Empire recently presented and produced three headline concerts in three cities. In May 2022, we produced a performance by the legendary Ms. Lauryn Hill in New York City for a very lucky private art gallery audience of 300 people. Ms. Hill was dressed to kill in a space-age themed outfit and floored the crowd with hits like “Lost Ones", "Doo Wop (That Thing)”, and her iconic cover of “Killing Me Softly”. That same month we also presented Pitbull for an electrifying show at Club LIV at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. “Mr. Worldwide” and his dancers had the private venture capital crowd jumping along to chart-toppers such as “International Love” and “Feel This Moment.” And finally, in early June, Empire presented pop sensation Andy Grammer for an insurance company’s private conference in Santa Barbara. The outdoor show at the Fess Parker Winery was a spectacular setting for Andy’s feel-good performance with platinum-selling songs including “Honey I’m Good” and “Good To Be Alive”.

Empire has been a leading resource for headline entertainment since our inception in 1993. Artists we have presented and/or produced for our clients include Adele, Justin Timberlake, P!nk, Jerry Seinfeld, John Mulaney, John Legend, Sebastian Maniscalco, Seth Meyers, Andrea Bocelli, David Copperfield, David Blaine, Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and hundreds more.

Nextdoor, the neighborhood social network, recognized some of their super amazing, never-not-there-when-you-need-them neighbors from across the country with a nationwide awards program called “The Nextdoor 100”.  

After almost 50,000 nominations were submitted, a panel of celebrity judges selected 100 winners from across the country. Judges included singer Tim McGraw, FIFA Women's World Cup champion, Brandi Chastain, comedian, Cedric the Entertainer, President of Gannett Maribel, Perez Wadsworth, Editor-in-Chief of Woman's Day, Meaghan Murphy, Founder of Operation HOPE, John Hope Bryant, and CEO at URL Media S., Mitra Kalita. To celebrate the initiative and bring neighbors together in real life to promote kindness, Nextdoor partnered with Empire to produce three, simultaneous Nextdoor 100 Block Parties across America—in Atlanta, GA, Indianapolis, IN, and Sacramento, CA.

Each free and open-to-the-public event featured hyper-local hosts, multiple vendors and small businesses, food trucks, arts & crafts, family-friendly activities, live music, and award ceremonies to honor finalists in each market for their acts of kindness.

In Atlanta, the stage program was led by Heather Catlin, local host and reporter from WSB-TV, and featured performances by Atlanta native and American Idol contestant, Andrew Weaver, hip-hop artist, Svnday, an all-female a cappella group, Octave Atlanta, and music spun by Atlanta-based DJ, Wally Sparks.

In Sacramento, the host was Mark S. Allen, a local celebrity and anchor at ABC10, and the DJ throughout the day was Eddie Z, the former in-game DJ for the Sacramento Kings. There were also performances by Ryan Hernandez & Friends, a rock band whose members are all Sacramento natives; Consci8us, a rapper and youth educator; and The Gold Souls, a soul & funk band based in Sacramento.

In Indianapolis, the day was led by local host, reporter Rashika Jaipuriar from IndyStar. Throughout the day, Indianapolis-based DJ B-Rad spun hits that got the crowd dancing. There were also performances from Indianapolis natives including soul artist, Bashiri Asad, and soulful singer/songwriter, The Girl Called BOOKS.

Empire worked closely with the Nextdoor team as well as other creative and production partners from the initial phases of concept development through final execution. Among other roles, Empire was responsible for site selection and contracting, tenting, staging and technical production, signage and branding, staffing, security, talent contracting, stage management, and the creation of media and promotional content.

Empire is extremely thankful to have been a part of these celebrations and congratulates all the Super Amazing neighbors who were honored.

Visit https://thenextdoor100.com to learn more.

Empire, working alongside the many teams at Dartmouth College, produced the historic opening and celebration of Dartmouth’s newly-transformed West End of campus with an unprecedented festival of ideas, the Dartmouth Innovation & Technology Festival, which highlighted the intersection of science, technology, business, engineering, energy, and entrepreneurship.

The multi-day festival welcomed over 1,000 attendees including Dartmouth alumni from around the world, students, faculty, senior leadership, and members of the public. Guests toured the state-of the-art educational infrastructure and collaborative learning spaces of the new Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center, The Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society, the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship, and the DALI Lab—all now strategically neighboring the Thayer School of Engineering and the Tuck School of Business.

The festival featured various events and activities including the Magnuson Startup Competition Semi-finals and Finals, Academic Sessions, building tours, community cookouts and entertainment, food trucks, a light show, and other interactive experiences and installations.

On the main evening, following the building dedication of the Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center, guests made their way to an elegant gala dinner in a clear roofed tent that celebrated Dartmouth’s Tradition of Innovation, its real-world impact, and its visionary future—a new era of innovation and technology underpinned by liberal arts scholarship and supercharged in part by the co-location of these new synergistic institutions.

The Gala dinner was hosted by Laurel Richie, Former Chair of the Dartmouth Board of Trustees and co-chair of The Call to Lead campaign for Dartmouth, and included remarks by Dartmouth President, Philip J. Hanlon. Among the many high points of this evening were a presentation of the McGuire Prize for Social Impact to Prof. Jason McLellan, a researcher whose work at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine was instrumental in the development of the MRNA Covid-19 vaccine. The Gala dinner concluded with presentations by several students sharing their visions for how their academic work will change the world and concluded with the guests joining a student celebration and DJ party that featured a spectacular light show that illuminated the entire West End that was co-created by Dartmouth student DJs and a world-class lighting team.  

Two days of special Academic Sessions included keynotes, panel discussions, fireside chats, and compelling conversations with technology, business and innovation leaders—mostly Dartmouth alumni—on topics ranging from artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, to wearable technology, electric vehicles, and health care. Speakers included: John Burnett, Co-Founder of Omniex (acquired by Gemini Trust Company); Christine Kim, Research Associate, Galaxy Digital; Akin Sawyer, Managing Director, Feleman Limited; Matt Slaughter; Paul Danos, Dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth; Richard Barth MD, Geisel School of Medicine, Co-Founder of Cairn Surgical Inc.; Kaitlin Maier, Co-Founder & CEO, Reia; Amogha Tadimety, Co-Founder & CEO, Nanopath; Samantha Truex, CEO, Upstream Bio; Sherri Oberg, President and CEO, Particles for Humanity; Keith Dunleavy, Founder and CEO, Inovalon, Inc.; Andrea Reisman Johnson, Co-Founder and CEO, Rally Reader; John Sargent, Founding Partner, BroadReach Group; Eugene Santos, Professor of Engineering, Dartmouth; Daniel Rockmore, William H. Neukom 1964 Distinguished Professor of Computational Science; Kevin Hand, Astrobiologist, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab; Colin Meyer, Assistant Professor of Engineering, Dartmouth; Laura Ray, Myron Tribus Professor of Engineering Innovation, Dartmouth; Tracy Wolstencroft, former Partner, Goldman Sachs, Former CEO, National Geographic; Justice Amoh, Co-Founder, Clairways, Smart Lung Monitoring; Jeff Bemowski, Co-Founder, Clairways, Smart Lung Monitoring; George Boateng, Co-Founder and CEO, SuaCode.ai; David Kotz, Provost, the Pat and John Rosenwald Professor in the Department of Computer Science, and the Director of Emerging Technologies and Data Analytics in the Center for Technology and Behavioral Health; Maria Nyamukuru, PhD candidate; Annie McLane Kuster, United States Representative; Abby Hopper, President and CEO, Solar Energy Industries Association; Aly Jeddy, Senior Partner and Consultant, McKinsey & Company; and Dan Reicher, former US Assistant Secretary of Energy, among others.

Keynote speakers included Dave Girouard, Founder and CEO, Upstart; Freeman A. Hrabowski III, President, University of Maryland Baltimore County; Kristen Morrow Johnson, Business Operations & Implementation Manager, Ford Pro Charging, Ford Motor Company; and Rob Portman, United States Senator, U.S. Senate, who appeared live virtually.

Highlights of the One Dartmouth Start-Up Competition Finals presented by the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship included the final three startup finalists presentations to a judges panel that included Errik Anderson, Ulysses Diversified Holdings, Caroline Hribar, COO, Bionic, and Geoff Ralston, President, Y Combinator. Closing Remarks and Announcing of the One Dartmouth Startup Finalist Winners was by Jeff Crowe, Senior Managing Partner, Norwest Venture Partners.

Empire worked with the Dartmouth teams in advancement, marketing and communications, facilities and operations, and leadership for months to design, refine, and ultimately deliver the entire Dartmouth Technology & Innovation Festival.

Empire was thrilled to once again support Dartmouth College for this historical milestone and we are excited to support Dartmouth in the years ahead to revolutionize how we think, teach, learn, and lead.

​After a three-year interval, Interstate Waste Services brought their legendary Waste EXPO reception back to Las Vegas, this time hosting nearly 900 partners, clients, and guests for an exciting evening event at the XS Nightclub at the Wynn in Las Vegas, NV.

Guests enjoyed the spring weather outdoors with drinks, bites and seafood based on a classic Italian menu, while listening to classic covers performed by the Christina Amato Band and sets by the XS Nightclub’s DJ. Guests were also entertained by world class sleight-of-hand magicians including Doug McKenzie, and had the opportunity to sample freshly-rolled cigars.

By activating XS Nightclub's pool deck with lounge furniture and highboys, guests enjoyed the excitement of the Las Vegas night al fresco, experiencing 360-views including the Vegas nighttime sky, Wynn/Encore hotels, and lavish interior of XS.

With lines of eager attendees throughout the evening, there was no better place to celebrate and end the experience at Waste Expo 2022!

Empire was proud to partner with The Public Theater to produce their annual Gala, live and in person.

This year’s theme, the “Gala on the Green”, began with guests arriving at The Delacorte lawn for a sunset cocktail hour. After a quick check-in and COVID compliance process, guests enjoyed views of Central Park with a step-and-repeat for photos, a fun flower crown making activity, as well as a sketch artist, who artfully captured guests' portraits. DJ Rich Medina kicked the night off with an upbeat set during cocktails before a brass band led the guests to the lawn outside The Delacorte Theater for the seated dinner and program.

Once the 700 guests were seated, they enjoyed an evening program that featured performances by Renée Elise Goldsberry, Oscar Isaac, Kimber Elayne Sprawl, Kelli O’ Hara, with remarks by Actress and Public Theater Trustee, Danai Gurira, Artistic Director of the Public Theater, Oskar Eustis, and Public Theater Board Chair, and Theater Producer, Arielle Tepper—all under the stars and sprinkled twinkle lights.

The event was emceed by Liev Schrieber and honored the singular Gil Shiva, whose leadership, integrity, and stewardship of the Susan Stein Shiva Foundation have guided The Public Theater for decades.The dinner ended with The Public presenting its second annual Community Leadership Award to Jamie Maleszka, Director of Creative Arts at The Fortune Society, one of Public Works' founding community partners, while guests dined on delicious desserts by Union Square Events.

With an online auction, ticket sales and in person donations, The Public Theater raised over $2.2 million supporting the arts, artists, and commitment to producing theater for all.

Empire worked closely with The Public Theater, Hometown Flower Co, Rana Florals, and many other partners to deliver this beautiful night. Empire’s scope of work included overall management and coordination, technical design and production, decor, logistics, and vendor coordination.

Empire was extremely proud to partner again with The Public Theater and bring back live events stronger than ever.

To learn more about The Public Theater and their programs and to become a member and supporter, visit http://www.publictheater.org/

Photos by: David Nicholas

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Empire produced the 26th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. The full show is available to view now at watch.webbyawards.com

After two years of being a virtual event due to the pandemic, the energy in the room was tangible as the best of the best on the internet gathered to be honored for their work online.

Empire booked Roy Wood Jr. (from the Daily Show with Trevor Noah) to host the show, and his tech-savvy monologue brought the house down.

Winners and presenters included Megan Thee Stallion, Ben Stiller, Drew Barrymore, Takashi Murakami, Questlove, and many more. The Webbys are considered the Internet’s highest honor, and the show is renowned for allowing winners just 5 words for their acceptance speeches. This year’s winners showed just how powerful and clever so few words can be:

• Professor Anita Hill accepting the Webby Award for her Public Service & Activism, General Series (Podcasts):  “Take equality seriously, for real.”

• Adam Scott accepting the Webby Award for Best Actor addressing the recently leaked Supreme Court draft that would overturn Roe v. Wade: “Supreme Court…..eat my shorts.”

• Laverne Cox accepting the Advocate of the Year Award: “Transgender. Unstoppable. Beautiful. Belongs. Everywhere.”

• Chef Gordon Ramsay: “No cursing tonight? F*ck me!!!”

Empire was proud to once again have the show feature a stage and set designed by David Korins Design (the creative force behind shows such as Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, and Beetlejuice, as well as the 2022 Academy Awards). Empire produced nearly all aspects of the event including the red carpet, the media lounge—where winners went for interviews and portraits—and of course the show itself.

Empire is honored to have produced every live Webby Awards event since 2005, and we consider the Webby Awards team part of the Empire family.

For more information on this year’s Webbys, check out #Webbys across Instagram, Twitter and TikTok to catch up on the fun, and watch the show now!

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The reviews are in for this year’s NewFront presentations, and it’s official, Tubi’s NewFront was a hit. MediaVillage’s Simon Applebaum assessed what worked and didn’t work across each presentation, and reported that when it came to Tubi’s, “there was nothing that didn't work."

Tubi, FOX Entertainment’s free ad-supported video on demand service (AVOD), joined dozens of other leading tech and entertainment firms for the triumphant in-person return to the IAB’s biggest annual event series. Empire has worked with FOX’s world-class creative services team for decades, so it was no surprise when they reached out to work with them and the Tubi team to produce their first simultaneous in-person and virtual NewFront event, welcoming 170+ in-person guests plus a dual livestream to an additional audience of 2,000+ media buyers and planners.

The Tubi NewFront began with guests arriving to Manhattan’s West Side to a fully branded experience in the newly opened modern Glasshouse venue. Past a swift check-in, Covid compliance, and badging process, guests stepped out of the 6th-floor elevator to breathtaking views of the Hudson River through floor-to-ceiling windows. Once inside, guests enjoyed a cocktail experience in a fully Tubi-branded living room environment complete with a series of stations where they could test drive Tubi’s interface and content offerings on iPads and various smart devices. Celebrity DJ and media personality, Nick Cannon, provided an upbeat soundtrack to the pre-show while the red carpet and step & repeat hosted Tubi’s VIPs.

Guests were then welcomed into a specially created immersive theater to view the stage program which featured both in-person and pre-recorded presenters. Screens surrounded the entire audience, immersing them in the Tubi interface and mimicking the look and functionality of the dynamic platform. As host Vivica A. Fox and a series of Tubi executive speakers appeared, guests were transported into environments representing the breadth and depth of Tubi’s content catalog of over 40,000 films and television series. These environments included riding horses in the wild west with Brad Pitt, romantic walks in Paris, and even a world stage soccer game experience with Réal Madrid. The concise 45-minute program with sizzle videos, surround-motion graphics, live moments, and surprises conveyed to the audience the reason why Tubi is experiencing explosive growth and is positioned for much, much more.

After the stage program and afterparty ended, guests were greeted by a Tubi-branded double decker bus to shuttle them to their next destination.

Empire worked closely with Tubi Ad Sales Marketing, FOX Creative Services, Glasshouse, Relish Caterers, and many other partners to deliver the program. Empire’s scope of work included overall concept ideation, scripting, screen content and graphics production, technical design and management, stage management, and overall logistics.

Empire was extremely proud to collaborate with Tubi on this year’s NewFronts event and looks forward to collaborating with Tubi as they grow for years into the future.

To read more, visit:

https://www.mediavillage.com/article/tubi-is-pushing-the-pedal-on-originals-and-ad-opportunities/

​Empire was honored to help produce the Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Vision 2030 Talks.

The all-staff webinar featured 10 five-minute talks followed by an engaging Q&A session, hosted at two different times for employees across the globe. Vision 2030 is EDF’s plan for bold climate action in this pivotal decade, reflecting EDF’s mission of “A vital Earth. For everyone.”

EDF staff members spoke on key initiatives covering three broad goals, focusing on places around the world where they can make the most difference in stabilizing the climate, strengthen people’s ability to thrive in a changing climate, and support people’s health. The initiatives span a wide range of topics including innovation, transportation, markets, nature, methane, fisheries, agriculture, water, clean air, and chemicals.

Program highlights also featured remarks by EDF’s President Fred Krupp and Executive Director Amanda Leland, who provided context on the Vision 2030 plan. The program gave EDF employees the opportunity to learn about initiatives outside of their own teams, uniting the staff around current achievements and what’s to come.

Empire worked closely with EDF on producing the program, with scope of work including program development, creative design, coordinating in-person shoots, conducting remote records, video editing, and subtitling the entire program in several foreign languages.

Empire is a leading producer of virtual events of every kind: corporate & non-profit conferences, fundraising galas, experiential marketing engagements, festivals, concerts, and more.

We are proud to support the Environmental Defense Fund. To learn more about Vision 2030, please visit: https://vision2030.edf.org/

More than 3,200 of the world’s most engaged social entrepreneurs, social innovators, and leaders in finance, philanthropy, academia, government, business, media, and the arts gathered online for the annual Skoll World Forum.

With an opening plenary & awards ceremony and closing plenary session hosted by Femi Oke, attendees heard from world leaders, activists, and notable voices including Donald Gips, Marla Blow, Samantha Power, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Jonathan Dotan, Jola Mukherjee, Githinji Gitahi, Michelle Bachelet, Alaa Murabit, and Jonas Poher Rasmussen, among others—all sharing stories and experience to fuel the global audience’s efforts to create social and environmental impact.

The program also included performances by five-time Grammy Award-winner & Founder of Batonga Foundation, Angélique Kidjo, Grammy-nominated musicians Amadou & Mariam, and playwright, actor, and professor, Anna Deavere Smith.

To bring the 2022 Forum’s theme, “Face/ Forward", to life, the Empire and Skoll teams worked hand-in-hand to design and execute the event’s creative motif using custom animations, curated footage, and creative filming techniques intended to emphasize “a sense of space and place".

A two-day in-person shoot took place in San Francisco, bringing together seven award winners from around the globe for the first time, capturing their in-person interactions, remarks, acceptance speeches, and memories in a custom living room set. One virtual participant, unable to travel from Brazil, joined the group live in a unique hybrid appearance.

Working hand-in-hand with the Skoll team, Empire managed multiple aspects of the session production, including speaker management and briefings, set design, international filming (on-site and remote), budgeting, creative, host preparation, remote recording, and video editing.

To learn more and experience the Skoll World Forum content, visit https://skoll.org/2022-skoll-world-forum-face-forward/

Empire is a leading producer of thought leadership events and virtual events of every kind, and has been proud to serve leading not-for-profit organizations and foundations for nearly three decades.

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Empire was thrilled to work once again with Samsung on their annual Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest. The nationwide competition motivates Middle and High School students to use S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) to approach solutions to real-world issues impacting their communities.

After months of hard work, problem-solving, and preparation, the 10 national finalists pitched their prototypes in front of the panel of esteemed judges at Samsung 837.

Following the Pitch event, the students were treated to private tours throughout New York City, including The Museum of Illusions, a bus trip on The Ride, and a dinner cruise on the Hornblower Lexington, which included a trip under the Brooklyn Bridge, and time spent right in front of the Statue of Liberty.

The next day, the schools were invited back to Samsung 837 for a special brunch and the final reveal event, where the three National Winners were announced. Each of the seven national finalist schools were awarded $50,000 in Samsung technology and classroom materials, and the top three winners each won a total of $100,000 in Samsung technology and classroom materials.

Empire was thrilled to again collaborate with Samsung Solve for Tomorrow on this fabulous program and to continue our long tradition of work in S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education events.

To see the Pitch and Reveal Event, please visit: www.samsungsolvefortomorrow.com