Band Groupeez
If you’ve ever wished there was one clean place to find a local artist’s bio, music, upcoming shows and booking info — without the clutter of algorithms or data-scraping tactics — Band Groupeez is building exactly that. We sat down with the team behind the project (also known for SaltyMF Enterprises and the Salty’s Live Music podcast) to hear how a t-shirt, a conversation on a stretch of I-85, and a salty stranger on a Panama City Beach shore turned into a platform designed to help real musicians be seen.
From a salty idea to a music-first platform
Band Groupeez grew from a simple, human-first mission: honor independent, gritty people. That mission began with SaltyMF Enterprises — a lifestyle brand and podcast that highlights everyday heroes: veterans, entrepreneurs, fighters, and yes, musicians who aren’t getting the national attention that they deserve. Founder Brad Banyas shared the origin story: a chance stop in a Georgia music shop where he bought a shirt from a band he’d never heard of. After hearing their music in the store, he wondered why a great local band was so easy to miss.
That question grew into Salty’s Live Music — a series that invites independent artists into the studio to play original songs and tell their stories. The team discovered a pattern: some of the most talented musicians weren’t rising because they didn’t want to spend their time marketing, wrestling with social media algorithms, or navigating predatory industry deals. They wanted to play. The team’s tech background made the solution obvious: build a tool that handles the promotional and booking heavy lifting so artists can focus on music.
Hence Band Groupeez — a music-focused ecosystem that blends a living EPK, booking tools, fan engagement features, and venue-direct booking capabilities.
What makes Band Groupeez different? The “living EPK” and booking flow.
At the heart of Band Groupeez is what the team calls a “living EPK” — a single, always-up-to-date artist page that holds everything a booker, venue manager, or fan needs: music samples, past shows, press assets, and contact info. Dawson Jones, who works closely on the product, stresses that this isn’t about replacing managers or industry pros — it’s a tool that makes the manager’s job easier and gives independent artists professional, shareable media without the big expense.
Key features the team highlighted:
● Free tier for artists and venues so musicians with limited budgets can still have an active, public EPK.
● Booking and discovery tools that let venues search by region and genre, recommend artists, and issue booking requests.
● Tour planning support (an upcoming “tour manager” feature) that maps venues along a route so smaller acts can string together gigs that make a road trip financially worthwhile.
● Fan engagement & event promotion so artists can publish posters, ticket links, and show dates in one place.
Brad summed it up: if a musician keeps their page current, booking agents and venues should be able to see everything they need and book them — no PDFs, no frantic emails, no tangled spreadsheets.
The podcast that started it all: people first, music second
Long before the tech existed, the Salty’s Live Music podcast was the team’s way to foreground the person behind the music. Brad emphasized that the interviews matter as much as the performances: telling why a song was written, how someone got started, or what keeps them playing can create real affinity between artist and audience. In an age when AI-created tracks are getting clicks, the human story matters more than ever.
Dawson echoed the sentiment: the episodes aren’t about chasing views or building fame for the hosts — they exist to make the guest the focal point. Clips and long-form media generated from these sessions become tools artists can use to promote themselves.
Values: authenticity, inclusion, and giving everyone a seat at the table
Band Groupeez grows from SaltyMF’s larger philosophy: celebrate authentic, freedom-loving people without political agendas or data-hungry tactics. The team stressed they’re not building another platform to sell user data or monetize at the expense of artists. They want to create value for three groups simultaneously — artists, venues, and fans — and keep the platform accessible to musicians who simply want to be professional about their craft.
That intention hasn’t come without friction. The team shared that launching new ideas in tight-knit music communities sometimes attracts skepticism — but they’re focused on doing the work, iterating based on feedback, and staying true to the mission.
Where they’re headed next
Band Groupeez is evolving: booking for venues and a more robust tour-management booking engine are coming online, along with continued integration between podcast media and artist pages. The vision is simple and practical — make local music discoverable, promotable, and bookable in a way that respects artists and helps venues sell more beer and tickets.
If you care about live music in your town, Band Groupeez is trying to make it easier to find. For the team behind it, this is less about building a brand and more about building a community: “You’re the brand,” Brad says — and through stories, music, and tech, Band Groupeez hopes to help more musicians get the spotlight they deserve.
