Cast members from The Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil performed live at the 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year gala at the Los Angeles Convention Center. All 60 dancers and acrobats from Love performed to a specially edited track by Producer Giles Martin, featuring songs from the two-time Grammy Award-winning Love album.

Iconic artist and philanthropist Paul McCartney was honored as the 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year at this special event celebrating his exceptional artistic achievements as well as his philanthropic work. The sold-out tribute to McCartney benefits MusiCares’ emergency financial assistance and addiction recovery programs.

Proceeds from the annual Person of the Year tribute — now in its 22nd year — provide essential support for MusiCares, which ensures that members of the music community have a place to turn in times of financial, medical and personal need.

Additional performances included multi-Grammy winning artists and current Grammy nominees Tony Bennett, Coldplay, Foo Fighters, and Alison Krauss and Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas; Grammy winning artist Duane Eddy; multi-Grammy winning artists Norah Jones, Alicia Keys and James Taylor; two-time Grammy winning artists Diana Krall and Neil Young with Crazy Horse; two-time Latin Grammy winning artist Sergio Mendes; and current Grammy nominee Katy Perry.

The evening also featured a special performance by 14-time Grammy winning artist and 2012 MusiCares Person of the Year Paul McCartney. Love, a Cirque du Soleil creation and co-production with Apple Corps Ltd., celebrates the musical legacy of The Beatles and is presented exclusively at The Mirage Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.

This joint artistic venture marks the first time that The Beatles company, Apple Corps, has agreed to a major theatrical partnership. The project was born out of a personal friendship and mutual admiration between the late George Harrison and Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte.

Since its June 2006 premiere, Love has performed over 2,000 shows for more than 4.3 million people. Recently named “Best Show in Las Vegas” by USA Today, Love has been voted “Best Show in Las Vegas” by the Las Vegas Review-Journal for four consecutive years and continues to be a celebrity favorite.

In February 2011, The Beatles’ Grammy Award-winning Love album and ‘All Together Now’ documentary made their digital debuts, exclusively on iTunes.

Image Courtesy of Randy Miramontez / Shutterstock.com

The article Cirque Du Soleil at the 2012 MusiCares Person Of The Year Gala appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

For the second consecutive year, natural cork will be in the spotlight at the GRAMMY Awards. Maintaining its commitment to sustainability, the 54th GRAMMY Awards will host two events featuring wines sealed exclusively with natural cork and will recycle the closures.  Natural cork is biodegradable, recyclable and sustainable, and its use encourages the stewardship of cork oak forests that offset carbon pollution.

The awards show will take place at Staples Center in Los Angeles and will air on CBS at 8/7 p.m. CT on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012. The Recording Academy, internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards, continues its ongoing effort to reduce the environmental impact of its annual awards ceremony, telecast, and associated GRAMMY Week events.

Wines sealed with cork will be served at the MusiCares Person of The Year tribute dinner and concert honoring Paul McCartney two days prior to the awards ceremony and at the official GRAMMY Celebration® following the awards show.

The events will be equipped with recycling bins provided by ReCORK, a cork recycling organization that will collect the stoppers and provide them to SOLE, a company that manufactures shoes and sandals from recycled cork.

“We are honored that The Recording Academy has made natural cork a component of its sustainability program,” said Peter Weber, executive director of the Cork Quality Council.  “The Academy joins a growing list of organizations, including the Major League Baseball Association and the National Basketball Association, that has recognized the environmental benefits of natural cork.”

Natural cork is one of the world’s most sustainable products. Biodegradable and recyclable, its use provides an economic incentive to preserve vast cork oak forests in the Mediterranean Basin that trap greenhouse gases, prevent desertification and provide habitat for hundreds of plant and animal species. There is no shortage of cork, and cork oaks are not cut down to make cork.  A portion of their bark is removed every nine years during a 250-year lifespan.

The article 2012 GRAMMY Awards to Serve Natural Corked Wine appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.