(Photo courtesy of Paul Nazzaro via Steve LeVine Entertainment)Steve LeVine Entertainment, the company that turned a dead Scottsdale street into what we know today as Old Town, is holding its eighth anniversary party Saturday, March 7, at Livewire.
The show will feature DJ Seven Lions and is also a launch party for the upcoming Scottsdale Fashion Week. The party will feature looks from prominent designers Ted Baker and 7 For All Mankind.
CEO Steve LeVine is excited because there hasn’t been a party thrown for his own company in a while.
“We had an amazing year and an amazing eight years,” he said. “Coming off of an unbelievable Super Bowl, we have a lot of reasons to party.”
LeVine started his career performing as a DJ, throwing parties in Tempe for the 18-and-older crowd while attending ASU in the mid ‘90s.
“There were definitely people saying you can’t be a DJ your whole life,” LeVine said. “I realized I can still have a DJ company that has young DJs that are aspiring to be the biggest DJs in the world and also throw parties.”
LeVine has turned his passion for the club scene until a full-fledged empire, turning Tempe and Scottsdale into the bumping streets that they are today. In addition to the club events, Steve LeVine Entertainment also puts on corporate events.
“We brought the first big DJs to Scottsdale (in 1999),” he said. “It has now evolved into this unbelievable entertainment district that I really don’t see rivaled anywhere else in the country."
The sudden rise in popularity of electronic dance music has helped in creating this booming business of clubs and parties, but LeVine said that this is no surprise to him.
“I love the EDM boom as people say, but there was an EDM boom in the ‘90s that I was a part of,” he said. “We used to pay guys like Kaskade and Steve Aoki very little money and to see how big these guys have become over the past 15 years is just incredible.”
Steve LeVine Entertainment also has partnerships with other promotional companies across the country, including Las Vegas.
“People recognize what we are doing here, so we are able to take what people love here and give them the same experience in Vegas,” LeVine said. “We have done Sundance (Film Festival) and the Olympics in the past, where we have teamed up with other promoters and brought the party there.”
ASU had a lot to do with the success of Steve LeVine Entertainment, according to LeVine.
“I grew up in LA, but I feel like I grew up here,” he said. “I wouldn’t change a thing, and I’m proud to be a Sun Devil.”
LeVine has two sons and a third on the way with his wife, Jamie, who also works for the company.
“My wife is the marketing and public relations arm, and I don’t think there’s anyone better in the business,” he said. “She’s my right hand.”
While the business of promoting can be difficult, LeVine said that it’s important to stay confident in tough times.
“When you lose, you can’t let it knock you down because the sense of defeat always hurt,” he said. “With promoting, you just get right back up and you do it again and you keep doing it until you’re successful because there is no better feeling than throwing a successful event.”
Reach the arts editor at jhgolds2@asu.edu or follow @mister_jgold on Twitter.
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