Why I Started Uptown Drive

I studied jazz saxophone at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, and at 20 I was playing in a party band on the Disney and Universal stages in Orlando.

That job taught me more than any classroom. You learn fast what makes a crowd get up and what sends them back to their seats, and you learn that the best musicians in the room aren't always the ones who make the night work. The ones who make it work are listening to the room.

When I moved to Austin I spent years playing in other people's wedding bands all over Texas. From the stage, I paid attention to everything: how a band handled the grand entrance, how the toasts were cued, how long it took to fill the floor after dinner, and how much it mattered when the band that showed up wasn't the band the couple had watched online. Too often, the players on stage were meeting each other for the first time that afternoon.

Greg Williams

Founder and bandleader

In 2013 I toured the world on sax with Jason Mraz. It was the gig of a lifetime, and I came home knowing exactly what I wanted to build next.

The band you book is the band that shows up.

In 2014 I started Uptown Drive around that one idea. I hand-picked every musician for talent and chemistry, and those are the musicians who play every Uptown Drive event. We call it our Certified Original Lineup: every video you see features our confirmed lineup, so you know exactly who will be on your stage. When a band plays together this often, nobody needs a set list taped to the floor to know where the night is going.

What started as an Austin wedding band now plays weddings, galas and company events across Texas and Colorado and travels for destination weddings from Aspen to Aruba. We've been named a WeddingWire Couples' Choice winner eleven times, and every one of those reviews was earned by the same people you'll see on your stage.

When you book Uptown Drive, you book me too. I answer your first email, build the timeline with you and your planner, lead the band on sax and guitar and emcee the evening, whether it's your wedding reception or your company's biggest night of the year. If anything needs to change in the moment, you're talking to the person who can change it on the spot.

Austin is home. When I'm not on a stage, I'm with my family and our dogs, and that's who I'm thinking about when I promise a couple or a client that we'll treat their event like it's our own.

Meet the Uptown Drive Band

Greg Williams

Bandleader, saxophone and guitar

On the night, Greg is the one steering the room. He moves between sax and guitar, emcees every introduction and toast, and calls audibles on the set list from the stage based on who's dancing. His live sax over the DJ during cocktail hour and grand entrances is one of the most requested moments of the night.

Courtney Gayle

Lead vocals

Courtney is a powerhouse vocalist who traded New York City for Austin. She has performed with bands and orchestras across the country, works as an actress and is one half of the duo Gritty Sunset. She moves easily from soul ballads to dance floor anthems, and she has a way of turning a single chorus into the moment everyone remembers.

Quiesean Wilson

Lead vocals

Quiesean grew up singing gospel and has been hooked on every genre since. He's a born showman who carries the pop and hip hop side of the show, and he never stays behind the mic stand for long. Once he takes his energy out onto the dance floor, the guests follow him, and nobody sits back down until the last song.