James Taylor Performs Under the Stars
Sometimes an event venue just screams out for a particular type of artist. Such was the case when a longtime corporate client asked Empire for a concert act to perform an outdoor, Summer night amphitheater show at the San Diego Symphony. Empire suggested James Taylor as the perfect performer for the setting and the client readily agreed. Empire contracted the five time Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter, who has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, to perform a greatest-hits set that included mellow classics like "Fire & Rain", "You've Got A Friend", and "Sweet Baby James". His more upbeat hits such as "Your Smiling Face", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", and "Mexico" had the 1,000 plus attendees out of their seats dancing and yelling for multiple encores. With the sun setting behind the stage, and a full moon rising, there was no doubt that JT was the perfect performer for the evening.
Earlier at the same conference, Empire had also secured The Honorable Newt Gingrich and Valerie Jarrett (Senior Advisor to Barack Obama) to engage in a moderated conversation about the state of the American political system. The two proved that politicians from opposite sides of the aisle can speak civilly to one another, listen to one another, and discuss real solutions to modern challenges such as immigration, the "tribal" news media and economic disparity.
Securing keynote speakers and headline entertainers is one of the many services available to clients in Empire's overall portfolio of event production services — Empire has delivered in incredibly broad range of many of the world’s leading artists and thinkers for private events. We pride ourselves on collaborating with clients to determine the best performers and presenters based on deep understanding of attendee demographics, event budgets, client goals, and the setting for any particular project.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
