"Kaleo: Live at the National 8/15/22" - Original Artwork by Pearce Landfear

"I started this series of posters to document concerts I had been to. I try to capture specific moments I remember from the show and only go from memory or from references I took from the show I attended."

Artist Pearce Landfear was standing just one row from the front when he went to see Kaleo on 15 August 2022. His sister was the one who got him into them, and he repaid her by taking her to see them at The National in Richmond, Virginia for her first ever concert! This piece was inspired by his experience from that concert. 

"My sister introduced me to Kaleo when I was in high school and I hated them. I was listening to hair metal bands at the time and thought they were too alternative. Flash forward to college, I started listening to them again and wham! 2nd favorite band ever. The only reason Led Zeppelin still has the lead is because Kaleo only has the 2 (3-ish) albums.

A guitarist I am friends with asked me what sound I wanted when playing guitar. I really didn’t have an answer for him. Like Stevie Ray Vaughan is my favorite guitarist but I don't really want his sound. There was a sound in my head and I didn’t quite know what it was. When I started listening to Kaleo it clicked. They have really cool acoustic parts, cool crunchy electric parts that get very rock and roll but not too heavy.

JJ's voice is just incredible. His range and the bluesy rasp is just gorgeous. It’s interesting. As I have gone to learn their songs on guitar, they are pretty easy. They (for the most part) use the very simple chords (Am, Em, G, C, D) but it shows how crazy talented and tasteful they are because each song is super intricate and different sounding from the last.

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​Just the best band ever.

About the artwork:

The background is composed of the set list from that exact show as well. I start with a pencil sketch layout, ink the drawing, and then make shapes with a lot of texture to use as clipping masks for the color and shading. The style of these pieces is heavy on grain and texture and primarily uses gradients for shading and lighting. 

​This was just a personal project because I wanted a tangible way to remember the concerts I had been to. You know the high right after a concert? And after like 2 weeks you can’t quite describe how good it was and remember it feeling awesome, but kind of forget why? This way I can remember specific aspects of it. "

You can see more of Pearce's artwork at https://www.landfeardesigns.com/