{"id":520462,"date":"2026-03-07T13:26:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T13:26:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/520462\/"},"modified":"2026-03-07T13:26:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T13:26:16","slug":"posters-by-stu-reid-showcase-concert-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/520462\/","title":{"rendered":"Posters by Stu Reid showcase concert history"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stu Reid has made a mark on the Manitoba music industry without strapping on a guitar and stepping onto the stage.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve spent time at a record store or at a music venue around the city, you\u2019ve likely seen one of his posters advertising a gig.<\/p>\n

Reid, a self-described \u201csemi-professional music nerd,\u201d turned his passion for graphic design and illustration into a career that allowed him to design posters for bands and artists coming through Winnipeg.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was working in record stores, and I\u2019d meet the promoters of concerts, and they\u2019d see a poster for a show they were putting on and ask, \u2018Stu, can you do me a poster?\u2019\u201d he said during an interview with CTV News. \u201cAnd, you know, it kind of took off from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Jazzfest winnipeg A Winnipeg Jazz Fest poster from 1994, designed by Stu Reid. (Gig Posters 204) <\/p>\n

Reid, who is primarily self-taught in graphic design, created posters for local musicians to start his career. One of the first big names he designed a poster for was Steve Earle, who was set to appear in Winnipeg on the 1989 Copperhead Road tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a big fan, and it was a big show put on by Nite Out Entertainment, which was the big promoter at the time,\u201d Reid recalls. \u201cI basically took my portfolio of work there and said, \u2018I\u2019ll design you a poster for front-row seats.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It worked.<\/p>\n

\"\"Steve Earle A poster advertising Steve Earle\u2019s Winnipeg performance on the Copperhead Road tour in 1989, designed by Stu Reid. (Gig Posters 204) <\/p>\n

Kevin Donnelly, the current senior VP of venues and entertainment with True North Sports and Entertainment, remembers meeting Reid around that time when he worked for Nite Out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he just walked in off the street; he was not a shy guy,\u201d Donnelly said. \u201cHe just walked in the front door and said, \u2018I want to make your posters.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Donnelly added, \u201cI gave him a shot, and it was the start of something magical. I couldn\u2019t tell you how many posters he did for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Pink Floyd A poster promoting Pink Floyd\u2019s concert at Winnipeg Stadium in 1994, designed by Stu Reid. (Gig Posters 204) <\/p>\n

Throughout his career, Reid designed posters for Pink Floyd\u2019s 1994 Winnipeg Stadium show, Metallica\u2019s 1989 stop at the Winnipeg Arena, numerous Tragically Hip concerts in the \u201880s and \u201890s, plus many local and Canadian musicians who performed at the West End Cultural Centre, Pyramid Cabaret and other venues.<\/p>\n

He also designed posters for Sunfest, the former rock music festival in Gimli, Man.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sunfest A poster advertising Sunfest in August 1993, featuring Pearl Jam as the headliner, designed by Stu Reid. (Gig Posters 204) <\/p>\n

The time it took Reid to create posters\u2014by hand in those days\u2014ranged from a day for some shows to a week for artists that he was passionate about.<\/p>\n

According to Donnelly, designers back in those days had a lot more freedom in designing posters for local markets.<\/p>\n

\u201cNowadays, it\u2019s way more restrictive,\u201d he said. \u201cThey supply you with the finished art. They supply you with the graphics, but back then, you could take an image, and we could kind of localize it or make something that we thought resonated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Above all, Donnelly said Reid\u2019s work was \u201cnever boring.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Stu Reid A poster for a 2010 concert by That 1 Guy at the West End Cultural Centre, designed by Stu Reid. (Gig Posters 204) <\/p>\n

\u201cHe hand-drew lettering and did lots of freehand work, so it had a unique look to it. He made metal things look metal, and he made the dance things look a little poppier. He made the Americana stuff look folky. He had a good sensibility to create an image that fit the music.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to the real concert posters, Reid has also helped design posters for hypothetical concerts in Winnipeg, like one for the Rolling Stones Unzipped exhibit that appeared in downtown Winnipeg in 2022. <\/p>\n

\"\"Rolling Stone Stu Reid A poster advertising a hypothetical Rolling Stones concert in Winnipeg in the 1960s designed by Stu Reid for a travelling exhibit in Winnipeg showcasing the band’s history. (Gig Posters 204) Memorable poster designs<\/p>\n

One of Reid\u2019s favourite posters he designed was for Canadian power pop band the Pursuit of Happiness, best known for their hit \u201cI\u2019m An Adult Now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve probably designed like seven or eight different posters for them, as they\u2019d come through once or twice a year,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there was one time they played the Pyramid, and I took the photo of the band that I had, and I put them in KISS makeup, and the band loved the poster so much.<\/p>\n

\"\"Pursuit of Happiness A poster showing Canadian band The Pursuit of Happiness in KISS makeup to promote a performance in October 1997 designed by Stu Reid. The band confirmed that they have copies of the poster in their homes. (Gig Posters 204) <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve gotten to know them a little bit since then, and everybody in the band actually has that poster hanging up in their house. Moe Berg, the leader of the band, said, \u2018This is the only Pursuit of Happiness poster I have hanging in my house,\u2019 so that means a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the band confirmed to CTV News this is indeed the case.<\/p>\n

In 2019, Reid had largely wound down his poster design work, but he was asked by Donnelly for a special request.<\/p>\n

Sir Elton John stopped in 2019 at Canada Life Centre\u2014then known as Bell MTS Place\u2014on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. The show was sold out, so a poster advertising the event wasn\u2019t needed, but he got a call from Donnelly at the last minute.<\/p>\n

John\u2019s camp wanted a poster for the show to go in a book that would be given to the singer at the end of the tour showcasing every stop along the way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey wanted something that spoke to the marketplace. In Paris, they wanted to see the Eiffel Tower; in Toronto, the CN Tower,\u201d Donnelly said. \u201cWe wanted it to resonate with Winnipeg imagery, but it also had to speak to Elton John, so Stu did a beautiful piece that is in their book.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a pair of tickets for designing the poster and a feather in my cap. And, yeah, that was fun,\u201d Reid said.<\/p>\n

\"\"Elton John Stu Reid : A poster advertising Elton John\u2019s \u201cFarewell Yellow Brick Road\u201d tour stop in Winnipeg in 2019. Reid said the poster was used for a book that would be given to John after the tour wrapped up. (Gig Posters 204) The memories remain<\/p>\n

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Reid lost his job and decided to start a website, Gig Posters 204,<\/a> showing off his poster work over the years, which has taken off.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s gotten to be a historical document of live music in Winnipeg over the decades,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Reid now sells prints of his posters online, at markets around the city, and at McNally Robinson and Into the Music. He has also sold calendars featuring his original posters.<\/p>\n

He enjoys seeing people look through the stacks of posters and trade stories about old concerts.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not really a job per se; it\u2019s more of a hobby that pays for itself, but it\u2019s really taken off,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople love looking at this stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Stu Reid weakerthans A poster advertising a concert from The Weakerthans and Constantines in 2009 at the Burton Cummings Theatre, designed by Stu Reid. (Gig Posters 204) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stu Reid has made a mark on the Manitoba music industry without strapping on a guitar and stepping…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":520463,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[712,49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-520462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-apple-news","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=520462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/520463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=520462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=520462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=520462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}