Our Work

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.

When celebrity event designer Colin Cowie was asked by Jennifer Lopez' to help produce a surprise birthday party for her husband, Latin music superstar Marc Anthony, Colin turned to Empire Entertainment to help with the entertainment for the evening. Working with very short notice and under precautions to keep the surprise concealed, Empire was challenged with the task of providing Latin music that would impress Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, dance music that would rise to their standards, and production support that would impress the most A-list musicians and top music industry personnel.

Working through its extensive network of contacts in the Latin music community, Empire was able to secure the Jimmy Bosch Band / Oscar Hernandez Orchestra, who have recorded with many of Latin music's biggest stars, along with up-and-coming turntable artist DJ Cassidy, who has spun for Sean "Puffy" Coombs, Ben Affleck and Naomi Campbell among many others.

For the exclusive event, held in a private home on Long Island, Empire provided production management, concert sound system, backline as well as stage management and travel logistics. The Jimmy Bosch Band / Oscar Hernadez Orchestra got people on their feet after the surprise was revealed and DJ Cassidy kept them dancing until early the next morning when the police were called in to shut down the party. Throughout the evening other guests such as Latin Legends Johnny Pacheco & Luis Miguel, hip hop guest artist Fat Joe & The Terror Squad and Little Louie Vega also performed and Empire easily handled their needs in a seamless fashion. The live performance session ended with Mark Anthony & his Orchestra.Empire is a leading producer of high end private events around the world.

From East Hampton and St. Barts, to Gstadt and St. Tropez, Empire is the company to call.

For the sixth year running, Empire secured talent for the new model reveal show for one for of the world's largest and most successful car-manufacturers, and it was a resounding success.This year's program was held at The Arena at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, where Empire-partner Kaleidoscope Productions once again designed a stage and produced a show to rival the Academy Awards. Empire Entertainment outdid its efforts in past years and delivered a program of headline talent the caliber of which are rarely seen at corporate meetings.The relaxed and hilarious Ellen DeGeneres hosted the event and delighted the audience with material tailored specifically to the show. She delivered laughter consistently, whether on- or off-script. The general session featured a stunning performance by top-of-the-charts hip-hoppers, the Black Eyed Peas, which included their smash hits, "Hey Momma" and "Let's Get It Started". The Peas were backed up by the wicked moves of urban dance legends, The Rock Steady Crew.

The show also featured breath-taking, audience-interactive illusions performed by the world famous magician, David Copperfield. The piece de resistance in Mr. Copperfield's performance was a custom-designed illusion in which one of the client's soon-to-be-released vehicles vanished.The show culminated with a roof-raising concert by rock legend Rod Stewart. After taking the audience on an electrifying tour of his greatest hits – Tonight's the Night, Forever Young, Hot Legs, The First Cut is the Deepest, Some Guys Have All the Luck, the list goes on -- Stewart closed the show with a raucous version of "Maggie May", during which he kicked dozens of signed soccer balls out to the adoring audience.The day-long event also showcased a short film starring Danny Glover and actor/comedian Larry Miller, and featuring Saturday Night live stars Seth Meyers and Chris Parnell – all secured by Empire Entertainment.

When it comes to the world's largest corporate entertainment projects, world-class companies turn to Empire Entertainment.

When Huis Ten Bosch, a European style resort located in Nagasaki Japan, needed to find a great central attraction for their Autumn Festival they turned to Empire Japan to deliver contents that were unique to Europe.The client wanted to emphasize the fact that new and exciting things were happening at Huis Ten Bosch, while remaining true to the European romantic theme of the resort. It was important that the attraction generate interest from the media and result in significant PR exposure for the park. It was also important that word-of-mouth be generated from park guests themselves.To meet these challenges Empire Entertainment's Japan office identified Master Painter Kurt Wenner as the answer to Huis Ten Bosch's needs.

Working with Empire and Dentsu, Huis Ten Bosch's agency, Kurt developed ideas for two separate street paintings based on the theme of metamorphosis. He also allowed for the integration of Huis Ten Bosch's Autumn Harvest Festival into the context of the pieces. Both designs prominently featured Huis Ten Bosch's name, allowing for maximum PR and word of mouth exposure (through both PR and guest photos). Kurt's ability to combine extraordinary drawing talent with a perspective technique virtually lost in today's creative process created large scale one of a kind works that dazzled park visitors.Kurt Wenner's works utilize a Baroque era painting technique called Anamorphism. Wenner's unique and innovative use of anamorphic perspective creates unforgettable images that combine the painted surface with its surroundings into a single composition that appears 3-dimensional.Kurt's first work for Huis Ten Bosch, "The Banquet of Circe," was inspired by Homer's Odyssey. The painting features a scene where the sorceress Circe offers a bountiful harvest to the hungry companions of Ulysses, but the magical food transforms them into animals.Kurt's second work "The Triumph of Puck" was inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and features Puck, having transformed the farmer "Bottom" into a donkey as the sprites harvest grapes, pumpkins, chestnuts, and mushrooms in the foreground.These paintings were both executed on the floor's flat surface using Kurt's hand made pastel chalks. They represent the first street paintings Kurt has ever created in Japan, and were tremendously well received by Huis Ten Bosch, the media and the park guests.

Four television stations visited the park and filmed Kurt's work in progress, with a total of over twenty minutes of on-air coverage (ten minutes of that being a live broadcast from the park). Five newspapers also covered the event, publishing articles with images of Kurt's artwork.Huis Ten Bosch was thrilled with both the artistic and PR results of the project, and has expressed interest in inviting Kurt back to Japan in 2005 to create new works.For this event Empire identified and contracted the artist, was responsible for all production logistics associated with the performance, and performed as the on-site producer.

Empire is a leading provider of unique talent of every kind from around the world and serves as a one-stop source of talent to a variety of buyers including resorts, theme parks, fairs, festivals, casinos, colleges, and performing arts centers in addition to corporate meetings, events and trade shows.

At the 2004 National Business Travel Association convention, Empire Entertainment was again asked for the 7th year in a row by co-sponsors American Express and American Airlines to secure and manage headline entertainment and provide all of their production requirements. This year the event took place at Orlando's Epcot Center at the World Showplace Pavilion with a special, rare corporate performance by Cyndi Lauper.

From the moment she took the stage, Cyndi Lauper was electric. Her first number, a standard American ballad, featured Cyndi alone in the spotlight with just piano accompaniment. She then exploded into the audience with her own song, "Shine", exuberantly moving above the amazed concert goers from chair to chair. The crowd remained standing for the entire night while she performed her most memorable hits as well as rock standards "Walk On By" and "Stay", performed as a salsa number with her trademark bravado. She held the crowd her hand with a slow acoustic waltz version of her hit "She Bop" and brought the room to complete silence with her moving #1 hit "True Colors." True to form, her inter-song banter was charming and funny, giving the history of each song and what it meant to her. By the end of the evening it appeared Cyndi was enjoying the show as much as the audience, as they rushed the stage for her encore, "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."Empire Entertainment was asked to not only provide and manage the talent, but to supply all aspects of the production, including sound, backline, staging, lighting and labor.

The challenge this year was not only to accomplish this at the same budget as year's past, but to deliver production at an equal level to one of the world's most prestigious entertainment venues, Walt Disney World. Empire Entertainment brought in its own trusted vendors from the sunshine state and delivered under budget, more than satisfying the needs of client and talent alike.

Dentsu and Dentsu Tec needed to produce a major press event in Tokyo for their client, a leading manufacturer of electronics products. They chose to partner with Empire Entertainment through its newly formed Asian arm to identify, book, and produce a world-class talent for their event.The press conference event was held to introduce the client's new line of flat panel LCD and Plasma televisions - most of which are high-definition. Dentsu and Dentsu Tec determined that it was important that the talent be both energetic and beautiful in order to wow the live audience. It was equally important that the act successfully demonstrate the new televisions' ability to accurately represent the brilliance of color, and also the very spirit of the performance.

Dentsu and Dentsu Tec's plan was to film the act in high-definition in advance of the actual press conference. During the press conference the pre-recorded and edited film would be shown on the new screens. As the pre-recorded sequence came to a close, a massive curtain on the side of the hall would be opened, and the actual performers would be revealed. The artists would then go on to perform a couple of numbers.For this demanding and exciting project, Empire identified the world-renowned Argentine Tango ensemble, Forever Tango, whose show is currently appearing on Broadway, as a perfect fit. The raw energy of Forever Tango's dances, coupled with the beautiful costumes and engaging live music was the ideal subject for this project.Forever Tango delivered 4 dancers and an accompanying band of five musicians(Cello, Violin, Piano, Bass and the Bandoneon) who performed in front of approximately 200 journalists at the popular Tokyo nightclub Ageha.

The event was a great success, and we at Empire are proud to share in the praise Dentsu and Dentsu Tec received from their client.For this event Empire contracted the artists, was responsible for all production logistics associated with the performance, and performed as the on-site producer.Empire Entertainment's new office in Tokyo Japan now enables Empire to better serve it's wide existing base of Japan-based clientele and also to better service the needs of our other clients throughout the world for projects in Japan and elsewhere in Asia.

When British event company Fait Accompli sought to produce a major, private event in rural Canada for one of their top clients, they partnered with Empire Entertainment to secure entertainment & production services. For this event, a North American party for a couple to be married the following week in France, Fait Accompli created an enormous series of tented spaces on a farm in Rural Canada, about 3 hours outside of Toronto. The tented areas included an arrival area, a cocktail lounge, a main dining room a performance space for local talent and family performances, and an after-party nightclub space where a performance by Pat Benatar and DJ dancing took place.

Empire worked with Fait Accompli to secure a headline entertainer that would play the hits from their generation - the 80's - Empire was able to secure Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo to perform a concert of their greatest hits including "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," "Heart Breaker," "We Belong," "Love is a Battlefield" and "Shadows of the Night." The audience loved the performance and danced throughout. At one point, the lead guitarist and Pat Benatar's husband, Neil Giraldo, walked through the tents playing a guitar solo. Immediately after the performance, guests stepped outside the tent for a spectacular fireworks show in the farm fields and a meet & greet with Pat Benatar. For this event, Empire contracted and handled all logistics for Pat Benatar and her band and crew, provided staging, all concert & other area sound systems, all decor and stage lighting, all band gear and onsite stage management of the many performances and components of the evening. Empire also provided a video installation to loop a custom DVD of the bride & groom throughout the event. Empire also handled all cross-border equipment shipping, work permits and taxation issues relating to the performance in Canada.

Empire is a major producer of events throughout North America and the world and is a leading producer of high-end events for private individuals around the world.

When a global technology company sought an internationally known, humorous performer for an awards show, Empire turned to Saturday Night Live veteran Darrell Hammond to reprise his role as President Bill Clinton to fit the bill. Dressed in a Presidential blue suit, with makeup and hair styling provided by the SNL expert who developed the Clinton look, Hammond appeared at a podium with a Presidential seal and delivered a hilarious state-of-the-planet address that drew several references to the host company's business and industry. Shamelessly promoting his book and offering his hotel room number to the women at the convention, Hammond managed to delight the audience of approximately 2,000 technology partners from around the world.

Speaking in his well rehearsed Clinton drawl, Hammond delivered tasteful and appropriate humor that covered the Iraq war, the administration of President Bush, Al Gore, the Monica Lewinsky scandal and his wife, Hillary, dropping famous Clinton-isms like "I feel your Pain" and alluding to his love of women and fast food. The audience howled with laughter as Clinton shamelessly flirted with the women in the audience and gave him thunderous applause as he left the dais with his presidential seal. Hammond returned to the stage for two more segments in the awards show as himself, delivering solid standup material that also included some of his other well-known impressions of Jay leno, Ted Koppel, Jesse Jackson and Sean Connery.

Empire is a leading provider of comedic talent for meetings and events. Contact Empire to book 'Bill Clinton' to appear at your next meeting.

This July, The City of Rochester celebrated it's annual music festival's 10th Anniversary, "Celebrating the Spirit of Rhythm & Blues."Each year, the city has presented the Rochester MusicFest for its community and has grown its promotion into surrounding regions including Buffalo, Syracuse, Toronto and slowly into the national market. Originally conceived and still promoted by Mayor Johnson, who is a great lover and supporter of music and the arts, this festival has financially sustained itself over its history by presenting, along with some very supportive sponsors, such as Eastman Kodak, Excellus and local R&B radio station WDKX, to name a few, a world-class line-up of musical entertainment. The Rochester MusicFest draws interest for local tourism and enriches community spirit & tradition, and while doing so has grown to be the largest R&B festival in the northeast.

In recent years, artists such as Mary J. Blige, The Isley Brothers, The O'Jays, Floetry, Maze featuring Frankie Beverly and Ashanti have played this R&B festival. Prior to specializing in R&B, this annual event has been a world-class presentation of some of the best music compiled from many musical styles and genres. Artists such as Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, BR5-49, Tito Puente, The Derek Trucks Band, Chaka Khan, Little Feat, Taj Mahal, George Clinton, Ziggy Marley and Al Green among dozens of others have appeared at The Rochester MusicFest. This year, the City of Rochester issued its tri-ennial request for proposals for production services for the MusicFest. In response, NYC event marketing company Lead Dog Marketing along with Empire Entertainment and PR firm Eric Mower & Associates won the bid for this position.

Empire's role was to book all of the talent and do all related coordination, logistics, advance and oversee stage production and management, as well as manage all talent on site.The process of booking was a close relationship with the City's Commissioner of Parks & Recreation, Loretta Scott (who has headed up the festival for the Mayor since its inception) for whom Empire presented all talent ideas and availability. This collaboration really helped to bring Empire in as a strong booking partner and served to positively enhance our understanding of the audience, the intent and the mission. In many ways, booking this festival was very similar to booking a corporate event. There were some of the same parameters such as no promiscuity or profanity, a positive message etc., as this festival is a family-oriented event.

A couple of challenges that Empire had to overcome, was trying not to repeat artists, (after 10 years of presenting so many of R&B's top artists) and finding suitable new and older school R&B artists that appealed to the mature and the younger generations of R&B. Artists must also perform with live bands as no track artists, hip-hop or rap is permitted at this community event.Empire secured 14 bands for this years Rochester MusicFest including several local artists. Beginning with Friday nights 'Latin Night', regional local, merengue band La Linea opened the evening, and were followed by Puerto Rico's own local salsa legends, Puerto Rican Power Orchestra. Opening Saturday's line-up at 1PM, was local artist, 15 year-old Damaris Rivera, who performed a short but wonderful set of original songs, that included her current regional radio hit and also a beautuful tribute to Aaliyah. She set a great mood for the rest of the days line-up with a lot of local support and a soulful beginning to a weekend of R&B.Following Damaris, another local group PrimeTime Funk, kicked it up a notch with a full 45-minute set of covers of some of the best funk in the business. They also were very excited to open for one of the legends of funk The Brothers Johnson, who recently came out of the woodwork after 18 years of absenture.

As corporate event audiences grow ever younger and more internationally diverse, Empire is constantly delivering contemporary and internationally known entertainment to meet the needs of these audiences. Such was the case when Empire was called upon to deliver an internationally-recognized, high energy concert act that would appeal to an audience in their 30's and 40's, representing countries from around the world. Using its extensive relationships in the contemporary music field, Empire was able to quickly deliver Smash Mouth who perfectly fit the bill for this major event in the massive Georgia Dome for an audience of over 13,000 people. Smash Mouth absolutely rocked the crowd with a 90 minute set that included their hits like "All Star" and their cover of the Monkees "I'm a Believer" from the motion picture Shrek. They also performed high-energy covers like "Why Can't We Be Friends?" and also material by Van Halen and others. The audience crowded the stage before the concert began, danced incessantly once they took the stage and brought the band back for a thundering three song encore once they finished their set. In addition to having 13,000 people jumping up and down in sync on one song, Smash Mouth's set had this world class company's employees 'body surfing', possibly a first for a corporate event.

Production for this event consisted of a massive stage that had been converted from a meeting set used earlier in the program. Five massive video screens were used to provide image magnification and the lighting was provided by a rig of several hundred intelligent lighting fixtures. A world-class concert sound system made the band sound perfect. For this engagement Empire provided all artist contracting, management of air, room, ground transportation and hospitality logistics, coordination of all production with the client company's technical supplier, and stage management of the concert portions. Empire also provided a custom soundtrack of pre- and post-show music to get the audience into the right mood before the show and to keep them dancing once Smash Mouth left the stage.

Empire is the leading provider of contemporary musical artists for corporate events.

Commerce Bank is one of the New York Region's fastest growing banking Empires and Empire has worked with Commerce Bank for several years to produce high quality entertainment & events for their customers and event marketing initiatives. So it was natural that Commerce Bank would turn to Empire to help them throw a major outdoor event in conjunction with their sponsorship of the Long Island Classic golf tournament. For this special event, Commerce Bank wanted to draw 10,000 or more people to their branches in Long Island and create an all-American program of entertainment to highlight the weekend tournament for which the signature event would be held on July 3, the night before Independence Day.

Empire quickly identified The New York Pops featuring Skitch Henderson as the perfect American family entertainment for this event. The concert was held outdoors in the beautiful Lakeside amphitheater on a perfect July night. As the sun set, the audience enjoyed the powerful sounds of Carnegie Hall's 77 piece house orchestra under the baton of the charismatic and dynamic Skitch Henderson as they played selections from great Hollywood soundtracks in front of a giant American Flag backdrop and Commerce Bank branding. The show concluded with a rousing version of Tchaikovsky's Overture of 1812 that led right into an amazing fireworks display by the world famous Grucci Fireworks family. For this event, Empire contracted the New York Pops, handled all production logistics with the orchestra and the theater, handled transportation in busy holiday traffic to ensure an on-time performance, created an all-American soundtrack to warm up the audience and were onsite to stage manage the magical event. In the end as many as 30,000 people attended the beautiful concert event and the client was ecstatic.

Empire is a major producer of both private and public events.

When LucasFilm and 20th Century FOX, the producer and distributor, respectively, of the Star Wars series of motion pictures, sought to create an innovative press event, they turned to Empire for the execution. The event was held to help cultivate long lead press (i.e. press who are creating stories which will run several months later) for the release of the Star Wars DVD Trilogy, a special package of the first 3 Star Wars films. For this event, LucasFilm sought to create a high quality live presentation which would feature both footage of the new DVDs as well as presentations by Mark Hammell who played Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars movie, Irvin Kirzner who directed The Empire Strikes Back and several of the special effects wizards who worked on the movies including Frank Oz, Jim Ward, Rick Dean and John Lowry.

This presentation took place in the Grand Theater of the TriBeCa Grand Hotel and was preceded by a luncheon in the Café area where guests viewed humorous compilations of media featuring Star Wars references. As a centerpiece for the program, Empire created a living room set that was a pure time warp from May 1977, when the original Star Wars motion picture was released. The living room featured an 'Infinity' mirror table, thick shag carpeting, beanbag chairs, modular plexi-glass lamps, side tables and shelving and a wide variety of authentic props including an Atari game player, Peter Frampton & Barry Manilow album covers, paperback books, 'Smiley face' cushions, Farah Fawcett posters, etc. Naturally, both the theater and the DVD demo room had to feature the highest quality of visual projection and audio installation and Empire worked with LuCasFilm, JBL and THX to install a state-of-the-art THX sound system in the event space.

For this project, Empire played a variety of roles including site selection and acquisition, coordination of guest room logistics, management of all A/V systems, decor, set-design, oversight of food & beverage and onsite management.