Our Work

When a global corporation sought to hold a high level client event on the eve of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, KY, they turned to Empire Entertainment to help them secure the right talent for this very special event.Empire worked with the client to help guide the selection of talent based on a variety of criteria and ultimately helped the client decide upon a fabulous Motown show featuring two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, the Temptations and the Four Tops.The show took place in a tent and followed a sumptuous barbecue dinner.

First up were the Four Tops who performed a 60 minute set that included many of their greatest hits such as "Baby, I Need Your Loving," "I Can't Help Myself (Sugarpie, Honeybunch)," "It's the Same Old Song," "Reach Out (I'll Be There)," "Bernadette," "Walk Away, Rene," "Standing in the Shadows of Love," "Shake Me, Wake Me," and "Still Waters Run Deep."Then, after a set-change of just 4 minutes, the Temptations took the stage and got the crowd dancing again with a high energy, 60 minute set that included "The Way You Do The Things You Do," "My Girl," "You're My Everything," "Get Ready," "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," "(I Know) I'm Losing You," "Cloud Nine," "Runaway Child, Running Wild," "Ball Of Confusion," "I Can't Get Next To You," "Masterpiece" and "Just My Imagination."Both acts displayed their distinctive Motown stage choreography and both bands performed with the backing of a powerful 10 piece horn section provided by the Tuscaloosa horns.For this engagement, Empire provided all talent contracting and coordination, air, room & ground transportation logistics, production coordination, backstage wrangling and onsite stage management.

Whether a classic oldies act or today's newest musical superstars, more companies turn to Empire Entertainment than any other company to help them secure the right talent for their events.

At a recent multi-day technology conference for high level customers in Seattle, Empire presented former Doobie Brother and five time Grammy Award-winning singer songwriter Michael McDonald. For this intimate event which took place at the Triple Door Club in Seattle, Michael performed a greatest hits concert with a band consisting of keyboards, bass, drums, guitar, a hirn section and backing vocals.Michael performed a career retrospective concert including Doobie Brothers hits as well as his more recent Motown work. The 90 minute set included such hits as "It Keeps You Runnin,'" "I Keep Forgetting," "Reach Out," Grapevine," "I Second That Emotion," "You Belong to Me," "Minute by Minute", "What a Fool Believes," "On My Own" and "Takin' it to the Streets" among many others. Michael's distinctive voice was in perfect form as he thrilled the audience and ultimately got them up dancing before the encore. For this event, Empire booked and contracted Michael McDonald, provided all air, room and ground transportation logisitics, coordinatied production and stage managed the show Onsite.

Empire is a leading producer of headline entertainment for corporate meetings and events.

When a certain a Fortune 500 firm with global presence wanted to wow its European division's diverse audience with a precedent-setting concert, it called on Empire to help them source a contemporary, affordable concert act with undeniable Euro-appeal. Empire put its research and relationship skills to work and found a perfect, routed opportunity for international chart-topper SealWhen Seal hit the stage, the multinational crowd went mad. Almost 5,000 attendees wandered to the show along the misty cobblestone streets of Copenhagen, arriving at the Forum — one of the city's premier venues — for cocktails and dinner before Seal took the stage.

The audience stood shoulder to shoulder throughout a high energy show of almost 90 minutes, dancing and singing along with the pop-star as he performed all of his hits along with a couple of cover tunes. Following the show, Seal graciously gabbed with VIPs for almost 30 minutes before gathering his lovely wife, Heidi Klum, and heading back to the hotel. Empire's client, indecisive before the concert about whether to have a follow-up concert the following year, has vowed to make it an annual event.

Each year one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer products holds a supplier recognition awards gala to honor and recognize achievement in partnership among their largest suppliers. In 2005, this multinational corporation turned to Empire Entertainment to help them produce their event and raise the quality of every aspect of the production. Working with a new client, in a new venue, on a new program and in a city in which Empire was relatively unfamiliar, Empire was quickly able to grasp the client's needs and design and execute a flawless, high quality event that exceeded the client's expectations.

Empire worked to coordinate all aspects of this program including catering, design and decor, logistics such as check-in, valet parking, security, tenting & guest flow, cocktail and dinner entertainment, stage design, lighting design, audio, graphics production, audio visual and stage management of the evening. In addition to a cocktail hour at which the Tommy Whitten Trio performed and a dinner at which the University of Richmond vocal harmony group the Octaves performed, Empire also arranged for a surprise appearance of the popular "Three Waiters" opera singers whose performance was a smash success. The awards program recognized achievements of 8 major suppliers to the client company and ran smoothly, in perfect sync with meal course service and ahead of schedule. In the end, the glorious event was a success on every level and the clients were thrilled with the success of the evening and Empire's contributions to the event.

Whether in Richmond, VA or Cairo, Egypt, whether a black tie awards gala or a street festival, Empire Entertainment is a partner that can be relied upon to deliver beyond a client's expectations.

When the National Geographic Channel sought to bring their channel to life and to express their message of "The Difference Revealed" to their target audience of advertisers and media buyers, they turned to Empire Entertainment to make it all happen. Working to the client's brief to secure a location that had plenty to reveal, Empire was able to secure Charlie Palmer's Metrazur space, located on the East Balcony of the historic Grand Central Terminal. The event space was designed with a beautiful lighting plan that up-lit the Terminal's 100-foot walls in the Channel's colors of red & yellow. Red & yellow floral displays, votive candles and fabrics complemented a giant 18' wide X 7' high lighted logo billboard that overlooked the main concourse of the terminal from atop the venue's marble stairs which were modeled after those at the Paris Opera House. Inside the cocktail area, Empire designed and created a series of "Video Tables" consisting of 51" flat-screen monitors built to display face up inside cocktail tables made of material that matched the marble of the terminal's grand staircases. These six bar-height Video Tables were capped with a non-scratch Lucite surface and surrounded with bar stools. Empire created a series of yellow and red animations for these tables to tie-in with the lighting and decor in the venue. The tables were also used to display the presentation, and to loop 'video wallpaper,' an animated logo and a slide show of National Geographic Channel images throughout the event.

To complement the amazing food and specialty cocktails provided by Metrazur, Empire arranged to have two large ice sculptures created for the bars: one of a tornado and one of a volcano that emitted dry-ice steam from its caldera. To promote the channel's programming, there were a series of interactive activities, each themed to a different series or special. For Relentless Enemies, an animal station featured a red kangaroo, a black leopard cub, two Syrian black bear cubs, and a 5' green iguana. Handlers fed and cradled the animals and answered questions from guests. A large-scale version of the Operation game with a life-size Bigfoot called "Yeti Operation," was a fun a tie-in to the channel's "Is It Real?" series.

The channel promoted its Spartacus special with a photo booth, where guests donned gladiator, Athenian citizen, and other costumes and posed for digital snapshots printed on-site. A sculptor created small-scale versions of famous buildings and ships featured in the "Mega Structures" series out of white clay. Also on hand was a space-themed ride to promote "The Space Race."As an extra special treat, Empire arranged for guests to have special VIP tours led by Grand Central chief historian, Dan Brucker, which included Grand Central's top secret underground power station, Manhattan's deepest point, which will be featured in the channel's Inside Grand Central special. Following a presentation of channel programming by senior executives, guests were beckoned to the balconies, where Empire had arranged for a choreographed stunt featuring 36 people to suddenly unfurl yellow strips of fabric on the floor of the terminal to create the shape of National Geographic's yellow border logo. The perfectly timed stunt generated spontaneous applause. In the words of the client, the well-attended event "Was truly a unique experience for our guests. It even caught the attention of local and national media."

Empire is a leading producer of event marketing programs and is an essential partner to businesses seeking to create experiential, tangible and interactive representations of their brands.

When Hakuhodo DY Media Partners (an affiliate of Hakuhodo - Japan's 2nd largest advertising agency) contacted Empire's offices in Tokyo, Japan to help them create and develop concepts for a series of short films that their client NTT Docomo (largest wireless carrier in Japan) could use as the central piece for the launch of the stylish new Sony premini-II phone, Empire knew exactly what to do.Working with the client, Empire identified and contracted Jordan Rubin, an accomplished comedy writer for such comedy television shows as Comedy Central's "The Man Show" & "Crank Yankers" and NBC's "Last Call with Carson Daly," to develop concepts for the series of vido shorts.

Empire then helped to translate the comedy and worked with a Japanese director, writer and local production team in Tokyo to localized the humor for the campaign. The comedic shorts focused on both style and comedy and helped make sales points about the stylish Sony premini-II phone. The short movies were launched in serial volumes to maintain interest throughout the launch period of the new phone. To view the clips and see Jordan Rubin's profile, visit http://premini.tv

Empire Entertainment's Tokyo office is a fast growing resource of talent, speakers and integrated production and creative services for Japanese clients earching for talent from outside Japan as well as for all corporations looking to execute projects in Japan, China, Korea and throughout Asia.

When a multinational corporation hired a leading production company, DEVLINHAIR Productions, Inc., to plan and produce one of their largest annual sales incentive meetings, they then turned to Empire Entertainment for help in securing the evening headline entertainment. The client wanted an upbeat, headline performer who could deliver a fun, dance-oriented show that would include many hits familiar to an international audience. Through Empire's longstanding relationships with talent, Empire was able to deliver the Queen of Disco, Donna Summer, to perform four outstanding dance concerts for audiences of approximately 900 guests each. And what spectacular concerts they were. Singing a 75 minute show including such hits as "Last Dance," "MacArthur Park," "Hot Stuff," "Bad Girls" and "On the Radio," Donna Summer had the crowd up from their dinner tables and dancing within minutes. The guests were so thrilled with Donna Summer's performance, that she was rated one of the best performers they have ever had for this annual program.

Empire is the leading source of headline entertainment for corporate meetings and events and often works in partnership with production companies from around the world to assist them with identifying, booking, contracting and producing headline talent of every type.

For the third straight year, the Syndicated National Television Association turned to Empire Entertainment to help them close their day of presentations to the New York advertising community with an amazing, star-studded party. The Syndicated Network Television Association, whose members include Buena Vista Television, King World, NBC Universal, Paramount, Tribune Entertainment, TwentiethTelevision, Warner Brothers, MGM and Entertainment Studios, again chose Empire Entertainment to produce their main event, a dinner and cocktail event that followed their day of presenting their 2005 programming offerings.

The event, which took place in the ballrooms & foyer of the New York Grand Hyatt, was designed to fulfill the client's vision of a winter wonderland. Empire worked with designer Michael Kowalski to create a cool winter vision that heated up into the hot party of the Upfront season. Upon arrival, guests walked into the ballroom, which had been mostly re-carpeted in white. The first vision was a colonnade of tall, silver birch trees lit in blue and white that led to a giant towering ice sculpture. A giant white curtain served as a wintry backdrop. Throughout the space large, white bars, white table settings and chair covers, white stages and furnishings decorated with white floral arrangements lit with winter blue completed the winter vision.

On one stage pianist Bill Graves performed on a white piano, and on another DJ David Chang laid down a dance track for the evening behind a white DJ console. A vodka bar staffed by female vodka specialists served a selection of dozens of vodkas by pouring them through a giant, ice vodka luge track. Empire also provided a 4-screen video projection system that ran changing slideshows of the various programs being promoted by the partner companies and also served to put guests on the big screens while they mingled with the various television stars attending. The 600 - 800 attendees ate, drank, danced and mingled with some of the hottest stars of syndicated television including Ellen Degeneres, Tyra Banks, Regis Philbin, Chris Matthews, Tony Danza and many others.

When NTDTV sought to produce their second annual Chinese New Year Gala event, they again turned to Empire who served as Consulting Executive Producer for the live event and global broadcast into over 200 million Mandarin-speaking homes around the world. Empire oversaw a production team of dozens of individuals and over 400 performers to present a smooth running, sold-out gala event at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Attended by more than 5000 guests, the Gala (conducted in both English and Mandarin) included dozens of acts such as famed Chinese tenor Guimin Guan, The Empire Brass Quintet, the National Taiwan University of Art Dance Ensemble, soprano Min Jiang and the Ying Tang Lions and Dragon Troupe among many others.

The gala program took place on an enormous stage decorated with lanterns, columns and featured an enormous rear wall projection screen with animated graphics and video that set the scene for each artist perfectly. Empire's high level production guidance on this program included venue selection and contract negotiations, the development of a staffing, logistics and communications plan to coordinate the efforts of hundreds of workers and vendors on a demanding schedule, providing direction and oversight in the areas of production management and stage management and providing legal, financial and sponsorship advice throughout the course of the project. The resulting gala was a hugely successful event and the program began worldwide broadcasts and webcasts three days following the live event. NTDTV is a unique, independent broadcast network that provides Mandarin language programming around the globe. NTDTV's programming is available in tens of millions of homes in the People's Republic of China via satellite.

Empire acts as a consultant to and production partner for a variety of major televised entertainment projects each year worldwide.

When the CEO of one of the world's oldest and most respected insurance companies sought a speaker for an extremely high level management group meeting, his company turned to Empire Entertainment to identify and secure the right speaker. Empire was able to deliver George Tenet, the recently retired Director of the U. S. central Intelligence Agency, to deliver a fascinating look at the geopolitical situation as it stands today in a riveting 45 minute speech. This was one of the very first bookings that George Tenet took upon leaving office. Tenet provided the management team with real insights from his unique perspective as the man at the center of U. S. intelligence for many years.

After the speech, Tenet made himself available for a lively question & answer session in which guests could receive their own briefing on the current state of world affairs from the U.S.'s foremost spymaster. In the words of the client, George Tenet was: "A smash success. Everyone enjoyed his candor , openness and intelligence. He fielded questions for at least 30 minutes after his speech. My CEO wasecstatic with his performance."

Many corporate clients around the world turn to Empire to provide the world's leading expert voices from all walks of life to inform, educate and entertain their management audiences.

Since 1997, event designer Colin Cowie has called upon Empire Entertainment to stage and produce A-list talent and superior audio/visual for many of the events he designs worldwide. This time, Empire was asked to provide even more support, executing not only technical production and talent handling but also implementing details of Colin Cowie's exceptional creative vision. Each year, Cosmopolitan honors a select group of women in the entertainment industry at their Fun Fearless Females luncheon and awards show. For Cosmo's 40th anniversary year, they decided instead to honor their favorite men including Josh Duhamel (Win a Date with Tad Hamilton), Kevin Bacon (Footloose), Simon Cowell (American Idol), Ben McKenzie (star of FOX's hit series "The O. C.") and David Spade (Saturday Night Live).

Colin Cowie turned what is traditionally a conventional awards luncheon for 400 into a fabulously classy and exciting spectacle. Upon arrival, guests were lead past 20' high black velour drapes which completely shrouded the dining area. During cocktails, guests enjoyed Cipriani's signature white peach Bellini's and passed hors d'oeuvres while ogling celebrity honorees as they were interviewed by Access Hollywood and other media behind a one-way black scrim, which created a voyeuristic thrill and conversation piece for star-struck guests who could see in, while the celebrities working the red carpet could not see out. Dramatic music signaled the grand reveal of the dining room as the drapes opened for guests to take their seats. The greatest set piece and stunner was a 70' long, raised, white catwalk emblazoned with "COSMOPOLITAN" in thick red letters, slicing down the center of a dining floor filled with elegant, long black tables laid out with sculptural red floral orbs on top of Pucci silk runners in vivid swirls of red, black and white.

The awards show itself was equally as compelling as the event's design. After welcoming remarks from Cosmo's Editor, Kate White, and Publisher, Donna Lagani, sexy rapper Traci Swain and songstress Kelly Levesque took to the stage to perform a specially written duet for the honorees. Appearing at the start of his custom serenade, each Fun Fearless male strut his stuff atop the white catwalk through a room full of gasping young female clients. Specially produced video segments and music kept the show's energy level high until the end.

Empire was responsible for coordinating production of décor, rentals, staging, lighting, video, sound and logistics. Empire also produced and stage-managed the awards show portion of the event by writing and calling all cues throughout the show as well as hiring the rapper and singer and commissioning the custom music and lyrics through live performance solutions group, LIVELAB. Whether producing a turnkey event or realize a client's vision to their exact specifications, Empire's flexible range of services can be applied to almost every event project.

When ConcentricCommunications, an industry leader in corporate event marketing, trade shows and business meetings sought talent to perform for the Eastman Kodak exhibit space at the 2005 Consumer Electronics show, they tapped one-of-a-kind technology magician Marco Tempest to design a custom illusions performance that showcased a variety of Eastman Kodak products. Working closely with ConcentricCommunications, Marco designed a show that effectively drew in the crowds and captured the audience for his headline, 10-minute stage performance that combined narration, product demonstrations, visuals and amazing illusion mastery.

The show began with a 15-minute countdown of warm up sleight-of-hand magic with three magicians working the trade show floor with close-up magic that teased the stage show that was about to start. ConcentricCommunications designed a clever multi-monitor countdown that ran throughout the exhibit space that built excitement leading up to the show. Marco Tempest then took the stage and commenced a performance set to music in which he narrated messages about the Kodak products and also performed several feats of magic that left the audience awestruck. In one illusion, he passed out a series of Rubics cubes and invited the audience to scramble them however they liked and to return them to Marco on the stage. Marco then proceeded to return all of the cubes to order in just seconds before the very eyes of the audience. If that wasn't enough, Marco then took another scrambled cube and immediately adjusted another to perfectly match the scrambled cube.

In another illusion, Marco invited an audience member to select a card from an imaginary deck and to hold the card in their mind. He then took a photo using a Kodak digital, wireless camera of the audience member holding up the imaginary card and then, moment later, was able to wirelessly transmit the photo of the guest to a plasma monitor onstage, however this image showed the person with the selected card in their hands! For his finalé illusion, Marco took a photo of one of the guests and then invited audience members to select a single puzzle piece from a large box of jumbled puzzle pieces. The audience burst into applause as, time after time, Marco revealed a Kodak digital puzzle image of that audience member with one puzzle piece missing. That piece was, of course, the one that the audience member had selected. When it comes to combining technology with Magic, Marco Tempest is the world's leading technology magician.

In 2004, Empire created a special division to work specifically to address the special needs of not for profits and charitable organizations. Headed by experienced producer Candace Sands, Empire's Not-For-Profit division provides all of Empire's usual services including site selection, event design, decor, talent acquisition and production, but also provides services unique to these events such as sponsorship sales & development, securing donated items and packages for silent and live auctions, and securing in-kind donations and gift bag items. Since its creation last year, Empire's Not-For-Profit division has produced several successful events for a variety of not-for-profit clients.

When Ronald McDonald House sought a producer for their Family Room Concert Benefit at The White Plains Performing Arts Center, Empire rose to the occasion and helped them produce a very successful fundraiser.The event, which was principally sponsored by HBO and attended by more than 400 guests, was hosted by Anthony Haden Guest and emceed by Shon Gables. The event featured both a live auction that was emceed by Rusty Burke, and a silent Auction that raised significant funds through the sale of packages such as:- An HBO Sopranos Package including 2 tickets to the Spring 2005 Premiere and After Party- A 7 day all-inclusive Royal Carribbean Cruise- A NASCAR Top 9 drivers signed posterThe McDonald's Gospel Choir performed an upbeat and inspirational set and was followed by a high energy dance concert with funk legends Kool and the Gang. Kool and the Gang's show included all of their hits such as "Celebration," "Get Down On It," and "Ladies Night."

Empire's Not-For-Profit division is a unique resource for charitable organizations of every size.

Each year the consumer technology industry comes together in early January in Las Vegas for one of the largest trade events in the world, the Consumer Electronics show. At CES, hundreds of companies come to exhibit and announce the latest in new consumer electronics technology. These include every major electronics manufacturer from around the world. Just prior to the opening of the trade exhibit, certain key companies are invited to deliver keynote addresses to attendees, industry colleagues and the press. This year one of the most closely watched players in the industry was again invited to deliver a keynote address to preview their newest products and talk about their future vision for the consumer electronics industry. For this year's keynote, Empire was asked by the presenting company to help secure and manage the appearance of Conan O'Brien, the host of NBC's Late Night, to the company's CEO onstage for the presentation.

This was an especially unusual booking because Conan O'Brien rarely makes personal appearances. For the keynote presentation, held before an audience of 1200 members of the press and dignitaries including Michael Powell, Chairman of the FCC, Conan and the executive delivered an upbeat, funny and informative presentation that included an opening monologue, an interview with the executive and demonstrations of many new products and technologies.Conan O'Brien's custom-scripted monologue was hilarious and served to loosen up the crowd. The structured interview covered all of the company's business messages and content yet still managed to remain fun for the audience who enjoyed the onstage chemistry and spontaneous moments of humor and interaction. The product demonstrations provided the audience with a fun look at the products in use, especially when Conan and the executive raced each other on a new electronic game. For this program Empire handled all negotiations, contracting and logistics including flights, accommodations, ground transportation, scheduling and liaison with Conan O'Brien and his writers and producers.

Empire is the leading provider of comedy entertainment for corporate events and are constantly delivering fresh talent for business communications projects of every kind. Conan O'Brien is a uniquely talented host and comedian who will become host of NBC's Tonight Show in 2009.

Musicians on Call is a charitable organization that brings entertainers to the bedsides of patients. This organization, which was founded by music manager Michael Solomon, has strong music industry support and delivers music's power to heal to sick patients.When Musicians on Call sought to produce their first ever benefit event, they called Candace Sands, head of Empire's Not-for-Profit division to help organize their benefit. The event was built around a guitar auction at the world famous Sotheby's Auction house and featured a live auction of guitars and a 40-minute long performance by Grammy Award Winner John Mayer. Candace Sands delivered both cash and in-kind sponsors for the event including HBO, Red Bull, SeaDream Yacht Club, Outback, The Benjamin Hotel, BlackBook Magazine, and Pout Cosmetics among others. She also assisted with the décor, the invitations and evening's program as well as with event logistics and was responsible for all sponsor relations, and coordinated a sponsor meet and greet with John Mayer.

Candace was also able to deliver live auction and raffle items including:- A 7-day all inclusive SeaDream Cruise to St. Thomas with American Airlines- An HBO Heavyweight Fight Package in Las Vegas plus the after-party, with air and a 2-day hotel stay at the hard Rock Hotel - An NFL Jets package including a signed Curtis Martin jersey and a Wayne Chrebet signed football ball plus 2 tickets to a 2005/2006 game- An Apple iPod loaded with musicCandace also delivered items for both VIP and general goody bags including Dewars samples, Godiva chocolates, BlackBook magazines, and more. During the live auction a Bruce Springsteen-signed guitar got top billing and raised $17,000. Details of the guitar auction are online at www.stubhubb.com and guitars are still available. Candace worked closely with Paula Witt of Shore Fire Media to manage press for the event. Toni Senecal of the WB 11 covered the event along with Channel 7 who did a piece on Musicians on Call that included a live bedside program. Musicians On Call is one of the many extraordinary charitable organizations that Empire is currently working with. Check out their website and work at www.musiciansoncall.org

Amidst the swaying palms and stylish cafés of trendy South Beach, Florida Empire Entertainment partnered with one of its regular corporate clients to produce their 2005 Field Kickoff Meeting. After a long day of business programming and motivational messaging, Empire helped spice up the evening's dinner awards ceremony by seamlessly integrating the comic genius Richard Jeni – currently enjoying the success of his latest HBO Comedy special – as hosting of the evening's festivities. Jeni had the audience in stitches by satirizing everything from the South Beach experience to current events, and lampooning the client's chief competitors.

The following evening, Empire further helped its client reward their employees for a banner year in 2004 by presenting 90s hit-makers, The Gin Blossoms (whose hits include "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You"), who quickly had the 1500-strong crowd shaking all three floors of Miami's hot, hot Club 1501. Numerous members of the traditionally reserved audience joined the band on stage, dived into the crowd, and offered their cell phones up for Blossoms' lead singer, Robin Wilson, to croon into. When the Blossoms finished their set, DJ David Chang kept the house rocking into the wee hours.

Empire is a leading provider of high-energy entertainment to fire up sales forces and management groups alike during the traditional January kick-off meetings held by every industry.

One of the world's best-known acrobatic and aerial performance troupe's, Antigravity, created wildly successful original aerial and acrobatic performances for Central America's largest commercial real estate development firm for the opening of two giant shopping malls in Panama City, Panama and San Salvador, El Salvador in December 2004. The directors and acrobats of AntiGravity worked closely with the client to develop magical routines that would generate the proper excitement and buzz for the opening of these enormous new facilities and overcame many obstacles to present excellent performances within this challenging environment.

Audience members for these prestigious shows included virtually every noteworthy person in Panama and El Salvador and included the nation's President, government officials, dignitaries, industry leaders, and national media as well as local celebrities and trend setters throughout Central America. In San Salvador, the national press heralded AntiGravity's first performance throughout the country, generating a "rock-concert" turn out for the second performance, complete with over 4,000 in attendance and many lining up out the street outside hours beforehand to secure seating. The concept and design of the performances achieved the client's desired goals as both shopping centers recorded tremendous sales over the course of the opening days.Antigravity's high energy, contemporary routines combined with their ability to provide entertainment that is non-verbal and yet universally appealing have made them one of the world's most sought-after performance groups. They are ideal for large-scale public and private events and appeal to both men and women, young and old from every nation.

On World AIDS Day (December 1st) Empire Entertainment produced an incredible, star-studded event to raise funds for Keep a Child Alive, a relatively new charitable organization that directly provides life-saving anti-retroviral drugs to children with HIV/AIDS in Africa.The cocktail party and once-in-a-lifetime concert event was named the "Pusher's Ball" based on the foundation's efforts to get people to 'push' these life saving drugs to children in Africa. The event was the brainchild of Keep a Child Alive Founder and longtime AIDS activist Leigh Blake. It served to raise funds and honor some remarkable people doing work in the AIDS community. Among those honored were John Demsey, the President of M.A.C. Cosmetics and Chairman of the M.A.C. AIDS Fund; Anneliese Estrada, Creative Director of The Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA) the oldest and one of the largest funders of HIV/AIDS service and education programs in the US; Stephen Lewis, the U.N. Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa; and Dr. Shaffiq Essajee, the Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at NYU School of Medicine, for their courageous work in providing treatment and AIDS research.

The event featured an unprecedented lineup of extraordinary performances. Among them were Keep a Child Alive spokesperson and J Records recording artist Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz who performed "Let Love Rule" and "Higher Ground," Anthony Hamilton who performed "Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone," Lou Reed who dueted with Alicia in a rare performance of "Satellite of Love," Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds who dueted with Alicia Keys on John Lennon's "Imagine," Angélique Kidjo who performed "Afrique," and a jamming version of "Africa is the Center of the World" with rapper Common and legendary vibraphone player Roy Ayers. The event also featured a solo performance by rapidly rising star and 13-year-old musical prodigy Karina Pasian. Other celebrity guests and presenters included Spike Lee, Russell Simmons, Iman, Run DMC, Tyson Beckford, Mos Def, Gloria Rubin, Alan Cumming, Don Cheadle, Lil Kim, and Clive Davis among others.

For this challenging project Empire served as event producer and was responsible for all elements including site selection and contracting, talent coordination in collaboration with J Records, all production including extensive staging, sound, lighting, video projection, multi-camera video production and multi-track audio recording, catering (with Great Performances), decor and design of unique, African-themed lounge seating areas that were sold in sponsorship packages, security, event logistics and stage management of the complicated program. The event, which was generously sponsored by AOL Music and M.A.C. Cosmetics, garnered heavy press coverage in the red carpet area and was widely reported in both local and national media. Press was managed by Dan Klores and Associates and the entire event was backed up by an innovative "Be a Drug Pusher" ad and celebrity T-shirt campaign designed by advertising agency Fallon New York.

Empire is a leading producer of music and other forms of entertainment for unique, innovative charitable events.

As entertainment producers and marketers alike know, the use of celebrities is one of the most effective tools to ensure wide press coverage for a product launch or publicity initiative. And one of the best ways to provide press access to celebrity superstars in a controlled setting is a carefully presented, well-managed "Red Carpet" on which celebrities can deliver interviews and pose for photos before large gatherings of press crews and paparazzi. Over the last 2 years Empire has become one of the leading companies in the field of designing, executing and managing red carpet environments. These typically are set up outside or adjacent to venues where talent are drawn to attend an event and frequently necessitate the closing of streets and sidewalks, the creation of a 'Step & Repeat' media wall which can provide brand identity behind talent, barriers and rope & stanchions to control sometimes over-zealous press and paparazzi, and an attention getting street presence including large swaths of carpet, bright lighting and sometimes set pieces and props.

In two separate recent events, Empire provided red carpet treatments to promote the Richard Branson FOX series "Rebel Billionaire" and the Paris Hilton & Nicole Ritchie series "The Simple Life." For Rebel Billionaire, Empire worked to create a simple red carpet appearance in the trendy New York Meat-packing district at the very tony SoHo House. This served as an ideal location for Richard Branson, the British billionaire founder of the Virgin brand of companies, to promote his new show. For The Simple Life, Empire created an expansive red carpet treatment at the equally happening Bungalow 8 in New York's Chelsea neighborhood. This environment perfectly suited the stunning and often controversial Paris Hilton and her sidekick Nicole Ritchie as she promoted The Simple Life. Empire provided a pink carpet to better match Paris Hilton's dress.Both events provided an ideal stage from which to provide access to the talents.

Empire is a leading production partner to PR firms and marketers looking to provide the ideal atmosphere for presenting celebrity talent to members of the press.

When a major automobile manufacturer wanted to make a big splash at a key automobile exhibition in China, the world's fastest growing auto market, they turned to Empire's new Asia office to help them secure and present the right talent. Working through the client's advertising agency in Japan, Empire was able to identify the group Barrage as the ideal talent for this program - mixing a sophisticated presentation and attention-getting music with a highly visual and non-verbal performance. Barrage are a high-energy Canadian performance ensemble that consist of multiple fiddlers backed up with the power of percussion and bass whose performances also combine dancing, head turning stage action and an infectious energy. Working with the advertising agency and Barrage, Empire was able to create the right combination of creative for this program that would draw the attention to the exhibit space and never take away attention from the vehicles being showcased to the throngs of prospective Chinese buyers.

Based on our experience in Asia and close working relationships with the talent, agency and production vendors, Empire was able to overcome challenges ranging from visas and translation issues to technical issues arising from the combination of western digital electronics and media equipment with Chinese electrical power.

Empire Entertainment's Asia division based in Tokyo, Japan has been an immense success since its founding earlier this year and has served clients from a variety of industries throughout Asia with talent, production and event services.

When a global corporation needed a captivating news personality to host and moderate a crucial product launch for 1,200 of their sales representatives, they came to Empire Entertainment for a fresh alternative to the humdrum newscaster.Empire's suggestion, Lisa Ling, the host of National Geographic Explorer was the ideal answer. Ling provided the respectability of a legitimate reporter - she has reported from more than two dozen countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia, Algeria, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Japan, India and Iran, and produced eight documentaries for PBS, several of which won awards. But along with her informative, substance, Ling also exudes an appealing youthfulness that compels her audience to take notice - as she has shown on ABC Daytime's popular morning talk and entertainment program, The View, and now The National Geographic Channel.With little time to spare, Empire was able to pinpoint the perfect talent and fulfill the special requirements of this unique product launch.

Empire Entertainment is the go-to, one-stop company to negotiate, secure and coordinate the right talent for the right job.

For the second year in a row, the Executive Council of New York, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to fostering innovation and commerce in New York City, chose Empire to produce their Ten Awards program in New York City. This important business event was sponsored by a variety of companies including Microsoft, AT&T, Orrick, NASDAQ & Philips and was staged to recognize and reward innovation and business achievement in the New York business community.

The theme of the event was "Leadership & Innovation: Achieving Your Potential..." The Awards program was hosted by the host of CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo and Tyler Mathisen", Tyler Mathisen and featured a keynote address by David Neeleman, CEO of jetBlue Airways. This year's award winners were: Robert Catell, CEO, Keyspan Energy Richard Korhammer, CEO, Lava Trading Corp. Adam Moss, Editor-in-Chief, New York Magazine Barry S. Sternlicht, CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Stephen Messer, CEO, LinkShareBarbara Chang, Executive Director, Npower New York (2004 Civic Award Winner)Bruce Mosler, President, Cushman & Wakefield David Neeleman, CEO, JetBlue Airways L. Gordon Crovitz, CEO, Dow Jones, Inc. Tim and Nina Zagat, Co-founders, Zagat Survey.

For this upscale event for more than 400 attendees, Empire provided virtually all services including venue selection (Gotham Hall), staging and set design, sound, lighting, the production of 10 video roll-in packages, graphic design and all program graphic production, catering, stage management, decor, florals, logistics management, security, and signage.

Empire is a cost-effective, efficient and creative producer of business events, meetings and awards shows worldwide.

When the Dysautonomia Foundation sought to produce their first-ever concert benefit for Familial Dysautonomia, they turned to Empire Entertainment's Not-For-Profit division to help them put on a world class show and effective fundraising event. The event began with a buffet-style reception at the Upper-West Side Asian restaurant, Ruby Foos, where the audience of 700 gathered to enjoy specialty cocktails and appetizers. The audience then moved smoothly around the corner to the historic Beacon Theatre for a video on Familial Dysautonomia featuring some of the individuals living with and affected by the disease. Upon completion of the video, guests were treated to the main attraction - a 75-minute concert performed by Grammy Award-winning singer Seal.

The Nigerian/Brazilian superstar performed a set of his greatest hits including "Crazy," "A Prayer for the Dying" and "Kiss From a Rose" which was a Billboard #1 hit from the motion picture "Batman Forever." When he played "Waiting for You" a giant heart-shaped balloon drop fell on the dancing audience. The audience included several notable attendees including Heidi Klum. After the show Seal participated in a VIP Meet and greet with sponsors and guests.

As guests left the theatre, they were presented with goody bags organized by Empire featuring products like Men's Life Magazine, HBO Yo Yo's, Bazooka Gum, Seal CD's and Familial Dysautonomia baseball hats.The event raised more than $1.1 million for this worthy cause and was an immensely positive experience for the audience, the sponsors, Seal and his band.

Empire's Not-For-Profit division focuses on serving charitable organizations with a host of event-oriented services. In addition to helping clients design & develop successful fundraising event programs, Empire also secures headline entertainers, emcees, celebrity attendees and auctioneers, provides all production, staging and A/V services, provides decor and event management and also secures sponsorships, in-kind services such as flights & hotel accommodations, live & silent auction prizes and gift bag items. Empire's Not-For-Profit division is designed to offer charitable organizations a full range of professional services to help them raise essential funds for their respective causes.

For the fourth year in a row, Empire provided entertainment for a prominent restaurant industry annual gathering. In previous years, Empire secured Tim Russert, James Carville and Mary Matalin, Penn & Teller and comedian Jeff Ross for the event. This year, the program was held in Los Angeles and our client wanted to take advantage of the local celebrity talent pool to maximize their investment and to reach for the most recognizable name they could deliver. Empire met and exceeded these requirements, delivering ‘Tonight Show' Host Jay Leno. Leno took the stage at 8:00AM, delighting the coffee-drinking attendees with his massive celebrity status and an hour of early morning laughter. Empire leveraged its' long-standing, active relationship with Mr. Leno to manage the client's scheduling constraints. The end result? A thrilled and loyal client.

Whether it be Los Angeles, New York, Monte Carlo or Dubai, Empire is consistently able to deliver the best local talent to maximize our clients' budgets.

Empire Entertainment had a strong presence at the 2004 International Monetary Fund meeting in Washington DC, providing entertainment and production for several of our financial services clients at this annual meeting of global finance executives. For these upscale events, attended by well educated audiences from around the globe, Empire was asked to provide sophisticated, yet cost-effective entertainment for intimate groups of high powered bankers and government finance ministers.To accomplish this, Empire secured both the Harvard Krokodiloes and the Yale Whiffenpoofs to perform at separate events.

The Harvard Krokodiloes are the the Ivy League university's legendary all male a cappella singing group, founded in 1946 at the hasty Pudding Club. Providing both musical and comedic entertainment, The Kroks were a great hit, opening the show with a comedic bit that included an invitation to "sit back and enjoy the next three and a half hours" as they performed an a cappella version of a classical opera, before launching into a set of 4 contemporary songs including a jazzy version of "When You're Smiling". In the first set, at the client's request, they brought up a specific female attendee and serenaded her with "What's Your Name", much to the delight of the rest of the audience. The Kroks were welcomed back with much applause to finish the evening with excellent performances of "Runaway" and "Run Around Sue".

On the following evening, Empire had the privilege of presenting Yale University's own a cappella group, the Whiffenpoofs, for a private corporate dinner at the Folger Shakespeare Library. The Whiffenpoof's performed a haunting set of songs including "Down by the Sally Garden" and an intricate and lyrical version of "On Broadway" before finishing the evening with their traditional "Whiffenpoof Song" which delighted the audience with it's tongue in cheek lyrics and puns. Empire also provided sound and a classical duo consisting of a flutist and a harpist who played classical back ground music during cocktails for this event. The Harvard Krokodilies and the Yale Whiffenpoofs are inexpensive, high quality, performing ensembles with name recognition and a reputation earned over decades of performances around the world.

Empire Entertainment is known for delivering high quality entertainment for every kind of audience.

When a leading home loans institution needed a headline comedian to act as the finalé for their "Platinum Producers Circle" conference, they called Empire Entertainment. As the final event was on a Saturday evening, Empire recommended and secured former 'Saturday Night Live' cast member, Dana Carvey. Dana performed a number of dead-on impressions including both former and current Presidents George Bush, John Kerry, Howard Dean, Ross Perot, The Croc Hunter, and Michael Jackson. He also brought some of his best-known characters from SNL to life, such as "The Church Lady" and Hanz (of "Hanz and Franz" fame). Dana also played guitar and piano with some absolutely hilarious bits, and his material about being a parent and raising children had the crowd in stitches.But most importantly, Dana performed a great deal of customized material specific to the client. He referenced their company name and their industry in a number of routines, and sang ad-libbed songs about the highest-ranking executive at the conference as well as about a VIP couple who was seated front and center. The audience's standing ovation and sustained applause after the 60-minute long performance was so tremendous, that Dana came back for an impromptu encore.

Empire Entertainment is a leading producer of customized headline comedy entertainment. Aside from Dana Carvey, we have produced other former SNL cast members Kevin Nealon performing customized "Weekend Update" and "Subliminal Man" segments for numerous clients, and recently had Darrell Hammond, perform a set of customized comedy in full makeup as former President Bill Clinton.