That lines up with $900 / gig today. That wouldn't be affordable for most bars around here. Maybe people drank a lot more back in the day or are you remembering the good gigs?
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When did cover gigs balloon to 3 hours?
- Thread starter Trevorus
- Start date
That lines up with $900 / gig today. That wouldn't be affordable for most bars around here. Maybe people drank a lot more back in the day or are you remembering the good gigs?
Yep used to do 4 hours with 3 sets. Now we do 3 hours with 2 sets. About a 15 minute break
3 or 4 hours is typical here, usually depending on zoning, the variety of the gig - whether it is a mostly bar or mostly restaurant place. There's a lot of overlap between the two. Some die out by 10:00, some don't start getting a crowd until 9:00.
Spent about 4 years, until 2022, in a busy tribute band. We played for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, no break. Moved and joined a cover band, the norm here is 3 1/2 to 4 hours, 3 sets. I am in my 60's and I thought I would never go back to 4 hour gigs, but you get used to it and most nights the crowds are great and the money is quite good so no big deal. Did a 5 hour outdoor gig on Labor Day last year, it was 95 degrees, that sucked.
But, I have been doing this since the very early 80's and the expectation has always been 4 hours, one band. What makes a huge difference for me is that instead of 9P to 1A or 10P to 2A like it used to be, now some places we are done by midnight, but most we are done by 11.
But, I have been doing this since the very early 80's and the expectation has always been 4 hours, one band. What makes a huge difference for me is that instead of 9P to 1A or 10P to 2A like it used to be, now some places we are done by midnight, but most we are done by 11.
Houston, 3 1 hour sets in 4 hours. For as long as I can remember.
4 hours common in KC for cover/bar bands. I've seen many Jazz groups locally that will fill 3 hour restaurant slots, but when playing in a club will go for 4 hours. I enjoy playing, so never skin off my back, but not only has the length of time not change...the pay hasn't either. Common to walk away from a 4 hour gig with $150/person for club/bar gigs, $200/person for private parties, $300/person for festivals/events. That is for run of the mill bands (like me), bigger local names can command slightly more for local/regional.
sometimes we get a 3 hr gig and we think we hit the jackpot lol! 4 hrs is the norm. Sometimes we play municipal/civic type things and those are often the shows that are 3 hours. We've even had some at 2 hrs - that's almost annoying because you just set up, then you are tearing down right away lol!
Mostly we play pubs locally, and the standard seems to be two 45 minute sets with a half hour break, somewhere between 2000 and 2300, maybe a couple of encores. 
Seems a bit pathetic compared to you folk stateside! We'd much rather play for longer. In our local we do two 90 minute sets which is much better. People round here have a habit of not coming out until later. We've had nights where we're set up and ready for 2000, the audience don't start arriving until after 2100, by 2230 it's rammed and the bar shuts at 2300. That does my head in. 
Seems a bit pathetic compared to you folk stateside! We'd much rather play for longer. In our local we do two 90 minute sets which is much better. People round here have a habit of not coming out until later. We've had nights where we're set up and ready for 2000, the audience don't start arriving until after 2100, by 2230 it's rammed and the bar shuts at 2300. That does my head in.
PS Festivals tend to want 30/40 minutes and that's it!Mostly we play pubs locally, and the standard seems to be two 45 minute sets with a half hour break, somewhere between 2000 and 2300, maybe a couple of encores.
Yep, typical bar job around here is four 45 minute sets with 15 minute breaks between sets.
It was standard for my old cover band to play a 4 hour set, usually 8 till midnight or 9 to 1. There were a few set breaks in there but for the most part it was work. My friends are always amazed when I tell them what our typical schedule was...
"You see us on stage for a few hours but that was the easy part. For every show we played you had hours of driving, 3 hours of setting up equipment and lights, 4 hour show then 3 hours of tearing down all the equipment. After that you would get as much sleep as possible then drive home the next day or to the next show. So basically, once we left on Friday we were actively driving/working until we got home on Sunday"
"You see us on stage for a few hours but that was the easy part. For every show we played you had hours of driving, 3 hours of setting up equipment and lights, 4 hour show then 3 hours of tearing down all the equipment. After that you would get as much sleep as possible then drive home the next day or to the next show. So basically, once we left on Friday we were actively driving/working until we got home on Sunday"
Good thing you weren’t around in the 70’s. Six nights a week, mostly 5 sets, I played one club that was Monday though Sunday, 5 sets except for Friday and Saturday when you played SIX sets. Definitely separated the men from the boys.
