Outdoor festival setlists

Who hired you? Did they know what you play?

You don't have to learn a new setlist for a gig. Just play what you usually do. Classic rock to blues to Motown should be great for a barbecue festival.

Don't sweat it. You are way over thinking this.

 

Working Man Blues by Merle is always a crowd pleaser. Head Over Boots by John Pardi is also a goodern.

 

whoever hired your band must know what type of music you play..... you do not need to adjust your set list
just play some more laid back numbers to start 2-4 songs and they start adding in the classic rock!

 

Outdoor festivals are our specialty since we play everything very loud.. Lots of ZZ top and Areosmith.

 

Just my opinion, but I'd play what I play best and leave the country music to the country bands.

 

If people are hearing country all day, something different might go over very well. It certainly would for me.

 

Just remember, likely there will be younger people there, so watch it with the lyrics.

 

Might want to have Rawhide in your back pocket, just in case

 

Big +1 here. Be the band they hired. They probably have other bands scheduled to play country.

Not saying not to spice up your set with a modern country tune that fits your sound, but for the most part be the band that got hired.

 

I wouldn't change much. Some Chris Stapleton might work well since he can get bluesy at times. Something like Midnight Train to Georgia, Traveller, or Parachute.

 

When I play these BBQ “festivals” I’ve noticed that the bands who play during the day perform for families and people who aren’t very engaged with the band; it’s the people who come out in the evening or after dark that tend to listen to the band and may even sing heir lyrics back to them.

 

Hi,

We book ourselves as a country band but play a variety, from Bruno Mars to Johnny Cash. The biggest response we had at our outdoor event last night was to "Shallow" by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga from "A Star Is Born".

But for the most part, just be who you are and play your strongest material. You'll do great. Break a leg!


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

 

If this is your first fest spot, play the stuff that you know goes over well. Use all that creative energy to think about how to best utilize this gig to create more opportunities for yourself.

-hire a photographer so your website/social media has shots of you playing festival stages.
-make sure to have merch to sell
-get out there and meet people. This is a great opportunity to network with people who do bigger stages more often.


Most important is to be ready, and to have fun!!

 

I don't play them but I attend some festivals like this. Most recent band was a kilt wearing group playing ACDC and Ted Nugent, GNR, etc. Sound mix was nuts and tunes were performed hit or miss, they've been there every year and people seemed to like them well enough.

Just do your thing, it got you the gig!

 

You may want to include some possibly pertinent numbers such as "Who'll Stop The Rain", "Stormy", etc. just in case. Osibisa's "Sunshine Day" might be a bit of a stretch.

 

How many other bands, and what do they play? Does the event organizers know what you play, and how did you get the gig? They know what you’re all about, right? Just do what you usually do, it’s not like it’s a bar gig and you have to please the owner. Just assume you’ll be ignored by the wandering crowd anyway. Maybe you’ll pick up some new fans, and it’s counterproductive to become a band that you’re not. If you do anything out of the ordinary, work up a version of “Born To Be Wild”.

 

I play in a band that does almost no country stuff, but we play "chicken fried" by the Zac Brown band cause people go nuts for it. Guaranteed to have more than half the audience sing along anywhere we are from a bar to a festival.