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A Wild Night o in the Fore
My Team Made Magic With the Chainsmokers
M any years ago — way before I was a successful business owner, event producer, husband, and father — I was just a skinny kid living in a two- bedroom apartment on the Upper West Side. I followed the same ritual almost every night of the week. After my brother and sister fell asleep, I quietly pulled out my Discman CD player, headphones, and glowsticks. A few button pushes sent the beats of David Morales’ “Space Cowboy’’ thumping into my eardrums. Then, I faced the mirror on the back of my closet door and silently turned our shared bedroom into my own personal rave. I can’t count the number of nights I spent like that, spinning my glow sticks to the beat and raving away with my reflection to tracks from DJs like Morales and Tiësto! Music drove my life from the time I was small, whether it was the salsa and merengue of the Latin American crowd that liked to hang out in front of my dad’s pizza shop on 84th and Amsterdam, or the hip-hop that always seemed to be the music of choice for basketball games in Riverside Park. Everywhere I went in New York, music led the way, changing with the culture, sport, fashion, or food of the minute. At home, my Israeli father showed off his Middle Eastern culture with music heavy on drums, electric guitar, and violin. He had a
huge collection of records from the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s that he loved to work his way through on Sunday mornings. My mom was an award-winning pianist and a little bit of a prodigy. She was always sitting at the piano with us kids teaching us scales. Thanks to her genes, my brother, sister, and I can all pick up pretty much any instrument and play it! When I traveled abroad to Israel during my freshman year of college, that musicality came in handy. I quickly became the guy who organized nights out for all of the Americans studying abroad. Each adventure started with a different kind of music: salsa, merengue, hip-hop, EDM. There was a different flavor for anyone who might want to come out and attend. Looking back, it’s no surprise that the kid with endless “Summer Mix” CDs rattling around in his car grew up to become a DJ and event designer! Booking talent and entertainment for corporate events is one of my favorite parts of the job. I’m always thinking about the audience: What will drive them forward? What will excite them? Which artist could they go on a journey with? If I book a great band but the audience doesn’t understand them, or their music doesn’t match the environment, then the event won’t be cohesive. Every element of an event plays off every other element — music included. Often, this works out perfectly. I’ll never forget the 2015 WeWork Summer Camp my team and I designed in the middle of nowhere in the Adirondacks. The audience was
of Music est
CHATTER the box
A Quick Word From Our Clients
“Liron and the team at Eventique were an integral addition to our team for our event. Their creativity, attention to detail, innovation, and experience truly contributed to making this event a success. We were able to meet our fundraising goals and produce an event that guests were raving about for days to come. I highly recommend Liron and his team for your next event ... you won’t be disappointed.” —Yvonne B. “I have hired Eventique for several Events and they have done a fantastic job every time. They are a skilled team of very competent Event Producers. They are thorough, professional and can handle any task thrown their way. Through Eventique’s web of connections, they are always able to make things happen. I would work with them anytime as I know everything will be handled correctly.” —Jenifour J.
full of startup founders — young professionals who were nonjudgmental, open to collaboration, and excited for a journey ahead with no limits. They were living outside the box of corporate America. I knew we had to book a pair of unconventional acts to match this unconventional audience and venue. So, we brought in two artists who were just starting to take off: The Chainsmokers and The Weeknd. The concert took place in the middle of the woods. No cell service, no Facebook, no Instagram, and no distractions. From note one, The Chainsmokers were perfectly in tune with the audience. Those founders were living, breathing, and eating every single moment of that show! Both parties rocked completely in sync. Just when it seemed things couldn’t get better, The Weeknd stepped on stage. His energy, concentration, and body language joined with the lights flickering in the trees and created a magical moment. It was like my feet weren’t even touching the ground! The whole crowd was dancing, not because they were trying to dance but because they couldn’t do anything else. I’ll never forget that moment, and my team and I still chase it with every event we design. Music is always on our minds — and I know we won’t go wrong if we follow the beat. If you book us to mastermind your next corporate event or product launch, we’ll put just as much effort into the music as the decor, food, and venue.
I think my 14-year-old self raving in my bedroom would be proud of that!
- Liron David Founder and Executive Producer
Case Study
Event Design Is All About the Music
In 2017, Eventique took over the Coda nightclub and event space in Philadelphia and transformed it into a sleek black-and-green ode to the music company Spotify. Green fluorescent tubes dangling from the ceiling illuminated the space along with rows of horizontal lighting attached to the balcony railings, which mimicked the Spotify logo and cast a green glow.
experience, other factors need to be operating in the same tune, on the same beat as the music being played. That includes the lights, the video elements, the food and beverage, and the venue. We’re thinking about all of those things and how they stay in line with the music we’ve chosen, whether it’s coming from a playlist, live artist, band, DJ, or even a visual artist. It all has to come together and be one track.” Live talent is a cornerstone of many corporate and private events. But for some occasions, Eventique takes a more understated approach to let other elements outshine the music. This often means curating a playlist that perfectly matches the mood of the occasion, and for that, they turn to VP of Creative and Strategy Eric Weilander. Eric has deep roots in the music industry. In the 1990s, he helped edit and publish a New York City music magazine called The Village Noize, and he also spent years writing about music for news outlets. His eclectic tastes cover rock, EDM, indie, pop, and more, and today he puts together fantastic playlists for Eventique clients. For the MetaMeridian event at last winter’s CREF22 Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) conference, Eric curated a soundtrack of ’70s and ’80s indie tracks with minimalist, pulsing beats. “I wanted to put people in this metaverse environment sonically,” Eric says. For a recent Beauty Grand LANEIGE influencer event celebrating the launch of the brand’s Water Bank Skincare Collection, Eric curated a “women vocalists only” playlist at the client’s request. The event with “Euphoria” actress Sydney Sweeney was underscored by the voices of pop, folk, indie, and hip-hop artists through the decades including Stevie Nicks, Dua Lipa, Alicia Keys, and Book of Love. Event Production With a Beat The Eventique team shares Eric’s passion for music. Vice President of Operations Christopher Mattina started DJing at 14 years old, Senior Production Coordinator Stefano Genova attended Berklee College of Music and once played bass alongside renowned jazz pianist Leo Genovese, and Liron founded Eventique as a DJ on the dance floors of nightclubs across New York City. (If you missed it, read more about that on Pg. 2.) Music is an integral part of event production — and it may just be Eventique’s favorite facet. In fact, Liron describes the entire process of designing an event as “following the beat.” “Music is that one unifying factor. It makes people feel emotion. Whether it brings joy, sadness, excitement, or memories, it always brings something to the table and it’s part of everyone’s life,” he says, adding, “Every great artist doesn’t just play great music. They take you on a ride from the beginning of the show to the height, then leave you wanting more.”
The event launched Spotify’s City of Spotify Love initiative with a splash. Guests sipped branded matcha cocktails — in Spotify green, of course — and set them down on Spotify coasters with playlist codes. When they sat, they reclined on customized Spotify pillows.
Of course, it would be impossible to produce an event for Spotify without music! At the end of the long, narrow room, DJ Matthew Law, indie rock band Twin Peaks, and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince
lorded over a crowd of executives, brand marketers, media, VIPs and influencers. Their performances were the lynchpin of the night and a prime example of Eventique’s sonic event work. The Genius Behind the Music A professional bass player. Two former DJs. A festival lover. A former music reporter. Those are just a few of the people on the team at Eventique with deep ties to the music scene. Though the company doesn’t often produce music industry events like City of Spotify Love, it does strategically incorporate the art form in every gathering it designs — often by sourcing and managing top artists like COMMON, Gavin DeGraw, The Chainsmokers, and The Weeknd. As Eventique founder and CEO Liron David explains, this process is about more than simply grabbing star power. First, the team asks a series of important questions, including: “Who is the audience?” “What will drive them?” “What will excite them?” and “Does this audience have the patience to go on a journey with this artist?” Then, it’s a balancing act to coordinate all of the event’s elements — including the ideal musical performance — and bring them into harmony. “Every great artist doesn’t just play great music. They take you on a ride from the beginning of the show to the height, then leave you wanting more.” —Liron David “When we’re booking artists or working with artists booked by a client or agency partner, we’re always thinking about how to enhance the experience around that artist,” Liron says. “Music for the individual can be experienced on headphones with their eyes closed. But to have music incorporated in a multi-sensory
For Eventique, pulling performers with chops like that is just another Saturday night on the job.
Disney Magic at Eventique PRODUCTION MANAGER CARA BERGER KNOWS THE MOUSE’S SECRETS!
As you’d imagine, Cara was already an expert when she started working for the Eventique family of companies in 2017 — and it’s a good thing because her first event with Eventique was something of a trial by fire! “Our client ended up hiring Eventique to do all of the fabrication just a week before the event! That same weekend was Memorial Day weekend, and I was in a friend’s wedding. I was at the wedding getting calls all day about how the client wouldn’t approve the budget and we had about a week to pull it off. Of course, we ended up pulling it off because that’s what we do. On the day of, I was in charge of the walkie talkie of 50 people including the host, greeter, and catering.” Despite the stress, Cara said the event “ended up being perfect” and is one of the highlights of her time at Eventique along with IPsoft’s “Fire & Ice”-themed holiday party at the Museum of Natural History NYC. That event let her and her team really exercise their creative freedom — one of Cara’s favorite parts of the job. “We created icebergs in the furniture and a moving northern lights photo booth,” she recalls. “It was not your typical decor! We were able to get creative, using not just flowers but fabrication and 3D items that made the atmosphere really cool.” Event planning has been a lifelong dream of Cara’s, and she’s thrilled to live it at Eventique. Growing up, she was always the one who “took control of planning” get- togethers with friends, from her soccer team or summer camp. Today, friends still turn to her for help planning their weddings when she’s not busy working, staying fit (she ran 500 miles last year), or hanging out with her blue merle Pomeranian, Lyla. “I always wanted to be an event planner or something in the social field. I’m a very social person — I talk a lot — and when I went to school, that was my degree right away,” Cara says. That clarity of vision is obvious from the moment you meet Cara. If you work with her for your next event, she may even use a few Disney secrets to make your attendees’ experience magical.
The University of Central Florida has an entire class in “Walt Disney Secrets” — and Eventique’s production manager, Cara Berger, took it! “Disney sponsored part of the school of hospitality at University of Central Florida where I double majored,” she explains. “They pretty much helped guide guest speakers and professors. To graduate, you had to do X amount of paid internships [at Disney] because with an events degree, you have to be hands-on to understand it.” Cara chose to work at Disney’s Swan and Dolphin Resort handling event planning for the hotels as well as private events. “I was a little bit more boring compared to my friends — they were the actual princesses and the characters!” she says. As “boring” as it may have been (and frankly we doubt it), working at Disney gave Cara a crash course in the type of event planning and coordinating she does today for Eventique. After her stint at the Happiest Place on Earth, she transitioned into the nightlife industry. Her experience led her from working for music festivals to running the events department at a well-known venue with several spaces: Metropolitan Pavilion.
JUST WRAPPED
Welcome to “Just Wrapped,” a monthly summary of what our team has been up to. Every year, we plan events like corporate parties, virtual experiences, concerts, and charity galas. This list is just a small peek behind the curtain. Addepar Summer Bash Series (4 Events in 1!) — Every year, the wealth management platform Addepar throws a summer kickoff party at three of its major corporate offices in California, New York, and Utah. This year, they called in the experts on our team at Eventique to mastermind the multi-site bash and a virtual experience attendees could enjoy from home. Each of the four events was unique, but they were united by a suave “Havana Nights” theme. Highlights included a cigar rolling demonstration, custom mixology classes, and cooking classes taught virtually from Spain by a renowned chef. To make the events happen, we flew our team across the country to ensure a presence at every site. The bashes went off without a hitch. Fanhouse’s VidCon Debut — Eventique likes to stay on the cutting edge of event design — and that includes producing for companies like Fanhouse, a subscription platform helping creators and social media influencers monetize their followings. This year, Fanhouse made its debut at the massive VidCon summit for digital creators in Anaheim, California, and we stepped in to orchestrate the company’s presence. Our unique and eye-catching design included one of VidCon’s hottest photo opportunities: a massive silhouette of the house-shaped Fanhouse logo covered in hundreds of handheld fans. 5 Eventique Events for the Books!
Cara at a Glance Favorite Getaway: The Hamptons
Favorite Food/Drink: Tacos and Tequila Favorite Mexican Restaurant: Arriba Arriba Currently Listening To: Jack Harlow + Post Malone All-time Favorite TV Show: “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” Go-to Hobbies: Traveling, Boxing, CrossFit
Want your upcoming event to be next on our list? Request a proposal from our all-star team at Eventique.com.
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4 2 Inside
Get the Perfect Music Act Every Time
Crafting Musical Madness for Spotify
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Meet Cara: Eventique’s Disney Insider
Our Monthly Event Rundown
“I typically start with a broader theme for the event and then work my way toward what the music experience will look like,” Eric explains. Then, he follows these rules. 1. Cater to your audience. Try to match your music choices with the event vibe and your attendees’ age group. “If you want people to groove and dance, think about the people in the room and when they were in high school,” Eric recommends. “Those are our most formative years. What was trendy and happening around that time? When you start playing that stuff, people’s jaws will drop, the memories will start coming up, and emotions will fly.” 2. Use the magic of Spotify. Eric likes mixing in older tracks with new, trendy music, and one of his biggest inspirations is Spotify. “Go on to Spotify, click ‘Search,’ and look at the different categories people are listening to, whether those are electronic, indie, or hip-hip. Explore some of those genres that maybe you’re not all too familiar with, find something being played in heavy rotation [and add it to your playlist]. … You might get a fist bump or high five from someone if you surprise them with a track from a different genre.” Eric has put together dozens of playlists over the years for bashes like the Beauty Grand LANEIGE influencer event with “Euphoria” actress Sydney Sweeney. Read all about that — and the rest of the team’s connection with music — on Page 4.
2 Tips for the Perfect Playlist Craft Your Next Event Soundtrack Like a Pro
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Imagine you’re attending a swanky cocktail party. You’re sipping your dirty martini and making polite small talk. Then, without warning, the song “Fire Burning” by Sean Kingston blasts over the speakers. What would you do? It’s hard to imagine tossing away your martini glass and getting down on the dance floor. Every event has its own mood, and “Fire Burning” and cocktail parties just don’t mix. That song never should have made it onto the playlist. If you live in fear of making a similar faux pas at the next dinner party or baby shower you host, don’t worry — Eventique’s playlist expert, Eric Wielander, is here to help.
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