In 1951, Freed moved to Cleveland and hosted the late-night “Moondog Rock & Roll House Party.” Freed also promoted local dances and concerts, including the “Moondog Coronation Ball” in March 1952 at the Cleveland Arena, an event that has become known as the world’s first rock concert. The seeds of rock were sown. Freed moved to New York City in 1954 but he left behind a huge audience of rock and roll fans, hungry for this new, exciting music style. Their acceptance and enthusiasm for new artists, musical trends, and rock records made Cleveland the hottest music market in the country.

In 1972, the phrase “Cleveland – The Rock and Roll Capital of the World” was coined.

What started as a way to earn some extra beer money has turned out to be a visual chronicle of Northeast Ohio’s rich and storied rock and roll history.

Postermaster General Bear has been creating concert posters for five decades. “Who knew that the flyers and posters we made so long ago that you would see in places like the local record shops would be collectible,” says Bear. “That’s pretty cool.”

His work has hung in a lot more places than local record shops. They have been on display in places as diverse as museums, art galleries, and historic rock club CBGB’s, the Hard Rock Cafe, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. You have probably seen them in magazine ads, movies and television shows, and you would be hard pressed to go into a bar or restaurant around Cleveland and not see one (or twenty) hanging on the walls.

With over 6,000 rock concert posters created over the decades, there is probably one for a concert you attended. “It’s fun to look at the different posters I did through different periods of my life,” says Bear, “and I can see where my head was at just looking at the art. The colors used were a huge expression of what I was feeling at the time.”

Raw Sugar Art Studio has not only created a visual history tour of Cleveland’s rock heritage, but the studio also has created posters for concerts in Columbus, Dayton, Cincinnati, Toledo, Louisville, Pennsylvania, Indiana, and as far west as Colorado.

“Someone asked me recently how much longer I plan on doing this,” says Bear. “And I don’t really know. I guess as long as I can keep coming up with new ideas and have a little fun. And I’m still doing it for the beer money,” Bear says with a grin.