The budget was set. The plans were laid out — at least, tentatively. There was still enough wiggle room that Aaron could re-book if necessary, but the important part was that he had the skeleton down, and he had a ballpark of how much he was going to spend on it. Adding in the meat, then all the bells and whistles that went with it, would come with time. Now that he had a closer idea of how much he could afford to spend outside of the necessities, he figured it wouldn’t be all that hard at all.

Until it came to the issue of sourcing local bands.

Middle-of-nowhere Georgia wasn’t exactly a powerhouse for musical talent. There were kids with garage bands, of course, but not too many professional mid-listers that Aaron could find. He had to admit, he didn’t know the first place to look… and it was why he was glad that, after three weeks of frustration, Teddy asked if he could take over and help out Aaron with finding local talent. Aaron had passed the baton to him, and by the looks of the paper that Teddy had laid out on the coffee shop table, it seemed like he’d been far more successful at finding leads in a week than Aaron had in three.

“Alright, so,” Teddy said. He turned the paper around so that it faced Aaron. “I’ve sorted my list into different categories to try to make this easier for you, since I’m not sure exactly what your vision is. Midnight was a rock ground with very light pop undertones — mainstream rock, I guess. Not anything too hard or too heavy. We’re talking about radio star branding.”

“Right.”

“So I tried to find rock groups that would complement the tone of the performance,” Teddy said. He gestured at the first column. “I looked in a hundred mile radius. I figured that some bands would be willing to travel if you asked nicely enough and if there was some monetary incentive involved, which I’m guessing there will be.”

“A little.”

“Then we’re on the right track.” Teddy smiled. “So this list here is a list of bands I think would suit the Midnight feel… but then I figured that you’re not really throwing a rock concert, right? You’re throwing a summer event for Prescott. So I did some more digging and came up with some more names. Pop bands aren’t really too much of a thing, but I managed to find a few of them. That’s this list here. There are a ton of country bands, and I’ve got that listed here. There are even more reggae bands, if that’s your thing. A few rappers, a few folksie groups… so I’ve got them all divided into different lists for you, and you can decide what direction you want to go in based on what I’ve got.”

Aaron looked at the list, then looked at Teddy. “How did you find so many local groups?”

“Social media,” Teddy said simply. “If you know where to look, then it’s not hard. That, and I used my secret weapon.”

Aaron rolled his eyes skyward and grinned. “Natalie?”

“Natalie.”

“I should have thought of her first.”

“She knows just about everyone there is to know around here. It was a no-brainer.”

Aaron sighed. “I’ve been so stressed by all of this that it’s hard to remember that I have a brain half the time. I swear, last night I had dreams that I was doing more planning, and when I woke up and got to work today, I was confused about why I couldn’t find the rental confirmations in my inbox that had been in my dreams the night before.”

Teddy frowned. “Aaron, I know that you want this job, but I’m worried about what it’s doing to your health. Yeah, it’s stressful, and I’m glad that you’re not spinning your wheels and doing nothing, but is it really worth sleepless nights? You were doing just fine before.”

Aaron looked Teddy over. The concern in his eyes was genuine, and his face was softened by worry.

“I’m just pretty vocal when I complain,” Aaron said. “I’m sorry to have made you feel this way. Even though things are tense, and I feel like I’m drowning in work, I took this job on knowing how big and important it was going to be, and I promise, I’m okay. If it was something I really couldn’t handle, I would have refused it. I’ve just got to be conscious of how much I’m running my big mouth.”

Teddy offered him a small smile. “All I care about is if you’re okay. If you need to rant about it, I’m here for you. I just want to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself amid all the insanity, you know?”

“I am. I promise.” Aaron reached out and squeezed his hand. He was blessed to have a family support system. “Thanks for helping me out like you have. I really appreciate it.”

Teddy shrugged. “As Natalie’s brother, I second-hand know everyone there is to know around here, so it’s no problem. If you ever need help finding people again, let me know and I’ll be glad to put something else together. Oh, and I’ve also emailed you the list I have written here, but with all of the bands’ social media links and contact info. It shouldn’t be hard for you to get in touch.”

Internally, Aaron pumped his fist. “That makes my life a thousand times easier. If there’s anything you need me to do, anything at all, just let me know, okay?”

“I will not complain if you want to personally introduce me to Vance Chastain. You know. For uh, research purposes.”

Aaron covered his face with his hands. Teddy knew about the sex tape, but Aaron had kept the identity of the other party under wraps to everyone except for Freddie. “I promise you on my life that you do not want to meet that man.”

“Uh, well… I mean, if he’s a dick, then I guess that’s fine.”

“The biggest dick ever.”

Teddy grinned.

“And not that kind of dick,” Aaron said, shutting him down before he could get it out. “We’re talking about the annoying bastard kind of dick, not the equipment in his pants.”

“You’ve see it, then?” Teddy arched a brow. “Is that how you’re getting him to perform at your event?”

“No, he…” Aaron shook his head. “We went to high school together, so I kind of know him. I don’t know what his dick looks like, and I hope to god that you don’t ever know, either.”

“I mean, if it’s no strings, then it doesn’t matter how insufferable he is. We don’t even have to talk—”

“No,” Aaron said. He spoke a little more harshly than he thought he would, and Teddy recoiled. “Sorry. There’s some bad blood between us from high school, and I just… I’d rather you not get involved, okay?”

“Yeah. Sure. I’m sorry for bringing up old scars.” Teddy frowned. “I’ll let you know if anything comes up, okay?”

“Sure. Sounds great. And thank you again.”

“You got it.” Teddy beamed. “It’s going to be the best summer Prescott’s ever seen, and you’re not even done planning it yet.”

Aaron wasn’t sure of that, but he was going to give it his all regardless.