For the 4th year in a row, Empire produced the annual client conference for one of the world's largest financial company's retirement group. For this 4 day / 3 evening long event, Empire booked and produced all entertainment and provided keynote and topical speakers including: President George H. W. Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush, actor, comedian and political writer Ben Stein as well as 11 industry speakers and panelists.The opening evening featured world-renowned comedian / juggler and the senior Bush's favorite entertainer, Michael Davis, who thrilled the audience with his amazing juggling and hilarious humor. Michael received a standing-ovation for his performance

This year, Empire's responsibilities expanded to include all florals for the conference. Empire partnered with Tomik Productions who set up an in-house flower shop that provided all flower arrangements and linens throughout the conference for every function including two outdoor breakfasts, and lunches, the opening night cocktail reception and dinner function, the closing night cocktail reception, and an intimate breakfast with a small group of client guests and President and Mrs. Bush. Incredible custom floral arrangements were also provided for the Bush's suite, other VIP's and attendees as requested.The first morning, was a fresh and colorful citrus themed breakfast, set on the beautiful Da Vinci lawn within the hotel gardens, which featured festive citrus linens and floral displays.For that afternoon's lunch, the garden was reset with another fresh and bright theme, beautifully complimented with fresh florals and linens. These breakfast and lunch themed events were repeated the following day with the final in-house event being a cocktail reception held the last night of the conference in the conference resource center.

Empire again designed, built and installed the conference's Resource Center in which twenty one client participants / partners were provided custom-designed spaces to showcase their latest materials to the conferences 300 attendees. This space also served as a place where attendees could relax, network and check email between general sessions. Empire completely transformed a 100' X 50' ballroom space into an indoor garden, that featured Italian, English and Florida tropical themes, complete with a beautiful white email gazebo in the center of the room and an indoor fountain that enhanced the rooms ambience. These elements were complimented with a combination of various styles of outdoor garden furniture, beautiful garden-themed props, baker's racks for participants materials, computer monitors were provided as well as wireless internet connections for participants. Finally, Empire designed the General Session stage to compliment the Resource Center garden theme. The staging was then built by the client and dressed by Empire on site. The client and participants constantly complimented Empire on a job well done again this year. Many of the participants and attendees have attended this conference every year and are constantly surprised at how we conceptualize and implement a business function in a unique environment, not generally seen in the conference world.

When one of the world's largest and best-known software firms wants to dazzle its customers and business partners with a hot night in the Big Easy, it picks up the phone and calls Empire Entertainment. The client's goal was lofty: to put on a precedent-setting corporate concert, with multiple performers and a Grammy-like feel. Empire met the challenge head-on. Working closely with the client's marketing department, they arrived at a novel solution: to recreate, in concert form, last year's hit documentary, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown". The film celebrates the career of the Funk Brothers, the band that played on all of the classic Motown tracks from the early 1960s right through until the 1980s, backing the likes of Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and the Temptations. Few people are aware that the Funk Brothers tallied more number one hits than Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys combined. Empire partnered the Funk Brothers with Chaka Khan, Joan Osborne (both of whom were featured in the film), Aaron Neville and Ruben Studdard.

Two days before the show, Aaron Neville was hospitalized with bronchial asthma and forced to cancel. Empire worked quickly to replace him with none other than the legendary Isley Brothers' lead singer, Ron Isley. The end result was a high-energy, all-star event that ignited the 5,000 person strong crowd. The hits kept on coming: "Ain't Too Proud to Beg"; "What's Going On"; "Signed, Sealed, Delivered"; "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"; "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"; "What Becomes of the Broken Heart?"; "My Girl" and others. After the show, an out-of-breath member of the client's top brass exclaimed, "It is not possible to put together a better corporate show!" Earlier in the week, for this same client, Empire put on yet another all-star event: a panel discussion featuring James Carville, Ben Stein, and Todd Buccholz, and moderated by Stuart Varney. The lively debate focused on the upcoming presidential election and its economic impact of the U.S. and the world.

Empire Entertainment was once again called upon to produce a music industry party for valued clients, J Records / RCA / The BMG Music Group. This time, their client was Velvet Revolver, a new band consisting of several former members of Guns 'n' Roses: including Slash and Duff and Scott Weiland The Stone Temple Pilots former front man.Called in a week prior to the event, Empire worked to create a "Moroccan-roll" themed event on the rooftop of the hot new 'meat packing district' hotel, The Hotel Gansevoort. With extremely limited electrical power onsite and challenging 'new hotel' logistical and practical problems to contend with, Empire managed to create and execute a first class event for a crowd of music celebrities and industry personnel including Clive Davis.

The event featured original decor in a Moroccan theme reminiscent of the decor at the band's studio where their debut album was recorded. Empire and it's team designed & provided decor in both interior and exterior spaces on the hotel rooftop and floating flowers and votive candles around one of Manhattan's few rooftop swimming pools. The party went late into the evening with great rock music from DJ Frank Inglesi, and celebrities and guests lounging on Moroccan furniture arrangements beneath lanterns and among flowers and planters. Empire was complimented throughout the night by the client, hotel personnel, and attendees, for doing a great job.

Empire is a leading producer of events for the entertainment industry.

When Velocity Communications recently consulted Empire Entertainment regarding a headline performer for an event in Germany, there was one act that was perfect for the audience. Velocity had explained that the attendees of the engagement were going to be 1,200 key clients, premier partners, special guests, and staff of a world-renowned technology corporation. Most of these guests were to be non-English speaking, men in their 30's - 50's. The entertainment needed to be elegant without being boring; glamorous but still exciting enough to keep the attendees' attention. And of course, the performance needed to be essentially non-verbal to suit the international audience. Empire immediately suggested the female string quartet "BOND".

Initially hailed "the Spice Girls of classical music", the four attractive women who make up the group have demonstrated that they are not all style-over-substance by composing a vibrant worldbeat sound all their own. Their debut album, "Born" (2001) showcased the band's mix of salsa, house, and European folk stylings. Combined with the performers' supermodel looks, the music helped the album sell over two and a half million copies worldwide, and led to the group performing at high-profile events like the "Pavarotti with Friends" concert in Italy, the MTV Awards in the United States and Singapore, and at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and high profile endorsements & commercial campaigns for multiple brands including Raymond Weil watches. Empire knew that the band's unique blend of sex appeal and elegant high-energy classical music made them the ideal show for the crowd.After seeing the troupe's video, Velocity Communications and the end-client agreed they were perfect. While BOND was touring Asia at the time of the event in Germany, Empire was able to secure them for the project. As can be seen in the accompanying photo, Velocity Communications transformed The Kraftzentrale in Duisburg, Germany (a former steel foundry) into a lively, dynamic banquet and concert venue. Dramatic use of lighting on flying "Hexawing" scrim and vibrant staging set the tone for a magical evening. And BOND outdid themselves as well.

As one of the clients from Velocity wrote to us after the show, "in short, the experience was the best we have ever had. BOND was fantastic. [The end client VIP's] lined up to meet them afterwards including the CEO. And yes, the male audience lined up during the entire show to take photos. They are hot, sexy and talented. Thank you so much for taking care of us and our client." Empire Entertainment is a leading presenter and producer of headline performers at special events worldwide. We have our fingers on the pulse of the best new entertainment on every continent and excel at recommending and securing the best possible entertainers for any specific audience, regardless of their nationality.

Now in its 3rd year, the TriBeCa Film Festival once again turned to Empire Entertainment to produce the festival's largest single event, the TriBeCa Family Festival. The multi-faceted street festival pulled in an estimated 300,000 visitors throughout the day and served as a focal point for the growing celebration of the revival of Lower Manhattan. Larger than previous years, this year's Family Festival offered more than 70 tents of entertainment, activities, and food and stretched across 17 city blocks. Five outdoor stages presented a diverse collection of New York-based performers and community talent.

Highlights of this year's Family Festival included an arts and crafts pavilion sponsored by American Express, a children's library and storytelling with Robin Williams and Whoopi Goldberg in the Scholastic pavilion, a baby giraffe, zebra, and leopard cub on display with South African Tourism, Club TriBeCa which featured live cabaret-style performances throughout the day, a tennis activity area created by USTA, a basketball shooting court sponsored by the Nationball Basketball Association, a life-size chess board, hundreds of street performers, face painters, kite-making, sidewalk chalk art, a public art mural, a KidzTown dedicated to children's activities and entertainment and numerous other arts and crafts tents and areas.The event also included the participation of dozens of restaurants and merchants in lower Manhattan and the spontaneous participation of schools, community groups and all manner of special interests and institutions in TriBeCa.

Empire Entertainment served as Executive Producers and managed all production and logistics elements of the entire event and coordinated all services including tenting, permitting and street closure, integration with city agencies, security, electrical power distribution, decor, staging, sound, lighting, labor, decor, bathrooms, street cleanup, video and A/V, event design and layout, stage management, etc.

Empire is a major producer of public events and is proud to be a partner of TriBeCa Productions in the TriBeCa Film Festival since it's start in 2002.

For the sixth consecutive year, Empire Entertainment produced The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation, Kids For Kids charity carnival event at New York's Industria SuperStudios in Manhattan's West Village. This year's event was underwritten by The Bandai Foundation and sponsored by The Toys R' Us Children's Fund, MTV, VH-1, Country Music Television, InStyle Magazine, JetBlue, Symrise and Mercedes-Benz Tri-State Dealers among others. The event took place in all of the photography studios of the Industria complex as well as the Diane von Furstenberg Studio and 9 large tents set up on Washington Street and West 12th Street.

More than 1,500 people attended Kids for Kids which featured a kids dance club created by MTV/VH-1/CMT, delicious foods from dozens of participating New York City restaurants brought together by Jonathan Morr, an Art Room in which artists including Chuck Close, Francesco Clemente and Jeff Koons worked with children to create original paintings and sculptures, a street carnival where children played games with celebrities like Julianne Moore, James Gandolfini and Brooke Shields, a JetBlue flight simulator activity, video karaoke, a toy redemption area donated by Toys R' Us, a fragrance laboratory created by Symrise, a storytelling room sponsored by TARGET and a kids yoga room designed by Béyul and staffed by yoga instructors from Karma Kids. The afternoon event also featured several performances on a main stage including Kid Pop, Big Truck Music, The Power Rangers and a headline concert by Maverick recording artist Ben Jelen.

Empire Entertainment managed and coordinated most aspects of the four hour long event including the tenting, security, staging, labor, cleaning crews, emergency medical service standby, and signage. Decor for the event was provided by Robert Isabell.Kids for Kids 2004 was a tremendous success for all involved and helped to raise $1.3 million in funds to support critical pediatric AIDS programs.

Empire is a key producer of high-end, not-for-profit events and a strategic partner to businesses looking to create event-marketing opportunities in collaboration with charitable causes.

When one of the world's largest restaurant companies sought to present a very special, yet informal and fun party on the eve of the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, KY, they called Empire Entertainment to deliver the right entertainment. Working with this client, Empire was able to secure The Blues Brothers, featuring Dan Aykroyd and Jim Belushi along with the Sacred Hearts Band to perform a no-holds-barred concert of Blues Brothers hits including "Kady," "Sweet Home Chicago," "Going Back to Miami," "Rubber Biscuit" and "Soul Man." Dan and Jim wore their full Blues Brothers costumes of black suits & ties, Ray Ban sunglasses and black hats and performed with all of the stage choreography seen in the original motion picture featuring Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi.

The event took place in a large, tented site on the grounds of a magnificent private home in Louisville. The band performed on a stage set based on a "House of Blues" theme and delighted the audience members, who came from around the world, and began dancing almost immediately after the music began. Dan and Jim agreed to pose for meet & greets with 160 guests and customized many of their between song comments to the audience and the host, even inviting the host's daughter and her friends onstage to dance with the band. Following the Blues Brothers' performance, a surprise country & western superstar took the stage and performed several songs before Nashville-based dance band The Kadillacs played dance music for the remainder of the evening.

For this project Empire was responsible for negotiating for and contracting the Blues Brothers, handling all logistics including travel, hotels, ground transportation and hospitality and coordinating production with a top Louisville staging & production vendor. Empire also stage-managed the entire evening's activities.

Empire is a leading producer of major concert events and is regularly called upon to create unique events surrounding major sporting events such as the Kentucky Derby, The Superbowl, Indianapolis 500, World Cup Soccer, and The Olympic Games.

When one of Empire's magazine clients sought to present a special value-added event for one of their top advertisers, they turned to Empire Entertainment to help them present one of today's hottest musical stars at the historic Paramount Theatre. Empire worked with the client to secure the rapidly rising and extraordinarily talented Warner Brothers Recording artist, Jewel, to perform a solo headline concert that included her hit songs "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "You Were Meant For Me" as well as a variety of songs in styles ranging from blues and country to folk and ballads. Her performance to a nearly packed house revealed not just her great musical talent but also her knack for humorous story telling and interactive rapport with her audiences. Her 90-minute-long performance included a guitar and harmonica duo with her brother Atz, who lives in Seattle, and won a standing ovation and encore from the audience, all of which were the retailer's shoppers.

For this performance Empire negotiated all contract terms including promotional rights for both parties, handled all logistics and production arrangements, managed all aspects of the live performance, and helped to get Jewel styled for the performance with some exceptional clothing from the retailer. Empire was successful in negotiating an excellent deal for Jewel to perform by combining incentives that included a national advertising page to offset hard dollar costs.The show was an incredible success that thrilled Jewel's fans, increased customer loyalty for the retailer and provided a unique and fitting way for the magazine to thank it's advertiser as well as reinforce its presence in the Seattle Market.

Empire is a major producer of event marketing programs and the leading producer of contemporary music for corporate marketing events.

Live Lab is a "Creative Solutions Provider" joint venture created by Choreographer Tee Scatuorchio, Musical Director Mike Levesque and Empire Entertainment. Live Lab designs original productions for trade shows, business meetings and other forms of event marketing initiatives. Live Lab productions are exclusively represented by Industrial Artist Management. Live Lab's most recent show for Panasonic at the CeBit International Trade show in Germany, demonstrated once again it's range and versatility. Working with the vibrant message of Panasonic's sponsorship of the 2004 Olympic games, Live Lab assembled an all-star cast of marching drummers, trumpet players and Ribbon Gymnast dancers from such Broadway hits as, "Movin' Out" and "Cabaret" to create an original stage show that served as a framework for presenting Panasonic's business messages. The show drew some of the biggest crowds at this year's CeBit electronics trade show and was wildly successful. Live Lab's show for Panasonic at the IFA show in Berlin, Germany in September 2003 featured Beat Box and Hip - Hop worked into a Formula One Racing Pit theme. Live Lab is expert is crafting shows that not only provide great entertainment but entertainment that delivers content in a smart and seamless production. Whether it's a show lasting only 3 minutes or a half hour, Live Lab conceptualizes, directs, choreographs, composes music, casts, costumes, and above all, produces quality shows based on years on extensive experience. Live labs recent and upcoming shows include productions for Choice Hotels, Carlson Worldwide, Nick At Nite's Upfront Show, Gerber Foods, Panasonic IFA, Panasonic CES, Merck's Zocor & Singular Launches, Arthur Ashes Kids Day/CBS TV and others. When You Want shows that Include: Beat Poets, Beat Box, Ribbon Gymnasts, Tap, Hip Hop, Acrobatics, Percussion, Vocalists, Broadway Style Song and Dance and other emerging forms of performance, call Live Lab!

When the top figures in the Entertainment Industries want to throw a blowout party, they turn to unrivaled event designer Colin Cowie to design an unforgettable room and wonderfully conceived party. But when Colin Cowie needs to realize his fanciful visions, he relies upon Empire Entertainment to provide the backbone of his entertainment, technical production and talent wrangling team. Such was the case last week when television superstar Oprah Winfrey decided to throw a surprise 71st birthday party for music industry legend Quincy Jones. For this ultra exclusive event for 250 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Colin Cowie transformed the Rodeo Ballroom into a multi-leveled vision of brown, black and purple floral arrangements. In front of a reflective black dance floor was a 40' X 28' stage upon which some of the top names in music would perform. The foyer and outside patio were similarly designed and featured an assortment of dessert stations, bars, cigar lounge areas and everywhere were vertically hung plasma monitors running a montage of a special Q71 logo that Empire created for the evening which was also reflected on custom match boxes, and napkins.

Quincy Jones was completely surprised when he arrived to find 250 of his closest friends crouching in the darkness. As soon as they yelled surprise! the DJ kicked in the music and the party started swinging. The guest list was a who's who of Hollywood and music royalty. Everyone from Barbra Streisand, Eddie Murphy, Jon Travolta and Elton John to George Lucas, Billy Crystal and Stevie Wonder crowded the dance floor. Oprah Winfrey hosted the evening and played several touching video tributes to Quincy as well as presenting an enormous chocolate piano that had been flown in earlier in the day.Guests listened to the enchanting Diana Krall perform a mellow set of music during a buffet dinner that included Joe's Stone Crab flown in from Miami and barbecued ribs fresh from Texas. After dinner Earth, Wind & Fire took the stage and brought the entire audience onto the dance floor for hits that included "Boogie Wonderland," "Sing a Song," "Let's Groove," and "Shining Star." After Earth, Wind & Fire's set ended Verdine White and others joined the rest of the guests on the dance floor as DJ Tom Finn kept people dancing until late into the night. Later in the evening, Stevie Wonder took the stage with keyboardist Greg Phillinganes for a couple of impromptu songs and sung to a beaming Quincy Jones.

For this demanding project, Empire consulted on all talent negotiations, integrated the competing needs of the various acts to work within a very small space and brought in world class sound, labor, video projection and other technical services, handled all logistical and dressing room arrangements and managed the flow of the evening with Empire co-President, J. B. Miller, personally calling the cues from the dance floor.

Empire is the leading provider of talent booking and technical services for diamond class events worldwide.