Paul McCartney performed a concert for Apple employees at Apple Park in Cupertino last night, capping the company's 50th anniversary celebrations with a career-spanning set that included songs from The Beatles, Wings, and his solo career.
Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced McCartney to the crowd, calling him "a songwriter, a pioneer and one of the most influential artists of all time" and adding that he has "been a lifelong fan of his music and so have billions of people all over the planet." The show took place under Apple Park's rainbow arches, which had been transformed into a full concert stage with lighting rigs and large screens on either side.
McCartney's setlist spanned his entire career. Beatles classics including "Help," "Got To Get You Into My Life," "Blackbird," "Lady Madonna," "Something," "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da," "From Me To You," "Getting Better," "Let It Be," and "Hey Jude" featured alongside Wings cuts "Coming Up," "Let Me Roll It," "Let 'Em In," "Band On The Run," and solo favorites "Maybe I'm Amazed" and "Every Night." The show closed with "Golden Slumbers." McCartney also staged his famous "Live and Let Die" pyrotechnics segment.
Sir Paul McCartney by Tim Cook pic.twitter.com/LR7YPIFppG — Nico (@nicoPinos_) April 1, 2026
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman had hinted at McCartney as the headliner days before the show, saying "he's still going strong, was part of the British Invasion and Jobs would've been ecstatic." McCartney's Apple Park appearance was confirmed when images of his soundcheck circulated on social media, showing the 83-year-old artist and his band on the illuminated rainbow stage inside the ring.
The concert came just days after McCartney played two intimate, phone-free shows at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, where the 1,200-seat venue attracted a remarkable cross-section of Hollywood: Attendees included Ringo Starr, Stevie Nicks, Margot Robbie, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, Elton John, Jon Hamm, Harrison Ford, Reese Witherspoon, Anthony Kiedis, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, Tate McCrae, Laura Dern, Emma Watson, Steve Carell, Dakota Johnson, and more. McCartney's 19th studio album, "The Boys of Dungeon Lane," is set to be released next month.
It’s one thing to have Paul McCartney at work, but it’s another thing to have a display like this at the same time pic.twitter.com/MAF21f2kJ2 — Steven Peterson ️ (@squeakytoy) April 1, 2026
The choice of McCartney carries particular historical resonance. The Beatles founded Apple Corps, their own record label and holding company, in 1968, eight years before Steve Jobs started Apple Computer. Jobs was a lifelong Beatles fan who once said "my model for business is The Beatles," describing them as four people who balanced each other and produced something greater than the sum of their parts.
The shared name was a source of costly legal friction between the two companies for nearly three decades, resolved only in 2007 when Apple Inc. purchased all trademarks related to "Apple" and licensed some of them back to Apple Corps. The Beatles' catalogue didn't arrive on iTunes until 2010, and has been on Apple Music ever since, making McCartney's appearance at Apple Park something of a full-circle moment.
The Apple Park show brings to a close weeks of anniversary events that also included performances by Alicia Keys at Apple Grand Central in New York City and Mumford & Sons at Apple Battersea in London, along with special anniversary gift bags for employees including a commemorative t-shirt, enamel pin, and limited-edition poster.
