Concert_T-shirt

Concert T-shirt

Concert T-shirt

T-shirt associated with a concert or concert tour

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]

Several people wearing black concert T-shirts at a concert
Tour locations listed across the back of a T-shirt for The Police's 2007/08 world tour

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]

Screen printing

Main article: Screen printing

Screen printing or silk screening is the method of printing designs on T-shirts. The process begins by stretching a fine mesh around a rigid frame. Afterwards, a template is attached to the screen. The template covers the portions not to be printed. The completed screen is placed over a T-shirt, and ink is then pressed through the screen, leaving a print. Multiple templates can be used on the same shirt to create a multicolored screen print. Screen printing is one of the most commonly used techniques for putting a design on a T-shirt.

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Wichita Breaking News, Sports & Crime | The Wichita Eagle". www.kansas.com. Archived from the original on 2006-12-01. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  2. [2]
    "History of the T-shirt. | Tee Fetch". Tee Fetch. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
  3. [3]
    Alec Foege, Right of the Dial: The Rise of Clear Channel and the Fall of Commercial Radio (2009), p. 172.
  4. [4]
    "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.
  5. [5]
    Deena Weinstein, Heavy Metal: The Music and Its Culture, (Da Capo Press, 2000) p. 139.
  6. [6]
    Fonarow, Wendy (2010-10-04). "Ask the indie professor: What does your gig T-shirt say about you?". the Guardian. Retrieved 2018-05-18.
Share this article:

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Concert_T-shirt, and is written by contributors. Text is available under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.