At the 3,000-year-old Tower of David in Jerusalem, Forbes hosted yesterday the first-ever large-scale live musical performance synced to virtual reality (VR) to cap off its Under 30 Summit EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa) - a summit that brought together more than 600 of the world's most influential young entrepreneurs and game changers as culled from Forbes' 30 Under 30 lists.
The concert, designed to promote Co-Existence, featured curated acts from around the world, such as London-based hip-hop star Little Simz,
Okieriete Onaodowan from the hit Broadway Musical "Hamilton," Palestinian rapper SAZ with an Israeli funk band Lucille Crew, and U.S. rock band MAE (Multisensory Aesthetic Experience) with violinist
Tim Fain and VR director David Lobser.
"This concert sits in the middle of two days of service in the cause of co-existence," said Randall Lane, Editor of Forbes magazine. "And we're making history in the field of virtual reality. People will look back on this night as a turning point in the history of music and performance."
The concert was powered by Vertigo, a social platform with plans to launch Summer 2016, which allows socially connected people to experience music and life together. The platform uses patented synchronization technology to enable users to listen to the same song at the same time, with the option to layer in live video, pictures, audio commentary, and chat.
All attendees of
the concert wore virtual reality headsets and enjoyed a simultaneous virtual reality experience as MAE, featuring violinist
Tim Fain and VR by animation director David Lobser, debuted its song "LIGHT," its first single in five years. The song and VR experience are available online here for free:
maevr.vertigomusic.com.
"MAE is honored to collaborate with violinist Tim Fain, VR animator David Lobser and
Vertigo Music, to create a first-of-its-kind live synced VR concert experience inside the historic Tower of David as part of the Forbes Under 30 Summit EMEA," said Jacob Marshall Co- Founder and drummer of U.S. rock band MAE, and Advisor to Vertigo. "We humbly believe that co-existence, reconciliation and transcendence are messages best initially delivered in the language of inspiration, art and beauty."
The lineup for
the concert was as follows:
Actor
Okieriete Onaodowan, known as Oak, kicked off
the concert with a spoken word, which he wrote to promote Co-Existence. His name is Oak. Playing President James Madison and
Hercules Mulligan in the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton," Oak Onaodowan has become a breakout star. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award as part of the cast album of "Hamilton." He previously appeared in the Broadway shows "Rocky the Musical," "Cyrano de Bergerac" and was on the first national tour of "American Idiot." An experienced stage actor, Oak had the leading role in the
Young Jean Lee's Off-Broadway play, "The Shipment." His screen credits include Lou in "Thanks for Sharing" and roles in "Blue Bloods" and "NY 22." Shake and Bake.
· Palestinian rapper SAZ with an Israeli funk band Lucille Crew, performed together under the theme of Co-Existence. Sameh Zakout ("Saz") is a Palestinian rap artist whose music features themes of Palestinian and Arab identity and who calls for peaceful resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. Lucille Crew is an international groove collective based in Tel Aviv that fuses elements of hip hop, funk and soul.
Hip Hop Star Little Simz, the award-winning North London hip hop artist who self-released her critically acclaimed debut album A CURIOUS TALE OF TRIALS + PERSONS, which was named one of the Best Albums of 2015 by Vogue, Entertainment Weekly and more.
Little Simz became the first UK rapper to be featured on Forbes Magazine's "30 Under 30" and "Hip Hop Cash Princes" lists.
U.S. Rock Band MAE (M)ultisensory (A)esthetic (E)xperience, an ever-evolving music and art project formed in 2001 in Norfolk, Virginia. MAE consistently delivers emotionally driven cinematic soundscapes for the modern global culture. MAE uses artfully crafted music as a starting point to expand the concept of harmony to include other sensory languages and to place listeners inside of an experience of art for the whole body.
About the Forbes Under 30 Summit The Forbes Under 30 Summit franchise, one of the company's most popular franchises, is an extension of Forbes magazine's annual 30 Under 30 list.
The Forbes Under 30 Summit EMEA brought together 600 of the greatest young entrepreneurs and game changers from America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as culled from Forbes' 30 Under 30 lists, for five days and nights of fostering world-changing ideas and collaboration. Under the theme "Co-Investment, Co-Creation and Co-Existence," innovators, inventors, mentors and investors focused on entrepreneurship and long-term, market-driven solutions to global problems, proving that growth is possible even in challenging times.
For more details on the Forbes Under 30 Summit EMEA, please visit http://www.forbesconferences.com/event/2016-forbes-under-30-summit-israel/ . On Twitter, follow #Under30Summit.
