Suite music: Fairmont and Abbey Road Studios celebrate emerging musical talent

The luxury hotel group Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has a long and rich history of welcoming talent from across all fields of creativity, from architecture and fine art to literature and beyond. Perhaps one of its closest connections is with music, with many of its properties holding legendary stories that tie them to groundbreaking moments in cultural history. Think John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s bed-in at The Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Canada, or the year-long set of performances from Sonny and Cher at the Century Plaza Hotel in LA in the 1970s.

At The Savoy, A Fairmont Managed Hotel, in London, everyone from Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash to Igor Stravinsky has left their mark by performing, promoting or recording within these historic walls. In 1925, composer and pianist George Gershwin honoured the legendary London establishment with the British premiere of his magnum opus Rhapsody in Blue with an intimate performance in the heart of the hotel, a space known today as the Savoy’s Beaufort Bar. 

But what does that kind of residency look like in 2023? To write the next chapter in its musical history, the luxury hotelier has teamed up with Abbey Road Studios for Center Stage, a unique project that extends new opportunities to emerging artists around the world. Offering 1000 hours in recording studios, and time in some of their most exquisite hotels, Fairmont and Abbey Road Studios are collaborating to embrace a new generation of artists. “Many of the historical moments people know about are about established artists. Sonny and Cher, Tony Bennett. We had Ella [Fitzgerald]...” says Ralitza Iordanova, Vice President of Global Brand Partnerships, Accor. And now? “With the Center Stage programme, we’re flipping the focus to the voices of the future”. 

The project sees an impressive 20 hotels taking part, each opening the doors of their most emblematic suites. That jaw-dropping list includes the exquisite Royal Plaza Suite at The Plaza, A Fairmont Managed Hotel, in New York, the famed Nine Nation Suites at the Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai, and perhaps the most storied of them all – the aforementioned John and Yoko Suite at Montreal’s Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth.

Center Stage kicked off in February with a dazzling celebration at The Savoy, where Abbey Road Studios and Fairmont welcomed Nigerian sensation Rema and London native Debbie. The artists came together for an intimate performance at the Beaufort Bar. The essence of Fairmont was felt at every step, with the artists prepared for the show with a relaxed rehearsal in the epic Royal Suite by Gucci, an exquisitely curated space crafted in collaboration with the storied Italian fashion house. “A peaceful, serene environment is very necessary to meditate, to think and also to write – I’ve made a lot of beautiful music at hotels,” said Rema ahead of his set, which included a stripped back version of his hit Calm Down. 

Rema and Debbie defined by their trailblazing approaches to creativity – both create music that's rooted in established genres – Afrobeats and soul respectively – but with a uniquely personal spin. “What I liked about this experience is being believed in,” Debbie says. “This amount of support and encouragement made me feel more confident as an artist and in what I decided to do. Because if you have people doing this much and saying, 'we're going to believe in you and we're going to invest in you', it boosts your confidence, so it makes you feel like 'okay, I'm on the right track.” During their performances, the atmosphere at the Beaufort Bar was electric; its dramatic jet-black and gold déco a stunning backdrop to a memorable set.

This memorable first night will serve as the blueprint for Fairmont, which will build on delivering Center Stage’s vital mission over the coming years.Future musical talent will be selected in close collaboration with Abbey Road Studios and  its sister studios and labels. “We want to identify emerging artists and collaborate with our hotels that have a strong connection with music to match them together, says lordanova. “To find the right fit, and create moments like our launch event did, all around the world. This will allow us to connect all the communities of the incredibly talented artists with the local communities of each Fairmont location.” So when you next head to one of the iconic Fairmont hotels, make sure you keep an eye - and ear - out for who else might be visiting there’s a good chance they’ll be the next big thing in music.

Discover the world of Fairmont Center Stage.