Best way to play out is play in your own back garden or front porch, no stress involved, no one complains, and everyone likes and knows the songs you play.
If a song is good, it's good. It just might need to be updated for a younger audience. Take Lenny Kravitz's "American Woman" as an example. I think it surpasses the original Guess Who version. "Sound of Silence" by Disturbed is every bit as powerful for a new generation as it must have been for Simon and Garfunkel listeners back in the day.
So rather than throwing away your repertoire, you might think of putting your own stamp on those songs. Is it bright and sunny? Maybe slow it down and make it heavier. Is it slow and ponderous? Increase the tempo and brighten it up.
Unless you are doing "tributes covers" trying to match note-for-note and tone-for-tone (and I saw great Heart tribute recently), then the song is yours to tweak as you see fit.
You have to listen to new stuff to like it. I have the Acoustic Favourites running on Spotify to hear acoustic and playable versions of new songs but I also listen to a lot of stuff with my 13 year old daughter in the car (She's the music boss and filters a lot.). There's plenty of good songs out there but you have to filter out the crass stuff. I put up a link http://www.pgmusic.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=485882#Post485882 to 2018 songs that I'm gradually bringing in to my set. At least you don't get asked to sing in Cantonese (I'm in HK)- now 'Cantopop' really is mind numbingly awful and how would you memorize the lyrics! I should add some Tagalog songs as well, but I'm too lazy unless there are English Lyrics (Anak - Child)
Last edited by lambada; 08/23/1803:29 PM.
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True but only to a point. As an old guy how would you know that some new songs you happen to like are the same ones a group of millennials would like at a party? You have to be part of that peer group to know that. You're still an outsider listening with your taste not theirs.
True but only to a point. As an old guy how would you know that some new songs you happen to like are the same ones a group of millennials would like at a party? You have to be part of that peer group to know that. You're still an outsider listening with your taste not theirs.
Bob
exactly. In my opinion, the single biggest obstacle to performing in public for mixed audiences is finding a set list that is well received across the board. Even on this group where most of us are older and grew up listening to the same music, there is plenty of disagreement about what's "good music".
A musician entering the live music scene doesn't have the luxury of always playing to an established demographic. You put an ad on Gig Salad or whatever and then accept whatever work comes your way. All age groups. Many different preferences.
Great advice from all you guys. I really value all your opinions, and it's great having a bunch of great friends to bounce things like this off of. I've known all of you for quite a few years now - thanks for all your sharing.
I love the pop and rock from the 60's through 80s - and now - 30+ years later, I'm actually able to perform these songs, thought memorizing and holding onto them is a real challenge.
checkout the 9:00min segment of
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I love the pop and rock from the 60's through 80s - and now - 30+ years later, I'm actually able to perform these songs, thought memorizing and holding onto them is a real challenge.
checkout the 9:00min segment of
Wow - thank you for sharing that! It's incredibly informative
I'd say, keep playing what you know and are passionate about. The authenticity will definitely help the performance shine. Plus, I know a lot of younger people - myself included - love older music as much as they do the new stuff, sometimes maybe even more
I've been at bars/pubs where a there is a cover band playing. It doesn't matter if the entire place is packed with 20-somethings - if that band plays Don't Stop Believing, the whole place sings along.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Deryk just gave the answer.
I work with, co-write with, and mentor a lot of really talented young songwriters and performers, many from the age of 8 to 10 up, and they play to mixed crowds of young and old.
Some are virtuosos at bluegrass songs that are 100 years old at least and play Merle Fest and the International Bluegrass Festival here. Others who who great songwriters and performers mention as idols: Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, Peter Gabriel, and on and on and on. I do not think there has been one mention of a newer artist and no covers of Katy Perry I can think of.
So, I think for me the moral of the story of if you are out playing your typical gig and you are not genre-focused, but are more of a singer-songwriter type with a band, just pick the very best songs you can from any era and try and do excellent versions of them, and also throw in some of your own.
I have seen absolutely no indication that the younger set needs to hear songs written by the current generation, or what's on the radio in order to be interested.
In my experience, they just like good music, the same as it always been been--so just play them good music and you will be fine.
David Snyder Songwriter/Renaissance Man Studio + Fingers
Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: The Newly Designed Piano Roll Window
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Band-in-a-Box 2026 Video: AI Stems & Notes - split polyphonic audio into instruments and transcribe
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