While the world around us may change, fans are now looking to reconnect with one another through a shared passion of live music. Launched as a platform that invites iconic artists back to the independent venues that gave them their first stage, Jim Beam Welcome Sessions collaborated with these individual artists to bring a one-of-a-kind experience for music enthusiasts.

Working in partnership with renowned music production team La Blogotheque - famed for collaborations with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Paul McCartney, Jack White, and Iggy Pop - the launch marks the start of a multi-year marketing effort to foster a relationship with music fans and support independent music venues handpicked for their unique welcoming spirit. With millions of fans having not experienced live music in over a year, each Welcome Session brings to life the spaces that have played host to seminal performances in years gone by – celebrating and creating moments where the power of music helps people feel like they truly belong.

Jim Beam Welcome Sessions is bringing together musicians, including Jack Garrett, Fontaines DC and Jose Gonzalez, with further acts to be announced. Launching in June 2021, each episode reimagines and celebrates the warm welcomes experienced by artists and music fans alike. Building on the initial releases across 2021, more artists will follow with their take on the live experience each year, supported by a range of unique content and activities across 2022 and beyond.

Created in collaboration with the individual artists and filmed during the pandemic, the atmosphere evoked in the viewer's mind is a shared experience in which people find their community and lose themselves in a moment that cannot and will not be repeated. An unmistakably singular shared experience that lives in the memory for a lifetime.

Malini Patel, Managing Director James B. Beam Distilling Co, said: "Although the light at the end of the tunnel is coming ever closer, the real world shared experiences we so crave remain few and far between. This sense of place and sense of community with others is something we as a brand have been firm believers in throughout our 226-year history. The Jim Beam Welcome Sessions are about creating connections between amazing global acts, the iconic independent venues and the audiences who love their music. By launching the global partnership, we hope to create a unique shared experience that fans can relate with, over and over again. An experience that inspires, uplifts and instill a sense of community to being part of something special."

The Jim Beam Welcome Sessions' announcement follows the launch of a fully integrated 360 multichannel marketing campaign and TV commercial. Titled 'Always Welcome,' the second collaboration with global advertising agency Adam & Eve NYC; the ad follows a small-town bartender as he finds that the offer of a Jim Beam Highball can be a warm welcome, no matter where he goes. The spot showcases the welcoming spirit of the world's number one bourbon brand through all its evolutions and innovations over its 226-year history.