Deliver Your News to the World

American Express Unveils Sugarland as Next "Unstaged" Live-Stream Performance Directed by Kenny Ortega on October 18th


WEBWIRE

Performance is Latest Offering from American Express in Partnership with VEVO and YouTube; “Unstaged” Provides Music Fans with a Visually Stunning Home Viewing Experience and the Opportunity to Interact with Sugarland and Ortega

NEW YORK, --

American Express announced today that Grammy® award-winning country music sensation Sugarland will perform at the Best Buy Theater in New York City on October 18 as part of “Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express.” It was also announced that award-winning filmmaker Kenny Ortega (This is It, High School Musical, Dirty Dancing) will direct the performance. The show represents the third installment of American Express’ “Unstaged” program, which launched in July, and is the latest offering from American Express in partnership with VEVO, the leading premium music video and entertainment service, and YouTube, to feature five live-stream concerts with some of today’s most talented musicians and directors. The performance, which will feature surprise musical guests, will be live-streamed at 9:00PM/ET at www.youtube.com/sugarlandvevo and coincides with their highly anticipated fourth studio album, The Incredible Machine, arriving in stores on October 19.

“I am excited to immerse myself in Sugarland’s magnetic energy and look forward to helping them bring this concert experience to life for so many music lovers,” said filmmaker Kenny Ortega.

The Incredible Machine is a soaring album elevated by sky-high choruses, ringing guitars and pulsing drums steeped in a myriad of hypnotic melodies and fun anthems – all drawing inspiration from the iconic music and films of the 1980s.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome the talented and inspirational duo Sugarland to the Unstaged series,” said Courtney Kelso, vice president, Sports and Entertainment Access Strategy, American Express. “By providing this intimate access to some of the industry’s top talent, American Express continues to create unforgettable on-site and live-stream music experiences to Cardmembers and music lovers alike.”

Dana Vetter, YouTube’s music marketing programs manager states, “The excitement around the ‘Unstaged’ series continues with this third installment. We’re thrilled to have the entertaining duo Sugarland as the latest act to be live streamed to fans worldwide.”

“From indie-rock with Arcade Fire to soulful R&B with John Legend & The Roots and now contemporary country with Sugarland, the American Express Unstaged series is reaching a broad range of musical tastes and fans everywhere,” said David Kohl, executive vice president, Sales and Customer Operations, VEVO. “Streaming live performances from artists who are red hot in their respective genres makes this series more than timely and relevant to fans, it puts it in a class by itself.”

American Express® Cardmembers and music enthusiasts can digitally connect to these live music experiences in ways that further blur the line between an at-home and in-concert experience:

* Choose Your Cam: The audience can control their viewing experience throughout Sugarland “Unstaged” by switching between the director’s main stream and alternate “front row” vantage points of the night;
* Vote for the Encore: Fans at the concert and the online audience can collectively decide on the encore performance of the night through real-time Web and mobile voting;
* Digital Mementos: Viewers who participate via mobile phone will receive Sugarland “Unstaged” downloads, including exclusive photos of the night, wallpapers, and more;
* On-line Pre Show: Building anticipation of the night, viewers who tune in early to the live-stream will catch an exclusive segment on Sugarland;
* Tweet The Band: Fans can tweet questions to #amexsugarland for a chance to have them answered by the band during the Pre-Show; and
* “Fly Away” Sweepstakes: Via mobile phone, fans can enter to win a VIP trip to see Sugarland on their Incredible Machine Tour, anywhere in the continental US.*

Leading up to the October 18 performance, fans can purchase advance tracks of the new album through the iTunes “Countdown Room,” and receive insider updates on the performance – including news on surprise guests – by following American Express on Twitter, via @AmericanExpress.

About “Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express”
Bringing both the in-concert and at-home viewing experiences to entirely new heights, “Unstaged: An Original Series from American Express” features some of the music industry’s most breakthrough artists playing at landmark venues across the country, while tapping some of today’s most influential filmmakers to direct the live-streams and using digital and social media to connect the online audience to the live shows in unexpected ways. For more information about American Express and music, please visit americanexpress.com/entertainment.

About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on facebook.com/americanexpress, twitter.com/americanexpress and youtube.com/americanexpress.

About VEVO
VEVO is the leading premium music video and entertainment service with over one billion worldwide streams and nearly 60 million unique visitors in the U.S. and Canada each month. VEVO’s programming is made available across the VEVO Network, which includes VEVO.com (the service’s marquee destination site), VEVO Mobile, VEVO on YouTube, and a VEVO-branded embedded player. The service also serves as a syndication platform for additional internet destination sites, including AOL and CBS Interactive Music Group, expanding the reach of the VEVO Network across the worldwide web. VEVO was created in partnership by Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment (SME) and the Abu Dhabi Media Company. It is operated independently by a dedicated management team with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and San Francisco. Explore VEVO at http://vevo.com. Journalists/Bloggers can stay updated on VEVO news at http://twitter.com/VEVO_Media

About YouTube
YouTube is the world’s most popular online video community allowing millions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. Our mission is for YOU to discover and shape the world through video. YouTube provides a forum for people to connect, inform and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small. YouTube, LLC is based in San Bruno, CA and is a subsidiary of Google Inc.



WebWireID124915





This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.