The 57th annual Grammy awards took over the Staples Center in Los Angeles last night with returning host LL Cool J and big wins from Sam Smith and Beck, plus performances from artists current and past—including newcomer Smith, who was born in 1992, as well as 56-year-old Madonna and 88-year-old Tony Bennett.
Also drawing from decades past were some of the biggest parties during Grammy week in town. For instance, the Recording Academy’s own official after-party, known as the Grammy Celebration, had a vintage travel theme. Innovative decor inspired by glamorous modes of transportation from the ‘20s and ‘30s transformed a party space as large as three football fields for the annual event the Academy's Branden Chapman called "the largest and most complex industry awards show after-party to date."
Earlier in the week, Essence magazine hosted its annual Black Women in Music party honoring Jill Scott, which celebrated moments over the magazine’s 45-year history and included such details as flowers in vases made from cassette tapes. "We wanted to align the event with our history and blow out this year with nostalgic performances," said Essence event marketing director Candace Montgomery. "We dug into our cover archives to put together a video collage of some of our most iconic music covers."
Rolling Stone hosted an event with Google Play that, too, made use of vintage covers to call up historical references. The party featured a projection-mapped display made up of decades of magazine covers.
And Keurig hosted an after-party Sunday night in the downtown Continental Club space, featured extensively on Mad Men, with vintage details like midcentury modern furnishings.
Among the brands participating in other events—some with vintage and some with distinctly modern motifs—during the big, musical week in town were Delta, Roc Nation, Nielsen, and Universal Music Group.
This year the Recording Academy’s official Grammys after-party, known as the Grammy Celebration, had a theme dubbed “Passport to the World.” It saw the Los Angeles Convention Center transformed with decor and food inspired by glamorous air, sea, and land travel in the 1920s and ‘30s. About 5,000 guests came for performances by Gloria Gaynor and Jessie J, plus DJ Michelle Pesce.
Branden Chapman and Rex Supa, along with a Recording Academy team, oversaw the entertainment, decor, and logistics in the party space the size of three football fields. Angel City Designs executed the design and decor, which included hot air balloons floating throughout the space.
The party space included two historic train station platforms represented by circular truss. The structures were marked with vintage signage and illuminated by ShowPro, with lighting design by Larry Oberman.
Costumed entertainers from Entertainment Plus—including dancers, acrobats, and aerialists—in gear meant to evoke vintage traveling wardrobe filled the space.
Along Came Mary’s menu included five dinner stations that had themes like “Casablanca Airstrip” and “South Seas Steamship,” serving up dishes inspired by various destinations. Desserts included German chocolate brownie pudding, butterscotch trifles, Mississippi mud pies, and baklava. The menu used locally grown and sustainably produced ingredients. Leftover edible food was donated to local food banks and all cooking oil used for the event was recycled.
To evoke the concept of vintage travel, tabletop centerpieces included a globe in a bowl of roses from CJ Matsumoto.
Target aired a live concert during a commercial break in the Grammy show, turning its ad buy into a four-minute performance by the Imagine Dragons live from Las Vegas’ Fremont Street. The setup included a circular stage with a 360-degree screen around the perimeter showcasing abstract visuals of the band.
Essence hosted its sixth annual Black Women in Music pre-Grammy event on Thursday at Avalon Hollywood, honoring and featuring a performance by Jill Scott.
The event, which celebrated important moments in the magazine's 45-year history, included hot pink roses and ranunculus presented in vessels made of cassette tapes for a vintage appeal. There was also old-school candy on the tables and food served on branded records.
Colgate Optic White was a sponsor of the Essence event, setting up a product station in front of a selfie-ready mirror decorated with a hashtag. Polaroids in the Colgate area were also meant to recall a sense of history.
Rolling Stone and Google Play hosted an event at the El Rey Theatre on Thursday in celebration of the new availability of the mag's archives on Google Play Newsstand. V Squared Labs collaborated with Warren Tash to create a projection-mapped display, which featured four decades of magazine covers projection mapped and blended.
Elite Productions International designed the floral decor for the the Grammy Foundation’s V.I.P. reception and performers' green rooms at the concert held on Thursday at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre. The team brought in an eight-foot-tall manzanita tree and raised it onto a table as the focal point in the reception space. The tree had hanging orbs filled with candles, flowers, and succulents, and was surrounded by various arrangements of large succulents and fresh flowers.
A lacy, filagree motif decked the Wilshire Ebell Theatre for the Grammy Special Merit awards, produced by 15/40 Productions. The producers played off the event’s invitation, which featured the venue's historic wrought iron gates, for the stage design and reception decor by incorporating elements that would lend a sophisticated garden party feel. The stage design had the arched wrought iron gate image in full on one side, and repeated the central filigree design on the other side of the stage and bottom of the screen to tie the two together. The clubhouse decor echoed the gate theme with wrought iron front bars and patterned projections on the walls. A moss green and champagne table linen color palette, natural tufted linen sofas, green throw pillows, and lush white and green flowers in silver mercury glass vases completed the look.
On Saturday, Nielsen hosted a pre-Grammys celebration at Hyde Sunset Kitchen & Cocktails, including performances by Bastille and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. An arrivals wall spelled out the brand’s name in marquee letters, and included unusual upside-down arrangements of flowers. MAC Presents produced.
More upside-down flowers inside the event created a dramatic, eye-catching floral decor piece.
A tiered, branded ice sculpture bore the event host's name.
Roc Nation and Three Six Zero hosted a pre-Grammy brunch at a private residence in Beverly Hills, with this year’s partners Puma, Brooklyn Direct, and Citi, and music by DJ Ross One.
The event included a Comador cigar bar and SBE catering. Inconspicuous signs in the floral arrangements bore the name of sponsor Citi.
Keurig hosted its first effort for the Grammys with a Sunday-night after-party that included a performance by Bernhoft. Produced by AKJohnston, the event took place at the Continental Club, a venue with an English cocktail lounge vibe—featured extensively on Mad Men—and its dark wood paneling and tufted leather created an intimate, retro space. Seven-foot floral displays stood at the entrance, while bistro bulb lighting and dramatic architectural uplighting on the venue's facade lit an outdoor space. Inside, modern floral decor and custom walnut LED illuminated fixtures complemented midcentury modern furniture and custom printed pillows.
Keurig also used its party to mark the arrival of Keurig 2.0, the brand's newest line of home brewing equipment. The evening included mixologist-created Keurig cocktails along with a variety of tray-passed snacks. A custom backlit glowing wall showcased two dessert displays and a non-alcoholic Keurig offering.
Red Light Management's Grammy after-party at Skybar was designed and produced by Gina Wade, and featured illuminated floral decor pieces hanging from tree limbs.
Dramatic draping by BAM Specialty Fabrics and Draping added to the party's decor.
On Saturday, Universal Music Group chairman and C.E.O. Lucian Grainge hosted a pre-Grammy artist showcase that saw performances by big names like Iggy Azalea, Keith Urban, and Sam Smith at the Theatre at Ace Hotel. The event was presented by American Airlines and Citi.
On Thursday, Delta (the official airline of the Grammy awards) feted the show at Soho House with a DJ set by the Roots’ Questlove and a performance by Charli XCX. MKG produced.
