With Super Bowl XLIX and the 2015 Grammy awards still fresh on event guests' minds, event and meeting professionals can combine the best of the sports and musical worlds: Take a page from the hosts of this year's biggest Super Bowl parties and book an attention-grabbing, chart-topping performer. Here's who to tap to wrangle acts ranging from Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler to a fuzzy Pomeranian called Jiff.
DirecTV brought back its private Super Saturday Night party on January 31, and CL22 once again designed the 7,000-guest event. The affair took place at the Pendergast Family Farm and featured entertainment from Rihanna and Kanye West. The brand used Platinum Rye Entertainment to book the talent.
Maxim held its Super Bowl Bash at an airport hangar in Scottsdale on January 31. Ludacris performed at the Saturday-night event; the rapper and actor is managed by Jeff Dixon.
Rolling Stone, which has hosted Super Bowl activations in years past, hosted Rolling Stone Live on January 31 at the Venue Scottsdale. Toast, Bookem Danno, and Talent Resources Sports produced the music magazine's event. The headline entertainer was Steven Tyler, who was booked by Talent Resources Sports.
Charli XCX, known for her hit "Boom Clap," also performed at Rolling Stone's Super Bowl bash. Toast booked the singer.
Actor, comedian, and rapper Nick Cannon hosted a February 1 bash at a pop-up club hosted by the New York-based Bounce Sporting Club. Bounce was responsible for booking the talent, and the event featured drinks, food stations, and DJ tunes. The event took over Calico Jack's Cantina in Glendale, Arizona.
Longtime Super Bowl activation sponsor DirecTV did not host its Celebrity Beach Bowl this year, but instead presented the new Super Fan Festival at the Pendergast Family Farm in Glendale, Arizona, from January 28 to 30. Platinum Rye Entertainment also used the brand to help book headline acts such as Zac Brand Band.Â
Calvin Harris—a singer and songwriter as well as a DJ— was another headline act at the festival and was also wrangled through Platinum Rye Entertainment.
For other festival acts who performed on the festival's HGTV stage, DirecTV enlisted the services of Pop2Life. The acts included singer, rapper, dancer, and actress Becky G (pictured).
Pop2Life also wrangled Swedish DJ Alesso for the HGTV stage.
Playboy, a familiar brand on the Super Bowl party scene, hosted its bash at the W Scottsdale on January 30. There was a performance from Nelly, and a cuddly entertainer of another sort: internet sensation Jiff the Pomeranian, a canine who's billed as an actor and model. The pup is managed by Zero Gravity Management. But for this event, a guest who knew the dog's owners asked to bring Jiff along, and the dog cuddled with Playboy Playmates free of charge.
