At a two-day long global summit for a multinational technology company's top business partners, Empire was engaged to identify, contract and produce a headline musical artist who would appeal to the demographics of the audience, and provide an intimate concert experience in the 530 seat recital hall at Benaroya Hall, home of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra.Empire recommended and subsequently contracted the acclaimed headliner Lyle Lovett and his band of extraordinary musicians. Lyle was selected because of the intimate and quiet nature of his music which suited the acoustically live recital hall perfectly, the vast intelligence behind his music which would appeal to a very upscale and intelligent audience, and his dry humor which we knew would endear him to the audience and create a memorable and meaningful experience that would reflect well on our client, the host company of the conference. Lyle Lovett's performance achieved this and more as he won a standing ovation for playing music ranging in style from country and blues to gospel and bluegrass, and interspersing his songs with wry commentary that had the audience laughing throughout the show. Lyle's extraordinary musicianship and the amazing talent of his band which included drums, percussion, fiddle, steel guitar, electric guitar, upright bass, cello and piano, was not lost on the audience, members of which came from more than 20 countries. Since the show took place on St. Patrick's Day, Lyle wore a bright green suit for the occasion. After the show Lyle was gracious and warm at a meet & greet in the Founders Room, taking photos with each and every VIP attendee, telling more stories and signing more than 50 CDs as gifts to the clients.

For this project Empire handled the talent selection, contracting, logistics, and all staging, sound, lighting and electrical power, coordinating our efforts with the client's events logistics company and Benaroya Hall. The evening was a resounding success and everyone from Lyle Lovett and his band, to the clients, their partners and the staff at Benaroya Hall, were delighted to have been part of such an extraordinary evening.

In 1998, Empire Entertainment was called upon by buy-in-bulk supermarket chain BJ's Wholesale Club to secure entertainment for their General Managers Meeting. Upon learning that Empire is a full-service event production company, BJ's asked for a comprehensive production proposal for the next year's event. Finding Empire's bid to be more creative and cost-effective than the incumbent vendor, BJ's elected to have Empire produce the 1999 conference and every meeting since.

In March 2004, BJ's celebrated their 20th year in business at the Ft. Lauderdale Marriott Marina where Empire produced the company's biggest and best General Manager's Meeting yet. For the arrival night, Empire provided a Casino evening at the hotel to kick off the conference in a way that would permit the GM's to mingle and network with each other after having not seen each other since the previous year. As the meeting theme ("Celebrating 20 Years: Here's Looking at You BJ's") was based around the film Casablanca, Empire provided décor for the Casino, including an entrance to the room with ornate hardwood doors flanked by gorgeous teak wood panels. Decorative arched signage overhead read "Rick's Café American" in script lettering. Magnificent oversized gold frames (5.5' x 7') hosting authentic Casablanca movie posters created stunning vignettes behind the craps tables and roulette wheels around the room. Vintage black wrought iron street lamps and groupings of live Areca palms uplit with colored theatrical lighting completed the setting. And to top it off, the Casablanca DVD was played on the two enormous video screens that flanked the stage for the next day's general session.

Along with the video screens, Empire provided the sound, stage, lighting, and teleprompting for the session that included multimedia presentations by top executives of the company. Using decorative pipe and drape and uplighting, Empire masked the rear two-thirds of the stage so as to create a more dramatic effect when the headline entertainment for the conference performed later in the week. For the attendees' final night, Empire presented and produced singer/impressionist Gordie Brown as the evening's entertainment. Empire had requested that Gordie customize the performance for BJ's 20th Anniversary, and he obliged, doing an incredible impression of Humphrey Bogart stating the meeting theme "Here's Looking at You, BJ's". He also had the crowd in stitches, telling them "Congratulations on 20 great years BJ's. I understand that the competition is celebrating tonight, too. But they're in a hotel down the street with a balloon artist". Gordie received a standing ovation and the attendees were still talking about him when they came back to the ballroom the following afternoon for a surprise finalé performance by Kool & The Gang. After fantastic renditions of hits including "Ladies Night", "Jungle Boogie", "Get Down on It", and others, the band asked the GM's if they were ready to celebrate 20 great years of being in business. Receiving an enthusiastic response from the crowd, the band kicked into their classic party hit "Celebration". The crowd jumped to their feet, and many actually jumped to the stage to dance with the band. It was a perfect ending to a perfect celebration of 20 years in business.

Empire is a premier producer of corporate conferences and entertainment for special events. We seek to provide the kind of value to our clients that creates long term client loyalty and encourages them to look exclusively to Empire for any and all of their meeting & event needs. BJ's Wholesale Club is one of many public companies that has turned exclusively to Empire for their production and entertainment needs for five or more consecutive years.

Each Spring most of the major broadcast and cable networks come to New York City, the advertising capital of the world, to present the coming year's programming to a community of advertisers, media buyers and planners in an effort to promote advance advertising sales. Because these presentations take place prior to the production of programming which will air later in the year, these presentations are called Upfronts. Upfront season is a time when the world's most sophisticated marketers and media organizations compete with one another to out-wow the been-there, done-that advertising community. When National Geographic Channel, the nation's fastest-growing cable network decided to hold their first Upfront event, they knew they would have to do something bold, daring, innovative and reflective of their programming in order to stand out from the crowd. Naturally, they hired Empire Entertainment to help them achieve their goal.

Working directly with the National Geographic Channel's marketing and advertising sales teams, Empire worked to develop a highly interactive, participatory and stylish event that brought to life their 2004 positioning and slogan "Dare to Explore," and utilized the careful selection of yellow & red colors that derive recognition from the venerable National geographic Magazine yellow border. Empire created an astounding event at Gotham Hall in Midtown, NYC. The event featured a giant central yellow "Border Bar" built with surfaces that matched the logo colors, which were adorned with garnet red glasses in which were served 'Venom shots' and other unique cocktails created for the evening. Surrounding the bar were comfortable seating areas of ottomans and cocktail rounds, and around the perimeter of the room were a series of immersive activities, each one themed to a different National Geographic Channel series or special.

The shows / activities included Tycoon Toys in which guests enjoyed flights on jet fighter simulator, Techno Structures in which a team of master Lego builders had created towering buildings and replicas of the Rome Coliseum and the Pyramids of Giza and guests could make their own creations, Totally Wild in which guests interacted with animals ranging from a bear cub to albino python and falcons, Expeditions to the Edge in which guests played life & death trivial pursuit against the clock hosted by real paramedics, Seconds from Disaster at which guests experienced a virtual simulation of a helicopter crash, Pharaoh's Curse where guests took their photos in front of a digital backdrop of the Great Pyramids with a mummy and Pharaoh in costume, Inside the Secret service where guests honed their shooting skills on a laser targeting range and their hand to hand combat techniques with a real combat trainer to the Navy Seals, a Paratrooper station at which guests got to meet a real life Army paratrooper and try on parachutes and other gear, and Interpol Investigates at which guests got to try the latest spy gear, had their fingerprints taken by FBI experts and took a real time polygraph test with a specialist.Also mixing and mingling with the guests was a staff of real experts including medics, a race car driver, mountaineers, explorers, animal experts, NYPD and emergency workers and an assortment of other characters.

In addition to these activities, Empire provided outstanding catering in four large themed food stations representing the major regions of the world, Europe, Middle East/Africa, Asia and the Americas. Each station had an assortment of foods reflecting that region of the world and was decorated accordingly. A giant projection screen with a giant yellow border around it towered 24' above the event and served as a focal point for a presentation of NGC's amazing new programming and footage. And of course there was extraordinary lighting reminiscent of moving targeting lasers and an amazing, eclectic soundtrack that ranged from tribal drumming to techno beats.

When one of the world's largest and best-known software firms wants to reward its highest achievers, it flies them to Kauai for an Empire Entertainment-produced event. Once again, Empire secured disco fave KC and the Sunshine Band – top pick of the firm's CEO – and KC delivered: 300 sales representatives danced the night away. Empire's production team had an equally strong delivery. The site's ballroom was small, and not outfitted for an act of KCSB's proportions. But Empire sent a landing party months ahead of time to inspect the site, then had it specially equipped to handle a major touring act – full light show, speaker stacks, stage large enough to accommodate 15 players and 4 dancers up front, etc. The room was miraculously transformed: Somehow, the excitement of Madison Square Garden fit gracefully into a room just 60' by 120'. KC performed a high-energy 75 minute set rife with hits including "That's the Way I like It", "Shake, Shake, Shake", "Get Down Tonight", "Give it Up", and "Boogie Shoes". The afternoon before the show, Empire leveraged its warm relationship with KCSB to persuade the reclusive Harry "KC" Casey to "drop by" and enjoy beverages at a cocktail party called by the firm's CEO. KC mingled much to the attendee's delight, setting the tone for the concert and celebration that evening.

One of the most eagerly anticipated annual media events in New York is the exclusive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue party, which is held each year in connection with the release of the best-selling Swimsuit issue. In 2004, Sports Illustrated turned to Empire to help them produce the party at the New York club Deep. The event featured appearances by all of the current issue models including international athlete Anna Kournikova, as well as many former models and cover girls including Vendela, Marissa Miller, Roshamba, Molly Sims, Daniela Pestova, Bridget Hall, and Cheryl Teigs. This incredible high-profile event was sponsored by Pontiac and Captain Morgan's Rum and was webcast live and taped for broadcast on the Spike TV network.

For this complex live event, Empire was engaged to handle most of the major elements including: catering (by Great Performances), decor, which included managing a hydraulic, mounted Pontiac GTO to food stations, step & repeat sponsor banners, model dressing rooms, staging, lighting, management of the complex audio issues and integration with club and broadcast systems, video projection, a network of plasma monitors placed throughout the club, and an elaborate red carpet installation.

Empire worked closely with Sports Illustrated creative, the club and other vendors to deliver a seamless event. Empire is a leading producer of press and media events as well as client events for media and communications industries looking to entertain a demanding audience of media buyers and planners.

Since 1999 Empire has been recommending and securing entertainment for Sears, Roebuck & Co.'s annual DealerFest conference. The conference draws more than 1,000 Sears Dealer Store owners and spouses each year. In past years, venues ranging from Reno and Nashville to New Orleans, Empire has presented performers including Legends In Concert, Neil Goldberg's Cirque, comedy-juggling duo the Raspyni Brothers, country music legends Roy Clark and Juice Newton, comedian Brian Regan, and even a seven foot tall walking and talking robot to welcome guests to the event. This year, Empire presented one of the most successful nights of entertainment yet, with up-and-coming comedian Jim Gaffigan opening the show, followed by a headline concert by classic headline rock act - America. Jim Gaffigan, who has appeared on Late Night with David Letterman an unprecedented eight times, and is now appearing as "Roy" on Fox's hit "That 70's Show", had the crowd in stitches with his jokes about Cinnabons being so big that he doesn't know whether to eat them or sit on them (his conclusion "hey....I can sit on it, AND eat it!").

With the crowd warmed up and in a good mood, America took the stage, exciting the crowd with timeless hits including "Sister Golden Hair", "Ventura Boulevard", and "Horse With No Name". The band cleverly dedicated "Lonely People" to the notoriously lonely Maytag repairman (Maytag was Sears' sponsor for the evening), and then, at the client's request, made a more serious dedication of their hit "I Need You" to a couple in the audience who were celebrating their 38th Wedding Anniversary. The couple slow-danced in front of the stage as the band played the song in their honor.When the band's set was over, the crowd jumped to its feet for a standing ovation and called the band back out for an encore. The band was as personable as could be at the meet and greet, taking photos with Sears VIP's and signing CD's and photos for them.

Empire is a leading resource to companies looking to program appropriate entertainment for a variety of different audiences.

Empire produced The Godfather of Soul himself, James Brown, at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, for a global software firm. The client needed tremendous bang for its buck as well as an electrifying act that would charge up the 1,200 company sales representatives as well as the company's executive team and CEO. Empire worked hard to deliver a living legend that was a perfect fit for the legendary House of Blues setting. The James Brown Revue exploded onto the stage and performed a high-energy 80 minute set with a band that featured two drummers, percussion, rhythm section, horns, dancers, backing vocalists and the one and only Godfather of Soul, James brown. James performed many of his time-tested funk & soul hits including "Sex Machine," "I Feel Good," and "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag." The capacity audience danced throughout the show. Empire toiled behind the scenes to arrange an exceptionally large meet and greet with Mr. Brown and approximately 50 VIPs and worked with the House of Blues to ensure a smooth production and an exceptional experience for the attendees.

This show was the second time that Empire had produced James Brown for a corporate event so our familiarity with his operation and set-up benefited our client greatly. Empire is a leading producer of headline musical entertainment for classic corporate events and have produced a wide variety of living legends and master musicians from Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin to Al Green and James Brown.

Empire was engaged recently by the Starlight Children's Foundation, to produce headline singer / songwriter and Grammy Award-winner John Mayer to perform at a fundraising event for 400 people at Downtown New York's chic Capitale space. Working with the Starlight Foundation and CS Events, Empire consulted on the booking and contracting of John Mayer, and provided all production and stage management including staging, sound, lighting, electrical power & distribution, lighting design to include sponsor gobos, video projection and coordination with John Mayer, Capitale, the Foundation and other parties. John Mayer performed a 45-minute acoustic set, seated with his guitar, in which he performed all of his current hits including "Your Body is a Wonderland" along with a couple of new songs.

The enthusiastic audience gave John a standing ovation and he even brought them to their feet to dance at the end of his set. The evening also featured a silent auction, a live auction, a presentation by the event co-Chairs and a standup set by comedian Robert Schimmell, a cancer survivor and parent who lost a son to cancer. All told the smooth-running evening raised over $900,000 to support the work of the Starlight Children's Foundation and John Mayer's performance was a highlight of the evening.

Empire Entertainment is a leading source for headline talent and professional production services for fund raising events.

On Saturday, January 10, 2004, one of the coldest days of the year, Empire Entertainment again teamed up with National Geographic Channel and the Wildlife Conservation Society to present enrichment toys made from the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree to enrich the lives of zoo animals in a national press event for National Geographic Channel.This year the event was held at the Bronx Zoo, and despite the bitter cold, the press and public came out to watch as Dr. Mike Heithaus, host of National Geographic Channel's new show Crittercam, and Dr. Pat Thomas, curator of mammals at the Bronx Zoo, explained how the toys were prepared for the Siberian Tigers. Zoo-keepers baited a four inch disk cut from the trunk of the Christmas Tree with meat, deer hide and a spritz of Obsession (a scent tigers cannot resist). To the delight of the crowd, the Zoo's two female Siberian Tigers were drawn to their enrichment toy right away, and began stripping it of all the goodies the keepers had provided to the delight of the gathered audience.

Presentations continued throughout the day. The Bronx Zoo's Grizzly bears got the top twenty feet of the tree baited with bright red apples and drizzled with honey and molasses. The Asian Small Clawed Otters came out of the hollow logs where they were napping to play in the water with tree limbs filled with treats. One of the Zoo's newer residents, Biscuit, a Snow Leopard born in June of 2003, was a little leery of his enrichment toy, a disk just like the tigers'. But Dr. Mike and Dr. Thomas got the crowd to wait quietly while they whispered facts and anecdotes about Snow Leopards in the wild, and after a few minutes, Biscuit and his mother did come out to take a look.The Zoo's Polar Bears were presented with the final enrichment toy, a disk and branches baited with fish and meat, which they dug right into. Then the press and public were invited to the Zoo's cafeteria for cookies, hot cocoa and coffee, all compliments of National Geographic Channel.Empire worked with The National Geographic Channel, their PR firm, the Wildlife Conservation Societyt (operators of the Bronx and Central Park Zoos in New York City) and a variety of vendors and partners to deliver a smooth event. Empire provided event design and overall logistical management, supervised the mill process to get the world's most famous tree cut into toys that were safe for the animals, delivered staging, sound, lighting, video projection and placement of signage and branding as well as providing all staff to manage the day long event and the distribution of National Geographic Channel gift bags.

Empire is a leading producer of creative and innovative event marketing campaigns for corporations around the world.

When a major pharmaceutical company wants to inspire its sales team to surpass the previous year's record-breaking numbers, it calls on Empire Entertainment to provide the right entertainment to inspire and energize. For the main entertainment event at a multi-day sales conference for one of the world's largest drug makers, Empire delivered not one but two legendary disco acts to perform in the packed Grand Ballroom of the San Francisco Hilton: The Gap Band and KC & the Sunshine Band. The identity of the two acts was a surprise, and the attendees' astonishment at their good fortune fuelled a long night of exuberant dancing and a trip back to disco's finest era. As the bands played hits ranging from KC & The Sunshine Band's "That's The Way (I Like It)," "Shake Your Booty," "Get Down Tonight," and "Keep It Coming Love," to The Gap Band's "Get Up and Dance," and "You Dropped a Bomb on Me." By the end of the night, there wasn't a dry shirt in the house.

Empire also provided a motivational keynote speaker to rouse the audience during one of the daytime general sessions. 2,300 people sat in rapt attention as Irish Tenor, Ronan Tynan, movingly recounted his triumph over a childhood disability to become a medal-winning athlete, a physician, and a world-renowned singer. Empire worked with Dr. Tynan to ensure that he would include aspects of the conference's theme into his presentation. Following Dr. Tynan's speech, the audience swooned to his a cappella version of "God Bless America" before clamoring to their feet in a standing ovation. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Empire arranged private meet & greets, where guests were able to chat and take photographs, with both acts, as well as Ronan Tynan.

Empire is a full-service talent & speaker booking and production organization, capable of fulfilling all of our client's diverse needs for meetings and events.