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story by

 Courtney Murray

Business  Profile

Making People

Happy

“My favorite part of the job 

is watching people enjoy our 

workmaking people happy 

is my passion.”

E

ntertainment can make or break an event. Nothing can 

spoil a wedding like a cheesy DJ or ruin a party like bad 

lighting. Entertainment guru Matt Powell knows a thing 

or two about pulling off event entertainment seamlessly! 

He’s been a musician practically his entire life, getting his fi rst set 

of drums and fi rst stepping into the limelight in the 3rd grade. Matt 

took the stage live in front of his whole school which spawned his 

love for drumming and performing. These were the stepping stones 

for building his passion for DJ’ing, which led to receiving his fi rst 

job at the age of 14 DJ’ing at the local skating rink. Matt continued 

drumming his way through high school and DJ’ing all the parties, 

even playing in an all original band. “After high school our original 

band stuck together for another 5 years and I also became one of 

Atlanta’s big club DJ’s on the weekends,” said Matt.

     Matt then felt it was time to shift his entertainment angle to the 

wedding and private events scene and started his own business in 

Atlanta DJ’ing weddings and events. With all of this experience 

under his belt, Matt went on to be hired by Princess Cruise Lines 

as Entertainment Director where he spent nearly four years 

entertaining thousands of people every day all over the world. 

After having his fi ll of life at sea, Matt decided he needed a change 

of pace. Instead of returning to Atlanta, he picked up and moved 

to Pensacola and became the Entertainment Director of Seville 

Quarter. “It was the closest thing to being a cruise director that I 

could fi nd,” Matt explained, “It’s basically a cruise ship on land.” 

It was after six years in that position that he decided to start his own 

company alongside his wife Janie; Powell Entertainment. 

Their statistics are staggering; in three short years they have done 

over 300 weddings and over 400 special events. Their team is 

constantly evolving, “DJ’ing is the backbone of my career that got 

us to where we are. Making sure we are the best DJ’s in town will 

never move to the backburner as we explore new, exciting parts of 

the entertainment business such as lighting design décor,” explained 

Matt. They are now a team of six crew and DJ’s with a downtown 

warehouse and offi ce space. In addition to Powell Entertainment, 

in the past year they have also opened Janie’s hair salon, Birchfi eld 

Beauty, and opened their downtown event space, the Rails on 

Wright St. 

Powell Entertainment is a jack of all trades where they provide 

DJ services, custom design lighting, draping, and audio/visuals for 

weddings, parties and events. Matt described, “My favorite part of 

the job is watching people enjoy our work... making people happy is 

my passion. When I see someone dancing and smiling or in awe of 

the environment that we created, it’s truly a rewarding experience 

that fi lls me with joy.” As they move forward, Powell Entertainment 

plans to keep evolving and keeping up with new technology to make 

their events and Pensacola the best they can be. 

40     |    VIPPensacola.com

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12/27/18   3:12 PM