Hey Robbie,

The Center for Popular Music on the campus of Middle Tennessee State
University is an exceptional repository for this sort of thing.  Though
they collect nation wide, their location obviously contributes to a
heavy concentration on the southeast.  Their largest collections are
sound recordings, however they have a good collection of printed
materials as well, including festival posters and adverts I'm sure.

Their website has a searchable archive, however I'm not certain if all
their printed materials are available as of yet (google "center for
popular music" for the url).  The director there is Paul Wells.
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Also, in case you haven't already, you should investigate Hatch Show
Print.  They printed every kind of advert from minstrel shows, opry
tours, wrestling matches, films, concerts, home appliances, and
politicians.  Of course they are most easily recognizable as the poster
maker of choice for roots music artists.  The Country Music Hall of Fame
and Museum-who now owns the company-published a book about the shop
around 5 years ago (I'm sure it's still available).  Here's the blurb
from the back cover...

"What do Hank Williams, President Dwight Eisenhower, Cab Calloway, and
Emmylou Harris all have in common?  They have all turned to Nashville's
historic Hatch Show Print to create bold and distinctive posters to
promote themselves.  Established in 1879 and now owned by the Country
Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Hatch Show Print preserves the art of
traditional letterpress printing and has earned a loyal following that
continues to this day."

If you saw an advertisement for "Walk the Line," you saw the work of
Hatch Show Print.  They're still extremely active.

Hope this helps.

Paul

Paul McCoy, Program Officer
Humanities Tennessee
306 Gay Street
Suite 306
Nashville, TN 37201
Phone:  615-770-0006 Ext. 17
Fax:  615-770-0007
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>>> [log in to unmask] 02/09/06 04:07PM >>>
Everyone,

For next MoMS exhibition, New Harmonies, we are planning to feature a
section on the importance of music festivals in the development of the
1950s
and 1960s revival of folk music. Our designer would like to create a
"wallpaper" effect featuring posters from folk/roots music festivals.
We
would be very interested in obtaining posters from traditional music
festivals in your states for use in the exhibition. If you know of a
great
local roots music festival that produces posters or flyers, please let
me
know.

Thanks!
Robbie

Robbie Davis
Project Director
Museum on Main Street
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES)
P.O. Box 37012 MRC 465
900 Jefferson Drive, SW, Room 1271
Washington, DC  20013-7012
Tel: 202-633-0078
Fax: 202-633-0089
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Please Note:
Effective March 2, 2006
New Address and Telephone Number:
Museum on Main Street
Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES)
470 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW
Suite 7103, MRC 941
Washington, DC 20024
Telephone: 202-633-5335