The Postal Service has two stamp releases on tap this weekend.
Bluegrass, a Forever stamp celebrating the singularly American musical style, will be released Friday, March 15.
Born in the mid-20th century, bluegrass blends old-time folk and fiddle music with elements of the blues, jazz, country and gospel.
The stamp art is inspired by vintage concert posters and features four acoustic string instruments typical of bluegrass bands — guitar, five-string banjo, fiddle and mandolin — below the word “bluegrass.”
Text at the top of the stamp reads “high lonesome sound,” a nickname for the genre.
Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, worked with designer and illustrator Heather Moulder to produce the art. Moulder created the design as a letterpress print, with each layer carved by hand from wood and linoleum.
USPS will dedicate the stamp March 15 at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Owensboro, KY.
Garden Delights, four Forever stamps that celebrate the flora of spring and summer gardens, will be released Saturday, March 16.
Each stamp shows a female ruby-throated hummingbird hovering next to either a zinnia, cigar flower, spotted touch-me-not or sunflower.
Greg Breeding, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps using existing photographs by Ben King.
No national dedication ceremony is planned for the Garden Delights stamps.
The Bluegrass stamp will be available in panes of 20 and the Garden Delights stamps will be available in booklets of 20 at Post Offices and usps.com.
