Gold Standard plays the Cartier 5th Avenue Grand Opening in Manhattan

Gold Standard recently performed at the Grand Opening celebration of the historic Cartier store on 5th Avenue. The entire building, which has stood on 5th Avenue in Manhattan since 1917, was renovated for 2 1/2 years taking special care to maintain the original look and feel of the original exterior, while giving the interior a gorgeous and meticulous upgrade. The band's performance took place on the second floor at the center of the building. As the evening progressed crowds gathered and celebrated and turned their performance into an impromptu dance party. The Grand Opening was a a spectacular Manhattan event lasting several days and featuring a performance by Ellie Goulding and attracting celebrities like Martha Stewart and Katie Holmes. The band was honored to participate in this historic event, a night to be remembered. Here are some photos gathered from the hashtag for the event #CARTIERNYC on Instagram:

The official announcement of the completed renovation. Photo by @cartier

Top right: Conn singing on the second level performance area. Photo by @bestroastcoffee

Getting ready for the performance. This is a nice shot showing some of the attention to detail in the building design.

A Brief History of Gold Standard

It all started back in about 1963 when Douglas Curran (Conn Curran's father) and Serge Benson (Rob Bennion's great uncle) sang together in a group in college called the "Intervals". (Doug Curran on the Left Serge Benson next to him on the right)

The Intervals (1963)

Much further down the road, Rob joined a group with Bart Olson, called "The Shriners of Ska". 

The Shriners of Ska

A little while later Rob joined a group with two of Conn's older brothers, Quinn and Shane Curran, known as "The Groove at Mikes Deli". Conn was just a little tike at the time, attending lots of their shows.

The Groove at Mike's Deli

Then in 2006, Rob joined another Curran band. Another one of Conn's brothers, Sean Curran, started a hip hop band called "Wreck Room".

Wreck Room

During this time Bart Olson was performing and touring around the country signed to Capitol Records with a band called Ryan Shupe and the RubberBand. 

Ryan Shupe & the RubberBand (2005) Colin Botts, Bart Olson, Ryan Shupe, Roger Archibald, Craig Miner

Then in 2011 Rob, Conn, and Bart became the group "Gold Standard", blending elements of Jazz, Electronic, Dance, and Soul music. In the past 5 years they've performed across the globe from Japan to New York, as passionate as ever about sharing the gift of music.

Performing at the White Party in SLC

Gold Standard in San Francisco