part of music history. They allow fans to commemorate their favourite concerts and provide a snapshot of the music scene at a particular time. While the design and style of posters have changed over the years, their purpose has remained the same: to promote concerts and attract fans.

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