You must be careful when playing a variety of music that you don't go too hard-core in any one direction. There is a fine line between everybody's music and nobody's music.

When playing for a 40+ crowd, you are playing memories as much as you are playing music. Stick mostly to the popular stuff. Of course, you can sneak in songs for yourself once in a while, as long as they are not too drastic of a departure. When playing for a retirement crowd, I wouldn't sneak in any Jay-Z, even if I wanted to.

Also I don't expect every market to be like South Florida. When I toured the country in my younger years I noticed a lot more hard rock in the Midwest and a lot more country in the Southeast. Little pockets of others exist like "Beach Music" of Virginia to Georgia's Atlantic coast.

You also have to remember, although you are friendly and cooperative with other similar acts in your area, you are also in competition. Your job is to do a better job than the competition.

I make my own backing tracks, sometimes with BiaB, sometimes from scratch. Here is how I make backing tracks and how I use them on stage. http://www.nortonmusic.com/backing_tracks.html

Feel free to take what you want and ignore what doesn't apply to your personal situation.

And always remember, you are not having a monologue, but a dialogue with the audience. You must react to them as much as they react to you. Plus, look like you are enjoying yourself. Fun is contagious. You can't expect the audience to have a good time if you aren't having a good time. One of the first booking agents I ever worked with said this in his gruff voice, "Nobody wants to see a sober-faced musician."

Parting words and the best advice I've ever gotten:

You can play for yourself, you can play for other musicians, or you can play for the general public. If you are good enough, you will get the audience you asked for.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

Bob "Notes" Norton smile Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com

100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks