New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is bringing GigTown, an innovative new way for musicians to book gigs through a smartphone app, to New Orleans.

Brees, a native of music-centric Austin, Texas, who has deep connections San Diego, where the app’s developers are based, was so impressed by GigTown that he decided to invest in the company and spearhead the app’s expansion into New Orleans.

“I happen to know the guys who put the GigTown app together,” Brees said. “They’re on the West Coast, so they actually started the app in LA and San Diego, and since then, they have extended it into Austin.”

As soon as Brees found out about the app, he immediately wanted to bring it to New Orleans.

“First and foremost, I think it is a great way for local musicians and bands to get great exposure,” he said. “What else is in place right now for musicians and bands that are just starting up in their community and their city to really have a chance to get noticed?”

To join the GigTown community, a musician just has to set up a free profile on GigTown.com.

“What we ask for people to do is to put a YouTube video on their profile so that people can actually see you play, as well as whatever songs that you would choose to download,” Brees said. “Then a fan or a user is able to go on the website, learn about all the local musicians and bands, they can listen to their music, they can watch them perform, and then they can also book them for a gig.”

The musician sets a price point through the profile, so anyone wishing to arrange a booking through the app will know how much each gig will cost up front.

GigTown collects a 13 percent service fee on all transactions, but all other interactions are directly between the musician and the booker, with payments processed in the form of a direct deposit to the musician, Brees said.

“If you’re a restaurant, lounge, club, bar, or you’re just somebody who’s throwing a party and you want to have a local musician there, you’re able to actually book through the app,” he said. “It’s such an easy and efficient way to do that, and in many cases, it can be done the same day.”

There is also a social aspect to the app since users in the market for musicians can create playlists of their favorite local artists based on each musician’s profile.

Once a musician begins to accrue fans and followers through the app, that fanbase can be mobilized at the touch of a button.

“We can notify those fans as to when and where their favorite artist is playing based on how they’ve been booked through GigTown,” Brees said. “So when a restaurant or other venue books an artist through GigTown, we can send out an email blast to all of their fans.”

In that scenario, the musician gets a gig, the venue lands a popular local musician, and the fans who use GigTown to find local musicians are notified of an upcoming show.

“It’s really a win, win, win for the venue, for the artist, and for the fan,” Brees said.

Venues in Los Angeles are already using GigTown to book musicians five times a week, Brees said, with the musicians reaping all the benefits.

“At the end of the day, the cool thing about it is, when you sign up as an artist, there’s nothing to lose,” he said. “If somebody wants to book you, it’s not like you’re obligated in any way to accept. You’re not prevented from going out and having an agent, or having a manager, or anything else. I think it’s just another avenue for people to hear your music, to enjoy your music, to become a fan of yours, and eventually want to book you for a gig.”

Not one to preach from the sidelines, Brees is planning to use GigTown to find local artists for the fifth annual Amazing Race concert at the House of Blues New Orleans on Saturday, May 9.

“We’ve had Kenny Chesney play at our event twice, we had Eric Lindell play at our event two years ago, and this year we have Phillip Phillips,” Brees said. “As a cool way to kick off GigTown in New Orleans, whatever bands sign up on GigTown between now and April 21, we are going to book two of those bands, one to open and one to close for Phillip Phillips.”

To qualify, the bands will need to be located in the New Orleans area and will have to create a new profile on GigTown.com before the cutoff date of April 21.

The winners will be announced at the end of April, Brees said.

“We want to highlight some local musicians that we might not have known about, and that might not have had this opportunity,” he said. “It’s a great way to get them some exposure and build some excitement about their music.”

To find out more about the Amazing Race and to purchase a sponsorship for the event, visit drewbrees.com.

To create a profile or book a musician, go to GigTown.com.

Forever a supporter of the city, Brees said he is excited about the possibilities the app will bring to local musicians in the near future.

“New Orleans is very much at the ground level for this,” he said. “That’s what I like about it-being able to bring something new and unique to New Orleans that will change the industry a little bit. I think it’s really cool for the city.”