From Hendrix to Bowie: the trippiest music concert posters – in pictures

Günther Kieser is behind some of the most singular music poster designs of the 20th century. Inspired by sculpture, the free-form nature of jazz and psychedelic art, the German artist created works for David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix and Diana Ross and the Supremes, as well as mind-expanding designs for leading brands and art institutions. 

The exhibition Sculpting Sound: Günther Kieser’s Music Posters at New York’s Poster House gallery showcases his decades-spanning work and runs from 12 November to 11 April 2027. The show is accompanied by the first-ever English-language book on Kieser

Briana Ellis-Gibbs
Tue 10 Nov 2026 12.00 GMT

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American Folk Blues Festival ‘65, 1965The American Folk Blues Festival toured Europe annually from 1962 until 1972, and then again from 1980 to 1985, bringing some of the biggest US musicians across the pond. Some of the artists who performed were Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton. Günther Kieser created the posters, programs, stage sets, and occasionally the album cover art for each festival, often in collaboration with Hans Michel. Each poster featured an acoustic guitar with various symbols of American culturePhotograph: Courtesy of Poster House
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Workin’ Together / Ike & Tina Turner Show, 1971Kieser created this poster for Ike and Tina Turner ahead of their 1971 West Germany tour, a year after the release of the album Workin’ TogetherPhotograph: Courtesy of Poster House
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Deutsches Jazz Festival Frankfurt, 1999This Kieser poster symbolizes the deconstruction and reinvention of jazz during performances, with musicians playing off each otherPhotograph: Robert Feliciano/Courtesy of Poster House
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Berlin Jazz Festival, 1975Kieser used this poster to encapsulate Martin Luther King Jr’s essay written for the inaugural Berlin Jazz Festival in 1964. The artist aimed to illustrate King’s message that jazz and blues were a way for Black Americans to express their struggles against oppression and find hope. He wanted to show Black Americans dismantling stereotypes through the tears in the images around the men’s facesPhotograph: Courtesy of Poster House
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BMW Museum / Zeitsignale, 1979Kieser designed the poster for the opening of an exhibition titled Zeitsignale at the BMW museum. The exhibit highlights the major turning points of the company’s history. For the poster, Kieser made a model of the German actress Marlene Dietrich from a scene in the 1930 film The Blue Angel.He swapped the barrel she sits on in the movie for the hood of a BMW 328, a model produced between 1936 and 1940Photograph: Robert Feliciano/Courtesy of Poster House
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A Festival of American Folk & Country Music, 1966Kieser created this poster to showcase a festival organized by concert promoters Lippmann + Rau in March 1966, which brought folk and country singers together to perform. Artists came from America to play music that originated from the mountains of Appalachia and the Southern swamplands. Kieser’s poster depicts these performers in a black-and-white collage of vintage photographsPhotograph: Robert Feliciano/Courtesy of Poster House
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James Brown Show, 1967This poster was made for James Brown’s first-ever show in Europe, held in Germany. It was estimated that 90% of the tickets for his concerts in West Germany were sold to Black American soldiersPhotograph: Robert Feliciano/Courtesy of Poster House
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David Bowie, 1983David Bowie began his Serious Moonlight tour in 1983, which consisted of 96 performances and drew 2.6 million fans. It became the largest tour by any musician that yearPhotograph: Courtesy of Poster House
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Diana Ross and the Supremes, 1968In September 1968, Diana Ross and the Supremes released their hit single Love Child, which became the group’s 11th No 1 single on the US pop charts. They had become global phenomena, releasing numerous number-one singles, appearing on television, and selling out concert venuesPhotograph: Robert Feliciano/Courtesy of Poster House
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Ball ‘67, 1967Kiesermade the poster for a Lippmann + Rau concert honoring Carnival, a primarily Catholic celebration held annually in Germany on the Sunday before Lent. Notable American big jazz bands, including the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans and the Grammy Award-winning group Woody Herman And His Orchestra from New York City, performedPhotograph: Robert Feliciano/Courtesy of Poster House
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Wege aus Zwang und Angst, 1983This poster is part of a series Kieser designed for Hessischer Rundfunk, one of the nine regional public broadcasting corporations in Germany. Kieser’s design was for a psychotherapy documentary focused on ‘ways out of compulsion and fear’Photograph: Robert Feliciano/Courtesy of Poster House
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Wings, 1972After the Beatles broke up in 1970, Paul McCartney formed a new band with his wife, Wings. From 9 July to 24 August 1972, they went on their Wings Over Europe tour, driving across Europe in an open-topped double-decker bus. The poster, which was used for the German leg of the tour, also became the cover art for their live album Wings over SwitzerlandPhotograph: Robert Feliciano/Courtesy of Poster House
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Jimi Hendrix, 1969Arguably, Kieser’s most famous poster was designed for Jimi Hendrix’s West German tour. The poster features an image of Hendrix taken by Donald Silverstein. Since 1969, the poster has been reproduced at least three timesPhotograph: Robert Feliciano/Courtesy of Poster House
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Fleetwood Mac, 1970Kieser would often play the music of the bands he designed posters for to inspire his work. He created this poster by sewing and stuffing a plush doll. The name of the band is embroidered on its chest and crowned with a black hat that became a signature of the group’s drummer, Mick Fleetwood. Fleetwood named the doll, Mr Wonderful (the name of the band’s second album), and kept it in his personal collection. By May 1970, founding member Peter Green left the group and the band moved away from its roots in British bluesPhotograph: Robert Feliciano/Courtesy of Poster House
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