Hi guys...

First thing is wow...I am so impressed by the quality of this forum...I feel like I have stumbled upon the music shangrila...

I have been playing acoustic, mostly rhythm guitar off and on for 50 years...started when I was 10...mostly just play at home...but do perform once per year at a big family function...

This last year I have been trying to step up my game...learn some new songs...learn to play some lead...etc...

I have a fender acoustic electric guitar that I like to play most of the time...also have a new Epiphone Riveira P93 that I am not sure I like yet...hoping it will grow on me...

So as an example i have been working on learning a new Blues song...BB King..The Thrill is gone...tough song to sing when you are trying to play at the same time...but...I seem to be making progress...i have the rhythm part down...and the timing for the vocals...you gotta jump in on the 2 or it just doesn't work smile...in time I will learn the lead...but that will take awhile...

So anyway... I am thinking that I will buy Band in a box...use it to play a backing track while I play and sing...for now...with thrill is gone...maybe the backing track will just be bass...drums...and ???....later...when I learn to do the lead at an acceptable level of quality...I can have the backing track play everything except lead guitar...I will play the lead..and sing...

My question is about the equipment I will need...

Right now I have a pc laptop that I want to use...it is a HP Silver Fuson 15.6 touchscreen....intel i3...4gb system memory...16gb intel Optane memory...1TB hard drive...windows 10 home...WiFi...bluetooth...dvd writer...

I am thinking I will load the Band in a box on this laptop...will it work???

And...I have a small portable PA system...it is a Pyle Karaoke PKRK10 system..400watt...Pro Audio PA System...it has a guitar jack input...a mic input...also has USB input...also has video/audio/aux inputs like you see on the back of tv's...it is not a high end system but it worked great last year when I used it the first time at the family reunion...plugged the guitar in...plugged a wireless headphone mic in...worked great...

Will I need any other gear to make this all work?

Will I be able to plug the computer into the PA system that I have now and get it to play a backing track from Band in a Box...and at the same time will I be able to plug my guitar and my wireless mic in as well....

or....do I need a diferent PA system?

or...do I need some sort of gadget or gyzmo that goes between the computer and the PA?

Help...I don't know what I don't know..

Luke