Port Charlotte resort looks to hire musicians, entertainers

After nearly four years of fires, hurricane damage, delays and skyrocketing costs, the Sunseeker Resort Charlotte Harbor is quickly moving toward an October opening and its management is now looking to find help.

The Allegiant Travel Co.-owned resort in Charlotte County has put a call out for musicians to entertain guests when the guests finally show up. The resort has announced a talent search to bring in professional entertainers to perform as part of its weekly entertainment series and special events.

According to the Sunseeker, it's looking for musicians full bands, solo singers, duos and DJs across several genres. Along with the musically inclined, the resort says acrobats, stilt walkers, jugglers, magicians and fire performers are also encouraged to apply.

To help narrow down the talent pool the resort is holding an open casting call online called Seeking Stars. Interested performers can submit auditions online until June 30. That will be followed by invitation-only live auditions in August.

Audition videos can’t be more than five minutes long, and DJ submissions should include a press kit with a 30-minute family-friend mix.

When complete, the Sunseeker Resort will have 785 rooms, 20 restaurants and bars, two pools, a spa and salon, a 117,000-square-foot “ground-level experience,” adults-only rooftop retreat, 60,000 square feet of meeting space, a harbor walk and an 18-hole golf course.

The project has been plagued with delays since shortly after work began in 2019, starting with construction shutting down for 17 months because of COVID in 2020, which was followed by Hurricane Ian in 2022, pushing the opening date back by months as crews worked to clean up damage. And if that wasn’t enough, a fire on the work site in February shut things down again.

As a result, the cost of the project to Las Vegas-based Allegiant has continued to climb. The initial price tag for the Sunseeker was originally $510 million, but during the company’s most recent earnings call in early May, CEO John Redmond said the final cost is now estimated to be $695 million.