I play 3 days a week in a resort across from the biggest ocean side park in our city and directly on the public beach. It's outdoors under a big canopy with a restaurant and full bar service.

Since we started our duo, decades ago, our target has always been the 50-year-old plus audience. It's a good, solid, dependable audience here in South Florida. It's retirement heaven.

When playing beachside, all ages come in, teenagers, young adults, families with small children, as well as the retirement age folks.

We have a songlist of over 600 tunes https://www.nortonmusic.com/cats/songlist.html

We do play some 21st century songs, but the majority of our music is from 1955 to the 1990s. We have some older "big band era" music that worked with our market years ago, but we hardly ever play them anymore.

We learn what people request, and when something goes over well, we learn more like it.

I'm no longer surprised to see young adults singing along to songs by The Beatles, Elvis, Johnny Cash, Dion, Springsteen, Lionel Richie, Motown artists, Donna Summer, Lou Rawls, Beach Boys, Four Seasons, Jimmy Buffett, k.d. lang, Otis Redding, Janis Joplin, Kansas, Van Morrison, Santana, Bob Seger and so many others.

They like the newer songs too, but I used to be surprised they sing along and know all the words of the older tunes. Now I just enjoy it.

We mix in other genres, Country, Caribbean, Musica Latina, too. Whatever works, whatever they like, mostly music they know by heart.

We keep track of the requests, and I'm always observing what songs work well and which ones don't. Our aim is to give them what they want, and do a better job at that than our competition. It's working, because I am making a living doing music and nothing but music. I enjoy what I'm doing and don't have to do the ultimate sell-out (for me) -- take a day job.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

PS Here is the place we play 3 days a week...






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