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For decades, Portland’s lampposts and community boards have told a vibrant history. Oftentimes stacked one on top of another, feet-thick, stapled up on poles lining hip-strips like Mississippi and Hawthorne avenues, concert posters clue in passersby that certain artists will be playing at a certain time and date at a certain place; while also telling a story of a city’s culture and history, its music and art scenes, and the people involved in those scenes.
Historian and lifelong poster collector Jason Blumklotz grew up in Portland, coming of age going to shows in the ’80s—a time when the best way to disseminate concert and event information was by word of mouth, passing out fliers and handbills, and by making and putting up posters around town on lampposts, in record stores, coffee shops, venues, and bars.
Since the mid-’80s, Blumklotz has collected concert posters that have caught his eye by taking them down from poles, grabbing them after shows, and building community with artists and collectors who have a similar appreciation of the art form. With over 10,000 pieces in his archive, Blumklotz is an authority on the historical threads weaving through Portland’s concert poster history—threads including city and cultural history, art trends and styles, music history, paper-making technology, and more.
He’s sharing his decades-long passion with the community, The History of Portland Concert Posters will feature over 40 pieces from his archives. Opening at Mint Gallery Records on November 14, the posters on display will range from the 1960s to 2024, many of them for sale.
“The quality of poster making has always been way off the charts good in Portland,” Blumklotz tells the Mercury. The excitement grew in his voice as he described the ongoing local movement of poster making and poster art, disciplines ever evolving in multiple directions and styles. “The interplay between music art and visual art is often seen as seamless,” he explains. “But they actually move one another along.”
Sharing his knowledge of how poster art and its history have developed—and continue developing—in tandem, Blumklotz waxes poetic about Portland music cultures that may have been lost if not for concert posters. “It’s groups of people getting together with intention, making art,” he explains. “The ’60s folk hangout was the 13th Avenue Gallery, and Reed College played a huge part in Portland printmaking.”
Portland has hosted two major poster art exhibitions in 2025: Portland Art Museum’s Psychedelic Rock Posters and Fashion of the 1960s and Pacific Northwest College of Art’s Eyes & Ears: A Survey of Visuals in Music 2020-2024. The former to which Blumklotz loaned many of the exhibited Portland pieces.
Unlike the aforementioned concert poster exhibitions, The History of Portland Concert Posters will exclusively feature Portland concert posters, including a Heatmiser poster from La Luna, and a King Bee and Wipers poster from New Arts Center. Many of the posters on display will be for sale, making the opening reception on November 14 a priority for those who want to add to their own collections.
The exhibition will also feature posters from concerts at Satyricon, the Masonic Temple (now owned and operated by Portland Art Museum), The Paramount (present-day Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall), X-Ray Cafe, and more.
Related: Read our oral history of Satyricon, 15 years after shutting.
The History of Portland Concert Posters is the first series of Blumklotz’s Portland concert posters to be exhibited at Mint Gallery Records, serving as a survey into the history and art form of concert posters. Forthcoming exhibitions have yet to be announced, though future frameworks might include different decades, genre-specific showings, and exhibitions featuring femme, queer, and BIPOC artists and musicians.
When asked what his favorite poster in the current exhibition is, Mint Gallery Records co-owner Michael Fitzgerald says, “Wow, so many favorites, it’s hard to pick out just one. One that stands out is Chanda Helzer’s design [for] a Hazel, Heatmiser, and Crackerbash show at La Luna from the ’80s. Entry to the show was ‘$4 with a can of food.’”
The History of Portland Concert Posters will be up at Mint Gallery Records on N. Mississippi from November 14 to December 12th. The opening reception will be from 5 pm to 8 pm on November 14.
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Nolan Parker
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