How many songs in an hour-long set?

[39martind18]

As a solo act with limited lead-playing ability, my songs tend to be fairly short. My shows these days are basically one hour in length, with a little slop-over for starting early or an encore or three, I usually have a list of 20-25 songs ready to go, with flexibility to cover requests. In some venues, there are standing requests, so those factor in as well. Sometimes, a venue will request a theme in the selections, so I'll tailor the repertoire to reflect the request. Of course, my entire repertoire of 500 songs is available, so...

 

[brookdalebill]

Like most people have said, about 15.
Often we get requests (2-3) per set, not on the list, and do them in addition to the set.
When we get lots of requests, we take our normal 20 minute break, but the last set usually gets shortened a bit.
It works out.

 

[FaithNicole]

Yep, time of each song governs how many in a set. That and your own segway between each song. Some venues are conducive to more verbal interactions between songs, others are best to finish a song and lead right into another.

In general, I agree with other comments. 15-17 per hour set should be good. Have more ready jic. We've had encore requests and been asked to play an additional set .. be ready

 

[El Tele Lobo]

I used to DJ swing dances back in my dancer days. One thing live bands get wrong when playing for dancers is playing music that’s hard to dance to. Nothing kills the vibe of the room like playing a song that’s not danceable after a couple songs that have filled up the dance floor. When you play more modern music, the definition of “danceable“ becomes a little more liberal, but it’s still a thing. Of course, at a wedding, this might be OK. Gives people an excuse to get off the floor and rest a little bit or socialize.

But when preparing a DJ set, I would actually plan my set out for the full-time length that I needed. I would alternate songs by tempo and dance style: a rockabilly number followed by a downtempo Lindy Hop followed by a Charleston or Balboa number and then maybe a blues shuffle or slow dance. But then I always had other things “in my pocket“. I had whole playlists of fast Lindy songs, downtempo Lindy songs, rockabilly numbers, blues songs, etc., so I could “read the room“ and play more of what the audience was responding to. I would plan some very good sets, but the room was different every time, so this method saved me from laying an egg on the stand. It also gave me something to fall back on if I got distracted or was still hunting for a song that I wanted to play when something was ending…I had something always in queue that I could throw on while I got ready.

I imagine planning a band set could be the same kind of thing. Have a planned set list and then have extras of each type of song that you can play more of if the audience responds better to that. Of course, at a wedding, you may already have guard rails regarding genre, tempo or song style.

 

[alex1fly]

Practice it, time it, and see for yourself! The best way

 

[dasherf17]

My daughter asked me to get the band together and play for 45 min to an hour at her wedding reception. Currently, I've got 17 songs in the set. Is that too many? Should I cut it back a bit?
What's your experience? Is there a sweet spot (in terms of number of songs in the set) for a gig like this?
Thanks for any suggestions.

As many as ya' can cram...
Leave some time for the audience to "rehydrate"...

 

[Wilharnauld365]

Work on 20 to play 15 !
It's very important to feel the audience and the atmosphere, so don't hesitate to modify an original setlist... according to the public mood.
Putting songs into groups of 2 or 3 is an excellent trick.
Have fun and make people happy !

 

[jays0n]

1 or 2. But I’m in a Phish tribute band.

I was also going to suggest just one song. The band Mk II, Jazz Odyssey?

 

[daddyplaysbass]

9

 

[daddyplaysbass]

17 seems like too many. At 3 minutes a song, that's 51 minutes. And unless you are a Ramones tribute, the songs are likely a bit more than 3 minutes long.

Personal pet peeve: whatever you do, please put the songs into groups of 2 or 3 to minimize periods of silence and/or noodling on stage. Nobody wants to hear that. And if you're playing for dinner/cocktails, keep the talking (and the volume) to a minimum.

"put the songs into groups of 2 or 3 to minimize periods of silence" we found it worked nicely if we would segue into the next; end a fast song, leave the last chord hanging and go into a slow song

 

[SledgeHammer60]

Have more songs than you need in case judgment calls need to be made. for an hour set, have an hour and 20 ready to go.

Allow time for “when things go wrong” - someone busts a string, sound problems, drum head busts etc. something always happens. For an hour set, expect 5-10 min of “happy time”

Have some strategies when the above happens to make accidents seem planned.
An acoustic song from dad to daughter while someone replaces a tube, rhythm section does a small improv during a string change.

10-12 is a good baseline, but have 15-17 ready and make sure one of them is Love Shack. It may come in handy.

Great advice! Thanks!

 

[Papanate]

My daughter asked me to get the band together and play for 45 min to an hour at her wedding reception. Currently, I've got 17 songs in the set. Is that too many? Should I cut it back a bit?
What's your experience? Is there a sweet spot (in terms of number of songs in the set) for a gig like this?
Thanks for any suggestions.

I’d have 20 or 22 songs on hand - they will be an encore - and too many songs is easier to handle than too few.

 

[SledgeHammer60]

It depends…Freebird?

Lol. No. But I'm a huge Ronnie and Skynyrd fan! "Gimme Three Steps" is going to be played at my funeral.

 

[SledgeHammer60]

I’d have 20 or 22 songs on hand - they will be an encore - and too many songs is easier to handle than too few.

Also great advice. Thanks.

 

[SledgeHammer60]

10-13 songs max for a 45 min set - songs vary from 2.5 to 5 minutes usually and then there is the banter and changeover stuff in between. But we always go with the flow. My wife who is the lead singer in our band is a genius at reading the audience and calling for changes - fast slow ballads rockers etc. We usually have a planned outro of closers so the list usually shifts depending on time remaining. But having a few extras for the inevitable “encore” request from family is a good idea anyways …..

That's some experience talking, there. Thanks!

 

[kimbos123]

My daughter asked me to get the band together and play for 45 min to an hour at her wedding reception. Currently, I've got 17 songs in the set. Is that too many? Should I cut it back a bit?
What's your experience? Is there a sweet spot (in terms of number of songs in the set) for a gig like this?
Thanks for any suggestions.

Waaay too many songs IMHO. What will your daughter remember? Dad thoughtfully playing a handful of his best songs? A hungry musician starving for a solid gig sweating it out and running through songs like he's Adam Sandler playing frantically to a full bar. I wouldn't play more than 8 good songs. 45 minutes seems like a lot of time but it's not, and with set up etc those songs will be plenty, giving the "audience" time to absorb and think about life....it's a wedding!

 

[Gladhander]

Lol. No. But I'm a huge Ronnie and Skynyrd fan! "Gimme Three Steps" is going to be played at my funeral.

Maybe it should be played before your funeral. Ha!

 

[SledgeHammer60]

I think the rest of the responses addressed the actual question, so I'll just share this, which was the first thing I thought of:

Dude. I sent that to my daughter and future son-in-the-law and warned them about where this could go! I especially related to the quips about prostate woes. LOL!

 

[SledgeHammer60]

Waaay too many songs IMHO. What will your daughter remember? Dad thoughtfully playing a handful of his best songs? A hungry musician starving for a solid gig sweating it out and running through songs like he's Adam Sandler playing frantically to a full bar. I wouldn't play more than 8 good songs. 45 minutes seems like a lot of time but it's not, and with set up etc those songs will be plenty, giving the "audience" time to absorb and think about life....it's a wedding!

Wise advice. Thanks!

 

[SledgeHammer60]

Sounds like fun - enjoy!

It'll be a great time. Thanks!