A large disparity exists between the amount of money being paid to performers who provide nightly entertainment at the two Villages town squares in Sumter County.
That’s according to two invoices sent to Sumter County from The Villages Entertainment Department – one dated Feb. 1 and the other April 11. Two checks for $20,000 each were then sent to the entertainment department from the Sumter County Board of Commissioners, who have agreed to provide the privately-owned retirement community with $80,000 in tourism grants to partially fund the nightly entertainment at Paddock Square in Brownwood and Market Square in Lake Sumter Landing. Spanish Springs Town Square entertainment receives no money because it is not located in Sumter County.
This year, Villages-related projects are receiving more than half – $209,100 – of the county’s $386,000 in tourism grants. That money, collected from hotel room taxes, is used to promote tourism. Criteria for providing funding includes how an event will affect hotel and motel room use, county documents show.
Currently, the only hotel on Villages property within walking distance of Lake Sumter Landing Market Square is the Waterfront Inn, which is roughly two blocks away. There are no hotels on Villages property near Brownwood Paddock Square, though a hotel and spa is scheduled to open in a couple of years.
A similar request from the City of Wildwood for $12,422 to help pay for its Fourth of July “Happy Birthday America” event, which includes an extensive fireworks display, was turned down. Interestingly, Wildwood’s City Hall is closer than Brownwood’s Paddock Square to the Waterfront Inn and two motels on State Road 44.
All told, the invoices for town square entertainment show as much as a $1,400 difference in the amount performers are paid for the four-hour shifts at the town squares. Rocky & The Rollers takes home the most money – $1,650 per night – followed by Johnny Wild & The Delights at $1,550. Seven acts – Clark Barrios Band, Uncle Bob’s Rock Shop, Swing Theory, MPIRE, Andrew Morris Band, Dance Express and Blue Stone Circle – are paid $1,200 per performance. And five others – 501 Blues Band, Cactus Jack & The Cadillacs, Caribbean Chillers, Hayfire and Think Big Band – are paid $1,200 per show.
At the other end of the scale, seven performers – Carol Ann Lower, David Vece, Gene Cannon, John Gallo, Larry Dee, Lisa Beck and Suzie Casta – are paid just $250 per show, even though they perform the same amount of time as the higher-paid acts. And like every other performer, they are required to be at the squares extra time before the show for setup and sound checks and afterward to break down their equipment.
A similar invoice from February 2017 shows that three bands got raises to perform this year. The highly popular Scooter the DJ went from $800 to $1,000, as did The 45s. And Rocky & The Rollers is receiving $150 more per show (a complete list of town square performers and their pay appears below).
The invoices from The Villages Entertainment Department, which is overseen by Director Brian Russo, also contain detailed information about the contract performers are required to sign. Those documents each contain the date and venue where the act will perform. And it promises they will be paid no later than 10 days following their performance.
For the most part, acts are required to arrive for setup no later than 3:30 p.m. and soundchecks must be completed by an hour later. Performers are allowed to take three breaks of up to 15 minutes each but none can take place before 5:45 p.m. and after 8:15 p.m., the contract states.
If an act’s scheduled performance is canceled 14 days or more prior to the engagement, The Villages Entertainment Department doesn’t have to pay a cancellation fee. If the job is canceled any time less than 14 days, right up until before the performer sets up his or her equipment, the entertainment office has to pay 50 percent of the fee. And if any portion of a performance takes place, the full fee will be paid.
The contract also states that if a performer cancels an appearance with short notice – 14 days or less – he or she would owe the entertainment office $500.
No complimentary meals will be provided to the acts but non-alcoholic beverages may be provided “during or immediately before” a performance at the discretion of the entertainment department, the contract says.
All equipment, such as audio amplification gear, synthesizers, bass guitars, keyboards, drum kits and other percussion instruments must be provided by the performer. The entertainment department agrees to provide lighting, a public address system and monitor mixes as deemed necessary by the performance. But additional sound and lighting equipment is the responsibility of the performer and must be approved by the entertainment department, the contract says.
Finally, performers must agree to wear appropriate attire, which the contract deems as “casual or upscale casual.” Clothing with wording and/or imagery that is deemed offensive or shows “an excessive amount of skin and/or cleavage or is see-through” isn’t permitted. The entertainment department reserves the right to approve the attire any performers wear, the contract says.
Below is an alphabetical list of the 66 acts that provided nightly entertainment at Brownwood Paddock Square and Lake Sumter Landing Market Square in February and March, along with the amount they were paid per show:
501 Blues Band: $1,200
Amee Reese Automatic Duo: $400
American Martian: $1,100
Andrew Morris Band: $1,350
Audio Exchange: $1,100
Blake Guyre Band: $1,000
Blue Stone Circle: $1,350
Bobby Blackmon & The B3 Band: $900
Bobby Iavo and The JerZeyguyz: $1,000
Brian Carl & Company: $450
Cactus Jack & The Cadillacs: $1,200
Caribbean Chillers: $1,200
Carol Ann Lower: $250
Clark Barrios Band: $1,350
Crossfire: $700
Dance Express: $1,350
David Vece: $250
Dream Journey Duo: $400
Earthbeat: $1,100
Gene Cannon: $250
Hayfire: $1,200
He Said She Said: $400
Highway 44 Band: $1,000
Jerico: $700
Jody Beggs Band: $750
Joe Carter: $300
John Gallo: $250
Johnny Wild & The Delights: $1,550
Justin Heet Band: $800
Kathleen Kane & 007: $800
Larry Dee: $250
Lee Ann Noel Band: $700
Lisa Beck: $250
Mark Seymour: $400
Monique & Company: $600
MPIRE: $1,350
Musikology Trio: $600
Never Never Band: $1,100
No Regrets Band: $800
Old Skool Band: $1,100
Paradise: $1,150
Renegades: $500
Rick Melvern Trio: $600
Robert and Mandy France: $400
Rocky & The Rollers: $1,650
Scooter the DJ: $1,000
Second Slice: $1,100
Smokin’ Torpedoes: $950
Sondra Hunt Band: $1,100
Ssnakeyez: $600
Steel Horse Band: $900
Steve Hogie Band: $600
Street Talk: $1,000
Sugarbear Band: $800
Suzie Casta: $250
Swing Theory: $1,350
Take 2: $400
TAT2: $550
The 45s: $1,000
The Band 4 Play: $800
The Hooligans: $1,000
Think Big Band: $1,200
Tonya Staples Trio: $600
Uncle Bob’s Rock Shop: $1,350
Vito Ameruoso: $300
Walker & Walker: $400
