When did cover gigs balloon to 3 hours?

[conttador]

So, I've been doing the church gig stuff for years, so I've been out of the loop. When did the cover band set expand to 3 hours? It used to be an hour and have two or three bands. I'm a glutton for punishment, apparently, because I've got two different bands with two different three hour sets, playing lead guitar on one and bass on the other.

The bass gig they eventually want me playing upright on a few of the songs, and thankfully the keyboardist owns one he'll let me borrow. But I've only screwed around on one that happened to be around, no real performance experience there.

I've got my work cut out for me. Oh, yeah, full time job, kids, and all the accoutrements that come along with that, too.

Hmmm, they’ve always been at least 3 hours here. Anything less, not sure it’s worth the time…

 

[funkinbottom]

I was going to ask, what's the going rate these days in your locale? Same question for anyone here...

Usually $75 - $80 per member for a four piece band for your typical bar gig.(not including tip jar and a little more when we are just a trio) Wineries and some of the nicer restaurants pay a little more, $100 per member.

 

[coryr1000]

The thing that gets me is 35 and 40 years ago we did 3 sets for 300 bucks and today we sometimes get paid less than that so we put out a tip bucket.

 

[Element Zero]

Good lord I’d kill to play for 3 hours. I’m just gettin warmed up after that long. It’s been almost 10 now since I left my classic rock cover band but we played quite regularly 10 or 12 years ago and after we’d play 45 songs I was ALWAYS ready to immediately do it again lol.

 

[slagheap]

can't speak for worship stuff, but those of us old enough to have started out playing actual nightclubs and then discos know that four 45 minute sets was standard and expected. much of the time we'd be engaged for x number of weeks, four nights a week. leave all the stuff on stage, rehearse at the club in the afternoons. that's the way it worked all over SF Bay area as far as i know ( at least if you were making money. )

 

[Jeff Hughes]

Four 45 minute sets or three one-hour sets were always the norm around my part of the world.

 

[Lance Bunyon]

Original acts play an hour (because that's all their material lol). Cover gigs have always been 3 to 4 hours.

 

[micguy]

I did a cover gig once on a time change weekend - the bar had an extra hour before last call. 5 sets that weekend.

 

[dave64o]

Our typical gig is four sets over four hours. There’s one venue we play that only hires bands for three hours, so we do a three set show there. The only other exceptions I’ve seen since joining this band are some outdoor festivals that hire bands for two hours or have a band open for us and we do two or three hours.

Personally, I’d rather play for four hours. I still have to haul gear to the show, unload it, set it up, tear it down, load it up, and haul it back home whether we play for 4 minutes or for four hours. So I’d rather play for four hours, both for getting the most out of that "overhead" and just for the fun of playing longer. While some of the two hour festivals we play are overall a lot of fun, the “overhead” of moving and setting up gear is the same and that makes those shorter gigs annoying in some sense. To me, anyway.

 

[Discount Bassy]

Of the gigs that I have played doing the standard cover band thing with multiple outfits, approximately 0.2% have been less than 4 hour agreements: one 2 hour wedding at double pay and one high class yard party that we were told to act like guests and play when we collectively felt inspired. The yard party was around 8 hours overall with maybe two hours of playing and 6 of eating, drinking, merriment for a standard 4 hour gig fee. The food and drink were tippy top.

Many of the 4 hour gigs were 3 sets with extended breaks and a big, grand finale single song set that was usually some long-leggedy jam.

 

[Reedt2000]

Most gig slots around here are 4 hours. 4 sets.
And actually, imo, those 1-2 hour gigs are a pain the arse.

I’m glad they went back to longer gigs.

Yup, I play 4 hour gigs pretty regularly. We'll do 3 sets of an hour and ten minutes or so with 15 to 20 minute breaks. For 3 hour gigs we do two hour and fifteen or twenty minute sets.

And yes, we're lucky to walk with $125-$150 a member

 

[MrLenny1]

You have been out of the loop for a while.
Cover gigs were always 4 hours and the last few years have gone down to
3 hour gigs. I say the pay has not gone up & we should demand 3 hour gigs.

 

[Clark W]

So, I've been doing the church gig stuff for years, so I've been out of the loop. When did the cover band set expand to 3 hours? It used to be an hour and have two or three bands. I'm a glutton for punishment, apparently, because I've got two different bands with two different three hour sets, playing lead guitar on one and bass on the other.

The bass gig they eventually want me playing upright on a few of the songs, and thankfully the keyboardist owns one he'll let me borrow. But I've only screwed around on one that happened to be around, no real performance experience there.

I've got my work cut out for me. Oh, yeah, full time job, kids, and all the accoutrements that come along with that, too.

Weekends 9 - 1, 4 hours is typical around my neck of the woods.

 

[klokker]

4 hour gigs. I'm in rural America, a lot of small town bars and we won't play for less than $650 divided 4 ways after paying 10% to our "agent" who books us. So it's about $150 a night minimum. After driving, set up, take down, it's about 8 hours out of my day. So less than $20 an hour.

 

[shoot-r]

I was going to ask, what's the going rate these days in your locale? Same question for anyone here...

5 pcs. group.

For bars, pubs, animal clubs in a 75 mile radius of our base city: 3 hrs. $850.00, 4 hrs. $950.00.
Weddings, private parties, 3 hrs. starts at
$1,000.00, 4 hrs. starts at $1,200.00.
Fairs, Festivals (with furnished FOH), 2 hrs. $1,150.00, 3 hrs. $1,250.00.
Fairs, Festivals (we furnish FOH), 2 hrs. $1,300.00, 3 hrs. $1,500.00.

Anything beyond the 75 mile radius the price of course rises.
Jobs out of state start at $2,000.00.

 

[JazznFunk]

3 hours has been standard for decades where I am, for originals and/or originals/cover mixes. What has become more prevalent are 4 hour gigs (or longer) for the same pay. I say no to those, unless pay is commensurate with the time investment. It's usually not.

We have some spots that are 2 hour gigs for $150/musician ($300 total). Those are better.... but rare.

 

[duderasta]

always been 3-4 45 minute sets around here.

 

[Eric Ryan]

Yep, 4 hours is the norm here. We play a winery that likes 3 hours, but they are the exception.

 

[JC BASS 91]

Around where I am, we do some 4 hours cover gigs. We usually break that down to four 45-50 minute sets with three 10-15 minute breaks between sets. The venues usually only hire a single band per night, so there is no tear down/setup in the middle of the evening.

 

[Sid Fang]

Last time I was in a regularly gigging outfit, pre-COVID, 3 hours was the most common for non-concert club/restaurant/bar gigs, sometimes 4. There is, however, a retail/wholesale aspect to this as well. Venues doing mixed cover and original bands may have a cover band in for 3-4 sets, or else the band leader of an ambitious outfit that doesn't have 3 hours of music down, picks up the evening, and subcontracts one or two 45m ("1 hour") sets to original acts and cover bands starting out, without a lot of material. I'd be lucky to get gas money out of those, but it was a phase that we worked through until we could nail a full evening's music.