The Charlatans, April 11, 1968, Vancouver
Artwork by Steve Seymour

The Retinal Circus poster series was born in the sparkling bayside city of Vancouver in the mid-1960s, when the culture was fast becoming shaped by the same psychedelic movement that was brewing in Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. In early 1967, Retinal Circus, a club previously called Dante’s Inferno, began booking blues, rock, psychedelic, and rockabilly acts to perform inside its basement walls. Steve Seymour was one of three artists contributing to the Retinal Circus posters, and he employed a distinctly colorful style, as demonstrated in this striking pink and green Charlatans poster. After hosting some of the biggest names in music, including the Velvet Underground and Muddy Waters, the venue, which had become a local favorite, was closed at the end of 1968.

See more artwork by Steve Seymour