LOS ANGELES, CA. (Top40 Charts/ Recording Academy) -
Peter Erskine &
Friends (featuring
Peter Erskine, Alan Pasqua, Ambrose Akinmusire, Bob Sheppard, and Edwin Livingston), DJ Mick Boogie,
Robin Thicke, The Time (featuring
Jerome Benton, Morris Day, Jimmy Jam, Jellybean Johnson,
Jesse Johnson, Terry Lewis, and Monte Moir), and the GRAMMY� Jazz Ensembles will perform at the 2009 GRAMMY CelebrationSM, an exclusive invitation-only event. This year's star-studded soiree will pay homage to the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock festival with a 1960s flower power theme and will be catered by chef extraordinaire Wolfgang Puck and produced by Along Came Mary Productions. One of the year's most anticipated events attracting GRAMMY winners, nominees and celebrities, the 2009 GRAMMY Celebration will take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 8 following the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards.
"We're looking forward to celebrating Music's Biggest Night� by enjoying some of the most outstanding cuisine paired with first-rate entertainment," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy�. "This year's after-party will be a most fitting and exciting component of an extremely memorable evening."
"Year after year the GRAMMY Celebration provides our guests with amazing decor, menu choices and musical performances, and this year is no different," said Branden Chapman, Vice President of Production and Process Management for The Recording Academy. "It takes many skilled and renowned industry professionals to produce a party of this magnitude and caliber, and we are extremely proud and fortunate to partner with such industry leaders as Wolfgang Puck and Along Came Mary Productions to contribute to the evening's success and our esteemed guests' experience."
Wolfgang Puck has crafted a custom menu that will certainly be enjoyed by the 5,000 guests expected to attend the celebration. The menu will include an All-American Bistro (carved prime rib eye with Armagnac peppercorn sauce, roasted chicken with truffle au jus, butter lettuce with avocado, and crab & lobster Louie with horseradish panna cotta); Asian flavors (shanghai lobster with jasmine rice and curry sauce, Chinese chicken salad with crispy wontons and sesame honey dressing, miso-glazed salmon with orange sesame aioli, and Mongolian lamb chops with cilantro mint vinaigrette and wasabi potatoes); and Latin flare (slow-braised Latin-spiced short ribs, chili lime shrimp with garlic, white wine and cilantro, crispy red snapper tacos with saffron rice, and asparagus salad with shaved manchego, almonds, sherry and oregano). Delicious sweets will include chocolate truffle cakes, strawberry buttermilk, red velvet cupcakes, espresso pot de creme, raspberry cheesecake mousse tarts, passion fruit panna cotta, and banana creme pie.
Once again The Recording Academy has partnered with Along Came Mary Productions, who will help orchestrate the 2009 GRAMMY Celebration and oversee all of the event entertainment, decor, production, and many other logistics. ACM Productions) will combine thematic elements drawn from one of the most explosive decades in music history, the 1960s, and transform LACC's Hall A into three distinctive motifs reminiscent of the age of Aquarius: Flower Power (1967's summer of love, hippies and daisies); Revolution (1968's peace movement and anti-war demonstrations); and The Experience (1969's tie-dyed, psychedelic era). A second event space within the party, Petree Hall, will double as a jazz lounge while evoking images of Jimi Hendrix-era acid rock.
Additionally, for the first time as a Recording Academy partner, the artists will perform their live music on the MasterCard stage. Waste Management, another first time Academy partner, will bring a lush, green outdoor oasis concert vibe to the party in their lounge within the event. Hard Rock International, who has been a great supporter of The Recording Academy's 11 Chapter GRAMMY Telecast Viewing Parties for the past three years, will bring some Woodstock ambience to the party by incorporating unique and original pieces from the Woodstock era. A variety of Hard Rock's memorabilia will be on display at the party for guests to enjoy such as a Jimi Hendrix leather jacket, Pete Townshend guitar, Jerry Garcia drumhead and ShaNaNa gold lame suit.
The 2009 GRAMMY Celebration also will feature beer, wines and spirits provided by Anheuser-Busch Beer, Patron Tequila, Ultimat Vodka, Pyrat Rum, Forest Glen Wines, and Domaine Laurier Champagne. Beverages at the event will be provided by Pepsi, who will feature their new Pepsi Natural cola.
As part of The Academy's ongoing greening efforts, Wolfgang Puck Catering will be using locally grown produce, dairy and meat, sourcing environmentally sustainable packaging - compostable, biodegradable and recyclable products - and donating any unused/leftover food to Angel Harvest, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that organizes the collection and delivery of the food and items to local social service agencies providing emergency food for those in need.
