Your Source for Some of Coastal Georgia's Finest Musical Acts

Coastal Emperor was founded by Jim Reed, who has been an active participant in the live music and concert scene in the Greater Savannah Area since the mid-1980s.

He's a professional musician who's toured throughout the Southeast and either performed alongside, stage managed for or independently promoted and produced concerts by a wide variety of world-class artists (including numerous Grammy winners and members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame), and a veteran music journalist whose work has been published internationally in newspapers, magazines and online outlets.

Realizing that many bars, restaurants, clubs and venues in the Low Country and Coastal Empire want to offer live music to their customers but have little to no expertise in how to go about selecting and contracting with such artists, Jim formed this agency to aid in those goals by streamlining that process.

We provide live musical talent for restaurants, bars, nightclubs, private engagements (i.e., weddings, anniversaries, family reunions, house/backyard parties, etc...), corporate events (i.e., meetings, conferences, awards dinners, holiday gatherings, etc...), charity benefits and fundraisers, public festivals, and all other types of gatherings.

Absolutely!

That's known as "Talent Buying," and it's our specialty.

Simply email us through the Contact form here on our website, and tell us the basic details of your situation, i.e., the name and type of business, the style(s) of live music you'd like to provide for your customers, the frequency with which you'd like to present performers, whether your stage/performance area is indoors or outside, and what sort of budget you are working with to cover these expenses.

If you don't have a good idea of the current going rates for quality live musical performances in the Greater Savannah Area, just say so, and we can advise you on what sort of a budget would be required in order to accomplish your goals.

Coastal Emperor wants there to be as many different outlets for live music in our region as possible. So, we always try to work within whatever your budgetary restrictions may be in order to make such things a reality - for the benefit of all involved!

Coastal Emperor offers two distinctly different options for our clients.

#1: Clients may use us to book individual musical acts that we represent (our "roster").

In these situations, we handle all negotiations and contracts, and serve as liaison between the clients and the artists. However, to keep things simple and avoid confusion, all payments from clients would be made out and given directly to the artists themselves.

Under these sorts of circumstances, THE CLIENTS PAY NOTHING FOR OUR SERVICES.

We work for the artists, and simply receive a small percentage from them of any performance fees we negotiate on their behalf, after the fact.

#2: Clients may hire us to be their "Talent Buyer," and exclusively oversee all booking of live musical acts for their venue (bar, restaurant, club,hotel, festival, fundraiser, etc...).

In this scenario, a venue contracts with Coastal Emperor for a set period of time (usually 12 months, with options to renew each year), and gives us instructions on what types of music they wish to feature at their establishment, the frequency with which such performances should occur, and a live music budget to work with.

We then seek out and negotiate with the most ideal musical acts for the client's needs, filling their live entertainment calendar and assisting in promoting and publicizing these shows.

In the event that a musical act we have booked must cancel due to illness or unforeseen emergency, Coastal Emperor handles finding a suitable replacement act so "the show goes on." All this is our responsibility and requires no assistance from the venue.

Best of all, the client is NOT limited to artists we personally represent! We can hire ANY artist in the region for their venue.

This allows their employees to concentrate on what they do best and not waste valuable time trying to find, sample, rate and negotiate with tons of live musicians.

Coastal Emperor only represents seasoned artists that we respect and know (from firsthand experience) to be extremely professional and reliable - in addition to being both impressive and entertaining.

We represent a wide range of live musical acts including solo performers, duos, trios, and full bands across various genres.

Coastal Emperor can match our clients with the widest variety of musical acts imaginable in the Low Country and Coastal Empire (and beyond).

From classical to metal and everything in between, if it's a good example of certain type of music, we'll hook you up.

That said, we do specialize in certain formats and genres that are particularly popular in this area, such as: rock, pop, blues, soul, jazz, R&B, Americana, country, folk, jam-band, funk and reggae.

Absolutely. We work closely with our clients to meet any special requests they may have, and we love a challenge!

If there is a specific or unusual style of music (or even a specific performer) you wish to have featured at your private event or public venue, let us know - and feel free to shoot for the moon.

We will do our very best to make your wishes a reality.

Performance fees for artists on our roster can vary greatly due to a number of variables, including: their stature and reputation in the region, the number of musicians involved, the length of the performance itself, the size/capacity of the venue, whether their show will take place indoors or outside, travel time/distance to the performance site, whether overnight lodging will be required, any special requests made by the employer, and any additional PA (sound) or lighting gear and/or engineers that may be needed.

We strive to offer clients exemplary musical acts at the most fair and reasonable rates for all concerned.

Occasionally, some of our artists are available for last-minute opportunities with as little as a few days' notice (so don't be afraid to ask if you have an immediate need!).

However, the majority of our acts are in great demand in this region and as a result are often booked up fairly solidly for several months ahead of time.

We HIGHLY recommend reaching out to us as far in advance of your desired date(s) as possible, for the widest variety of options and the greatest chance of being able to hire a specific artist.

If you do not have any professional PA (sound) and/or lighting gear on your premises for visiting artists to use, fear not.

Every musical act has slightly different requirements in terms of what sort of gear they need in order to perform, so a sound system that is perfect for one act might be inappropriate for another.

The vast majority of the musical acts we represent (our "roster") own and provide their own professional PA gear, and many of them own and can provide basic "stage lights" as well.

Please be aware that since sound travels very differently outdoors (as opposed to inside an enclosed space), if your business or event wishes to have live music in a courtyard, backyard or field of any sort, or if you expect an unusually large number of people in the audience, additional PA gear above and beyond what some of the acts on our roster have on hand may be required in order to make sure all of your customers/guests can hear the music properly.

In those cases, either the artist or the client would need to provide (likely rent) additional sound equipment in order for everyone to be satisfied with the outcome.

While this may incur an additional cost, Coastal Emperor can offer expert advice on exactly what sort of additional gear is needed, and help everyone find the best deals on such things.

Generally speaking, for Private Engagements such as wedding receptions, family gatherings, corporate functions, festivals and charity benefits/fundraisers, a non-refundable 50% deposit of the artists' performance fee is required to "secure the date" and lock in the booking, with the 50% balance due prior to their performance on the day of the show.

By "securing the date," the artists are prevented from accepting any other jobs at that date and time. So if a private engagement is cancelled for any reason, that 50% deposit serves as consolation for them turning down other, more lucrative, full-price bookings.

Our artists are extremely reliable and would only ever cancel due to serious, unforeseen emergency or illness.

If one of our artists must cancel a private engagement for such a reason, they would do so at the earliest date possible, to give both our agency and the client the most time to find a suitable replacement act.

They would immediately return/refund the client's 50% deposit and assist in any way they could to help locate a comparable substitute.

For Public Engagements such as bars, restaurants, hotels, nightclubs, etc..., if the location is within 50 miles of Savannah's city limits, we rarely require any sort of deposit to "secure the date," but we do require written confirmation of the booking.

If the client/venue cancels for any reason, there is no financial penalty as long as Coastal Emperor is notified at least 21 days (three weeks) in advance.

However, if a show is canceled at any point up to 20 days in advance, a "kill fee" of 50% of the agreed-upon performance rate will be due to the artists, for locking in that now-canceled engagement prevented them from accepting other offers to perform on that date and time, thus depriving them of job opportunities and revenue.

If one of our artists must cancel a Public Engagement, they will give as much notice as humanly possible to the client and both the act and Coastal Emperor will gladly assist in locating a suitable replacement act.

It's simple!

Just reach out via email through our Contact form on this website with all the pertinent details of your request, i.e., name(s) of artist(s), time(s) and date(s) you wish to hire them, type of private event or name of public venue, length of the show, whether their performance will take place indoors or outside, and any other details you feel may be pertinent.

We'll take all that into consideration, check with each artist for their availability and interest, and be back in touch ASAP.