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Concert Poster Design

Concert poster design is where my two main interests in life dovetail. I have been playing guitar and singing in bands since 1998. I have also booked bands for countless shows and festivals. When doing so, my responsibilities include designing flyers to promote concerts. I also often print and distribute them myself. It’s a very important part of being a successful independent musician.

I love to create full color, large format printed posters. It is very fulfilling to find the right visual image for an upcoming gig. Sometimes, I like to create black and white handbill variations. They can also be effective promotional tools.

Contact me for your own concert poster design

Are you in a music group that has a big local show or festival gig coming up? Perhaps you are a regional or national concert promoter looking for the perfect poster designer. Contact me for a striking design to promote your event.

Pop Art Poster for Rock ConcertCourtney From Work

Columbus, OH

Our upcoming gig with Wicked Peace and Courtney From Work was approaching. These bands are known for their energetic live shows and are loads of fun to hang out with. That’s why I chose to lay out a pop art poster design in order to promote it. The bright colors, halftone patterns, and exaggerated facial expressions common in vintage comic strip and pulp stories were perfect to match this bill’s vibe. 

Pop Art Poster Design story

While perusing royalty free stock art online, I chose a few images that I could lay out in order to tell a story. The focal character in the top panel is on her phone, starting a rumor. In the next panel, another lady whispers the gossip into her friend’s ear. Finally, in the last panel, the man is frustrated at reading the news on his computer. These Jezabels have ruined his reputation!

In reality, the story came second to the details about the show. I patterned the venue and date displayed at the top after a comic strip name and author byline. The top panel heralds the headline act in a mix of bright blue and black, popping out from the speech balloon. “21+ Adults Only!”, the banner at the bottom of the panel declares. Underneath the main illustrations, I added the other band names in a classic comic strip font. Then, I accented the band names with two more eye catching pop art poster characters splashed over the stark black background. Finally, the poster declares the door charge “Only Five Bucks!”. You just can’t beat that for a night of entertainment!

Contact Me For Your Event’s Pop Art Poster Design

Are you promoting an upcoming concert or event? Looking to promote it with a splash of tongue in cheek kitsch? Then you should contact me today!

Filed Under: Concert Poster Design

Pedestrians Kentucky Blues Concert PosterPedestryans

Lexington, KY

Here’s a retro concert poster that I designed for a 2022 show at Lynagh’s Irish Pub in Lexington. My friend Destry is a classy lady who sings and plays guitar in the blues based alternative rock band Pedestryans. Her selfie game is on point, and she often rocks a variety of vintage styles, so I thought featuring a classic 1950s style pin up girl would fit.

Retro Concert Poster Story

When I chose the vintage style pin up girl photo from my extensive stock image collection, I knew that I wanted to bathe it in an aqua blue tint. I overlaid the whole image with a wavy “static” pattern, so as to imitate vintage TV interference. Also, I envisioned wrapping the band names around the black vinyl record that she is holding. The bright pink and orange hues of the names help them stand out over the wax circle.  

For the date at the top, I manually jumbled the letters in order to give it a retro, playful feel. I also jumbled the letters at the bottom of the page that spell out the venue name. The bright yellow date is encased in a typical 50’s “futuristic” style black curved shape. I then added a subtle gradient that fades the aqua blue to purple at the bottom in order to highlight “At Lynagh’s”. Other event information floats to the left and right of the pin up girl in black. I added a wave warp effect to it in order to give it some movement and also to increase the kitsch factor.

Contact Me If You Need A Retro Concert Poster

Are you holding an event that would benefit from a retro concert poster design? I love incorporating vintage 1950s elements into promotional ads! Contact me today to get started.

Filed Under: Concert Poster Design
LGBTQ Fairness Benefit Poster Design

Fairness WV

Huntington, WV

West Virginia based band Jay Parade offered my band Sempervivi a spot on this benefit show they were holding for Fairness WV. The guys liked my poster design for another show we did together, so they asked if I would donate my time for this cause. I happily agreed to provide this LGBTQ fairness poster design.

LGBTQ Fairness Poster Design Story

Josh from Jay Parade gave me all of the information about the equality event, such as the bands performing and the starting time. I contacted the venue, as well as Fairness WV, to obtain their logos. Since the organization had confidence in my skills, they did not insist on any specific design elements for the layout. Although I knew I wanted to include a rainbow in some way, I didn’t want to stoop to cliches or pandering. When working on a project such as this, it is easy to make it too cute. I wanted to create an eye catching, bright poster that clearly announced what the event was, as well as its goal.

Using negative space for some of the typography was another goal. White “paint” splatters create that negative space in front of the rainbow color gradient background. I reversed out both the logos at the top, as well as the date and other information at the bottom. Then I added a rad rocker jumping with his guitar as the focal image. I reduced the image down to black and white, so it would stand out in front of the rainbow background. Once I added a motion blur filter, the guitarist was complete. Each of the band names features a perspective warp to give it some motion as it wraps around the guitarist.

When I put all of those elements together, I thought it was good, but not quite complete yet. In order to complete the LGBTQ Fairness Poster Design, I shrunk everything down and centered it. Then, I created an homage to the Appalachian mountains shared by West Virginia and my home state of Kentucky. I added some black and white mountain photos to make the new background. Now, the rainbow scheme really pops!

Contact Me For Your LGBTQ Fairness Poster Design

Will your fairness campaign hold a fundraiser soon? You need a professional graphic designer to help draw attention to your benefit event.  Contact me today.

Filed Under: Concert Poster Design


St. Patrick's Day Poster Design for Lexington, KY Irish BarLynagh’s Irish Pub

Lexington, KY

I experienced some of my favorite memories of performing original music live on stage at Lynagh’s. Lexington’s finest Irish Pub has always been good to me and my bandmates in Sempervivi. Since they are an Irish themed bar and grill, St Patricks Day is a hugely successful time of year for this bar. The Slams are a local favorite Celtic Punk style band. Therefore booking them to play with us at the pub on this occasion was a no brainer. Of course, I took on the task of drawing up the St Patricks Day poster design, so let’s dive in, shall we?

St Patricks Day Poster Design Story

I knew right away that the central image would need to feature a buxom Irish lass. Therefore, the perfect illustrated stock image portrays a luscious redhead in green leprechaun garb holding aloft a mug of foamy beer. After adding her to the composition, I wrapped the event name around the circular frame behind her. “March 19th” displays in a scrolling banner using an old English style font, while each of the band names is “stenciled” on the wooden fence our lucky lady sits on.

Additional event information also displays in a lime and dark green box at the bottom. In order to add a little flair to the dark green background, I inserted some fizzy bubbles, mimicking those founding in the beer mug. Finally, I added a solid orange shamrock shape in each corner to contrast the green and tie everything together. 

 Contact Me For Your St Patricks Day Poster Design

Are you planning a concert event or party at your venue for St Patricks Day? Don’t press your luck! Hire a professional graphic artist with over 20 years of experience to design your poster. Contact me today!

Filed Under: Concert Poster Design