I've been in a duo since 1985, and until COVID, we were never out of work. In fact, we had to block out vacation weeks a year ahead of time, or we wouldn't get one.
I've gone through a few different ways to do this through the years, until I found the best one for us.
We don't do set lists. I watch the audience and call the tunes as I think they need. I try to give them the best experience.
For example, if they are dancing and look like they need another, I'll start another immediately (with my crowd 4 seconds is too slow). If they look like they are tiring, I can call a slow song. Or whatever.
If I need to, I can switch from one song to the next immediately, without missing a beat.
Here is both how I create tracks and how I use them on stage.
http://www.nortonmusic.com/backing_tracks.htmlYou can skip the "how I make them" part and scroll to the "how I use them on stage" part.
Insights and incites by Notes