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 28^th

TORONTO, April 8, 2013 /CNW/ - American Express, in partnership with VEVO and YouTube, announced today that Vampire Weekend and Emmy® nominated actor and director Steve Buscemi, have been selected to kick-off the fourth year in its popular live stream music series, "American Express Unstaged". Canadians will have direct access to the global online event, which aims to blur the line between at-home and in-concert entertainment experiences.

Vampire Weekend's exclusive performance will be live streamed on the last night of the Tribeca Film Festival at Roseland Ballroom on Sunday, April 28^th at 9:00 PM ET in New York City at www.amexunstaged.com. The event precedes the anticipated 13^th May 2013 release of MODERN VAMPIRES OF THE CITY (XL Recordings).

Created by American Express as a way of demonstrating the memorable experiences it brings to people whilst at home or away, 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 12^th 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 on 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 the April 28^th 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 great entertainment experiences and offers from American Express, please visit www.americanexpress.com/canada or www.Facebook.com/AmericanExpressCanada.

Leading up to the April 28^th Vampire Weekend performance, fans will be able to receive insider updates by visiting www.amexunstaged.com.

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 7th, 2013 by XL Recordings. The album is a bustling city 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 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 Canada
American Express in Canada operates as Amex Bank of Canada and Amex Canada Inc. Both are wholly owned subsidiaries of the New York based American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc., the largest operating unit of the American Express Company. Amex Bank of Canada is the issuer of American Express charge and credit cards, with outstanding products like the American Express® Gold Rewards Card, and the American Express® AIR MILES® Platinum Card. Amex Canada Inc. operates the Corporate Travel and Travellers Cheques divisions in Canada. American Express opened its first offices in Toronto and Hamilton in 1853 and now employs 3,700 Canadians coast-to-coast. For more information, visit www.Facebook.com/AmericanExpressCanada.

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.

SOURCE: American Express

Stuart Terry, on behalf of American Express Canada, [phone], [email protected]

Amanda Betti, on behalf of American Express Canada, [phone], [email protected]