Vampire Weekend and Emmy® Nominated Director Steve Buscemi Named as First Pairing in "American Express® Unstaged" for 2013

Live VEVO Event on YouTube will be Streamed Globally from the Last Night of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 28th


NEW YORK - American Express, in partnership with VEVO and YouTube, announced today that Vampire Weekend, and award-winning actor, director and producer Steve Buscemi, have been selected to kick-off the fourth year in its popular live stream music series, “American Express Unstaged.” Vampire Weekend’s exclusive performance will be live streamed on the last night of the Tribeca Film Festival at Roseland Ballroom on Sunday, April 28th at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT in New York City at www.amexunstaged.com. Fans can also watch the live event on YouTube’s mobile website, VEVO’s free apps for iPhone®, iPad® and on the American Express Channel, available through the American Express app on LG connected TVs. The global event precedes the anticipated May 14th U.S. release of MODERN VAMPIRES OF THE CITY (XL Recordings).

Created by American Express as a means for delivering premium music experiences to fans everywhere, the “American Express Unstaged” music series is a cutting-edge live event and interactive digital platform, bringing together popular musical artists with renowned film directors. This will be the 12th innovative digital stream and pairing within the award-winning series.

“We are thrilled to be working with Steve Buscemi, a wonderful actor, a NYC legend and a great director. We couldn’t have picked a better guy to man the cameras for our April 28th event, ” said band lead singer Ezra Koenig.

The work of Vampire Weekend will be brought to life for the at-home audience by director Steve Buscemi. Known best for his roles in HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire” and films such as “Reservoir Dogs,” “Fargo” and many others, Buscemi has also garnered respect for his role as director of films including “Trees Lounge” and “Animal Factory,” as well as multiple episodes of the award-winning shows “Sopranos” (HBO), “30 Rock” (NBC) and “Nurse Jackie” (Showtime). Buscemi’s Olive Productions will also produce the event. The creative and dynamic pairing of Vampire Weekend with Buscemi represents the latest unique collaboration in the “American Express Unstaged” live stream music series, building on previous duos such as The Killers and Werner Herzog, Kenny Chesney and Jonathan Demme, Jack White and Gary Oldman and many more.

“I am really excited to collaborate with Vampire Weekend to bring their vision to life for this live streaming event,” said filmmaker Steve Buscemi.

American Express, in partnership with VEVO and YouTube, will continue to provide revolutionary access to Vampire Weekend fans and music enthusiasts worldwide through several pre-show and in-concert innovative digital features and one-of-a-kind content that further blur the line between an at-home and in-concert “American Express Unstaged” experience:

• Exclusive Digital Content: Building anticipation of the night, fans will enjoy a series of surprise videos leading up to April 28th performance. Additionally, fans can visit www.amexunstaged.com to view the exclusive “American Express Unstaged” anthem trailer.
• Choose Your Cam: The audience can control their viewing experience throughout the show by switching between the director’s main stream and alternate artist-themed vantage points.
• Rebroadcast: Following the live performance, fans will be able to enjoy a special looped rebroadcast www.amexunstaged.com. Following the rebroadcast, fans can watch clips of the concert on YouTube, Twitter, and XBOX Live, via the VEVO application.

For more information about American Express and music, please visit http://www.americanexpress.com/entertainment. Leading up to the April 28th performance, fans will be able to receive insider updates by connecting with American Express at www.amexunstaged.com, www.twitter.com/AmericanExpress or www.Facebook.com/AmericanExpress.

About Vampire Weekend and their Upcoming Album MODERN VAMPIRES OF THE CITY
Modern Vampires of the City is Vampire Weekend’s third album, and it will be released on May 14th, 2013 by XL Recordings. The album is a bustling world of voices and visions, and has a grandeur and romanticism evocative of the city where it was conceived. Church organs, deep synth bass, booming drums, choirs chanting in Latin are all combined with classic Vampire Weekend joyfulness and spry humor. The band’s first two albums are both certified gold, and their 2010 Grammy® nominated album Contra debuted at #1 on the Billboard chart.

About “American Express Unstaged”
Vampire Weekend’s April performance represents the 12th installment within the innovative live stream music series “American Express Unstaged,” which launched in the summer of 2010 in partnership with VEVO and YouTube. Bringing the in-concert and at-home viewing experiences to new heights, “American Express Unstaged” showcases 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.

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, foursquare.com/americanexpress, linkedin.com/companies/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress, and youtube.com/americanexpress.

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About VEVO
VEVO is the world’s leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform. VEVO is available in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and United Kingdom through VEVO.com, the mobile web, Mobile and Tablet Apps (iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry Playbook), Connected Television (Xbox, Roku, Boxee) and user embeddable video players. VEVO TV, an always-on broadcast-style music and video channel, is also available in the US and Canada within VEVO.com and apps for iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Xbox and Roku. In various territories, VEVO powers music videos on artist pages across Facebook, as well as syndicates to dozens of online sites, including AOL, BET, CBS Interactive Music Group (including Last.fm, Metro Lyrics and MP3.com), Disney Interactive, Fuse.tv, Univision, Viacom Media Networks, Wenner Media and Yahoo! Music. Additionally, through a special partnership with YouTube, VEVO is accessible in over 200 markets, expanding the platform’s reach around the globe.

About YouTube
Founded in February 2005, YouTube allows billions of people to discover, watch and share originally-created videos. 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.