Are club cover bands dead?

[_Obra_]

As a former member of several cover bands for past 30+ years, I can say with certainty that club cover bands are dead in my city and probably in the whole country.

There are a few exception that I can count on the fingers of one hand, but they mostly play their original songs in addition to covers.
I emphasize "club bands" because the topic does not refer to big author's or projects that play in big venues and charge tickets...

I won't go into details and questions about why this is so, I'll just ask a question: Are club cover bands dead in 2026?

 

[silky smoove]

They’re not dead in the Seattle area where I’m based.

 

[five7]

Not dead in Denver either.

 

[richntiff]

I formed a new cover power trio in northern Wisconsin. Our drummer booked us 11 gigs within 3 days, and we are still adding. So... no, not dead. Maybe the genre you played for 30 years is dead?

 

[CamJazzBass]

I can see the changes happening. There are still plenty of places to get booked, but we have become more selective as the years move on. We have one regular place we play about 8-10 times a year that is great and always happening. Most of the other clubs, unless there is some kind of special event weekend, it is definitely getting harder to get crowds out.

 

[PMagers]

Not dead around Philly either, although the tribute bands seem to be getting more attention from the nicer venues. And a few of the bars we used to play have converted to DJs, Quizzo etc.

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

I live in northcentral Wisconsin. Cover bands aren't dead, although in many ways I wish they were. They are playing the same, tired old crap I played for over 40 years. I'm so burnt out on those songs I don't even like hearing the originals from the original bands. Yeah, so get off my lawn!

I'd much rather listen to originals, different genres, or at least some more variety of the covers that get, well...covered. Most cover bands kinda suck. If you're going to play covers, at least put some effort into it, and if not perhaps try doing them in a new way.

So...are club cover bands dead? No, they just sound that way.

 

[Bodeeni]

I hope not, I have a gig Friday

 

[pfschim]

I don't really have any idea these days. I was a full timer in a club cover band in the Chicago area (N Ill, N. Indiana, S. Wisconsin) during the 70's into the early 80's. Back then we played 5-6 nights/week, 50 weeks/year and between that and teaching in music stores during the day, and some session work, I made a very decent income for that time. I don't know if the steady work and enough income to have a decent life is still a thing anymore.

These days it's original projects and sessions and I don't need to make a living off of it, so the dynamic for me has definitely changed.

 

[M-Mittlesteadt]

I don't really have any idea these days. I was a full timer in a club cover band in the Chicago area (N Ill, N. Indiana, S. Wisconsin) during the 70's into the early 80's. Back then we played 5-6 nights/week, 50 weeks/year and between that and teaching in music stores during the day, and some session work, I made a very decent income for that time. I don't know if the steady work and enough income to have a decent life is still a thing anymore.

These days it's original projects and sessions and I don't need to make a living off of it, so the dynamic for me has definitely changed.

I can relate. It was/is the same for me. From what I hear though, is the pay scale these days is the same as it was back then. At least we got free drinks back then.

I don't need the money from it anymore either and now I'm typically just writing and recording my own music in my home studio. I have a friend coming over next week to do some songwriting and recording. I don't miss the club gigging at all. This my venue/club these days...

 

[Lava]

nope

 

[57pbass]

Metro NYC ( 5 boroughs) has changed and there’s not much live music happening. Still a few places in Manhattan but the cover band scene in the outer boroughs is dead.. Long Island has a very healthy cover band scene throughout the year…especially in the warmer weather… cover bands / tributes bands / original bands.. good scene.

 

[Wasnex]

Take a walk down Bourbon Street. My guess is you will hear a bunch of different cover bands. Last time I was there the song I heard most frequently was Def Leppard, Pour Some Sugar on Me...funny and a bit tragic IMHO.

 

[_Obra_]

I'm glad to hear that there are places in the USA where you say that cover bands are not dead.
On the other hand, I would like to see some videos from the recent cover band gigs where there are more than 4-5 old men (mostly woman) in the audience. Everyone is older than 45 within a radius of 200 yards. Sad...

 

[SC Bassboy]

There was a time when cover bands could sell out the bigger clubs around town. 20 years ago Birmingham, AL was nothing but cover bands. Like, to the point that cover bands actively competed against each other. You couldn't pay someone to let you play original music. As of about 10 years ago that finally started changing. There are very few clubs with just cover bands around now. The few left are niche sorta places like biker bars and such. I'm actually very happy about this. Birmingham has a solid original music scene going and all the bands work together to promote one another. The younger generation doesn't care much about cover bands, and I'm thrilled in a way. The big cover bands mostly play large events or weddings now.

 

[_Obra_]

There was a time when cover bands could sell out the bigger clubs around town. 20 years ago Birmingham, AL was nothing but cover bands. Like, to the point that cover bands actively competed against each other. You couldn't pay someone to let you play original music. As of about 10 years ago that finally started changing. There are very few clubs with just cover bands around now. The few left are niche sorta places like biker bars and such. I'm actually very happy about this. Birmingham has a solid original music scene going and all the bands work together to promote one another. The younger generation doesn't care much about cover bands, and I'm thrilled in a way. The big cover bands mostly play large events or weddings now.

I couldn't agree more with everything you said!

 

[57pbass]

I'm glad to hear that there are places in the USA where you say that cover bands are not dead.
On the other hand, I would like to see some videos from the recent cover band gigs where there are more than 4-5 old men (mostly woman) in the audience. Everyone is older than 45 within a radius of 200 yards. Sad...

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

absolutely not. I know several guys who gig 5 times a week to packed venues. They play covers.

 

[detoxxx]

Not dead around Philly either, although the tribute bands seem to be getting more attention from the nicer venues. And a few of the bars we used to play have converted to DJs, Quizzo etc.

In Atlanta, I seem to see more of the tribute bands too. Mostly, there are artists that put bands together to do tributes to different artists, not one band dedicated to a particular artist. One artist may cover multiple different artists/genres. Tribute shows are all over the city pretty frequently.

 

[JazznFunk]

Club cover bands? Yep... they are dead around here. If cover bands get work, it's in bars or at breweries, and even that is limited. If you want to play covers and make a living part-time, it's in the wedding/function band sector. There's also a draw for 'tribute' bands in some larger venues, but even those are not as prevalent as they were 10 years ago. I don't know anyone who goes to tribute band shows. Most places in our market/region prefer original music at venues, which is a nice change from 15-20 years ago when cover bands and tribute bands were getting the bulk of the work, supplanting even local musicians.