A concert T-shirt is a T-shirt that is associated with a concert or a concert tour, often for a pop, rock or metal band. Bands and musical groups often promote themselves by creating and selling or giving away T-shirts at their shows, tours, and events. A concert T-shirt typically contains silk screened graphics of the name, logo, or image of a musical performer or group. One popular choice of graphics on the rear of the T-shirts is a listing of information about the band's current tour, including tour cities (sometimes specifying venues) and corresponding dates.[1] In the 1960s, printed T-shirts gained popularity for self-expression as well for advertisements, protests, and souvenirs.[2] In 1968, rock producer Bill Graham co-founded Winterland Productions, credited as "the first concert T-shirt manufacturing company".[3]
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One of the most popular colors for concert T-shirts is a flat black.[4][5] Fans often purchase or obtain these shirts to wear to future concerts.
Wearing a concert T-shirt is a cultural signifier, with commentators identifying various reasons behind the choice to wear a particular one. For example, attending a band's concert while wearing a T-shirt from one of the band's tours long ago can give the wearer a certain prestige amongst other fans, it being indicative of the longevity of their support for the group.[6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Wichita Breaking News, Sports & Crime | The Wichita Eagle". www.kansas.com. Archived from the original on 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
- ^ "History of the T-shirt. | Tee Fetch". Tee Fetch. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
- ^ Alec Foege, Right of the Dial: The Rise of Clear Channel and the Fall of Commercial Radio (2009), p. 172.
- ^ "Touring bands soaked up the cost of their lights and lasers with extensive merchandising, like tour programs, scarves, and the ever-present official black concert T-shirts with tour dates printed on the back," Ian Christe, Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal (Harper Collins, 2003), p71.The black concert T-shirt is a fashion trend of rock concert attendees originating in the 1970s[citation needed] and continuing today.
- ^ Deena Weinstein, Heavy Metal: The Music and Its Culture, (Da Capo Press, 2000) p. 139.
- ^ Fonarow, Wendy (2010-10-04). "Ask the indie professor: What does your gig T-shirt say about you?". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-05-18.