On This Day in Art Rock History

A DAILY CHRONICLE

SAN FRANCISCO · THE PSYCHEDELIC ERA · 1960s

Welcome to On This Day A living archive of the posters, people, and stories of the psychedelic era — start here. Read the welcome →
June 17
BG-11

BG-11 · Wes Wilson
Catalog Number
BG-11
Series
Bill Graham
Venue
Fillmore Auditorium
San Francisco
Date
June 17, 1966
Artists
Wes Wilson
Nickname
The Wailers & Quicksilver at the Fillmore

The Wailers & Quicksilver at the Fillmore

By the summer of 1966, Bill Graham had turned the Fillmore Auditorium into a machine that ran every weekend, and the posters announcing each bill had become small works of art in their own right. This one, BG-11 in Graham's numbered series, advertised the Wailers and Quicksilver Messenger Service on June 17, 1966. The art was by Wes Wilson — the designer who, more than anyone, defined the visual language people…

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Also on June 17

FD-13

FD-13 — Avalon Ballroom

Family Dog · 1966 · Alton Kelley, Stanley Mouse
Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band · Oxford Circle

On the same June weekend that Wes Wilson's BG-11 went up across town at the Fillmore, something quieter and just as consequential happened at the Avalon: two young artists put their names on a poster together. The show was Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band with the Oxford Circle, June 17 and 18,…

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Were You There?

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