Yamaha instruments and artists go centre stage at Diamond Jubilee concert as top names rock Buckingham Palace

An explosion of music and colour symbolised the Diamond Jubilee concert, a spectacular finale to the once in a lifetime Jubilee celebrations.

The event was the most-watched event of the 3-day activities and attracted an audience of over 17 million TV viewers, tuning in for headlining performances by Yamaha artists Sir Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Sir Paul McCartney all supported by a star-studded cast of some of the world's most popular artists.

The Jubilee House Band was formed of top Yamaha session musicians and their gear, so Yamaha instruments ruled the stage along with the musical talent.  During the first half of the gig the band accompanied some of the world's most popular artists including Jessie J, Grace Jones, JLS, Kylie Minogue, Dame Shirley Bassey, Cheryl, Robbie Williams, Annie Lennox, Gary Barlow, and Ed Sheeran to name just a few!

The Jubilee House band had Yamaha endorsees Mike Stevens, Marcus Byrne and Bernie Smith on a combination of 5 MOTIF XF synths and a CP1 flagship stage piano.  Drummer Donovan Hepburn played his Union Jack Inspired Maple Custom Absolute Drum Kit in red, white and blue with special Union Jack drum head which looked fantastic centre stage and added to the pomp of the special British event!  The kit was mounted on our fantastic Hex Rack with DTX pads.

The concert was held on a spectacular stage - set build around the Queen Victoria memorial directly in front of Buckingham Palace. The concert was held in front of an audience of over 18,000 people, 8,000 of whom were invited guests from charities associated with the Royal Family with the remainder having won tickets in a public ballot.

Yamaha instruments featured prominently throughout the evening, not only in the Jubilee House Band but used by the headline acts, with both Sir Elton John and Sir Paul McCartney selecting a Yamaha C series concert grand piano to perform their classic hits.  Paul McCartney's regular keys man Wix Wickens used his S90XS and a Motif XF synthesizer whilst Stevie Wonder himself along with his band played MOTIF XF's synths and his drummer Chris Johnson played an Oak Custom drum kit

Yamaha NX guitars were also prominent in Cliff Richard’s set and in the hands of session ace Jamie Mose who performed alongside Sir Tom Jones.

All in all it was a great event with a plethora of Yamaha instruments showcased on such an international platform.  The concert also had a great amount of MOTIF synths on show, helping to kick off the MOTIF's 10th anniversary this year.  All the biggest artists in the world choose the best instruments, even the Queen!

Proceedings concluded with HM the Queen lighting the National Beacon making it the biggest party of the year!

The Jubilee House Band performs live with Sade.