Why Our Song List is Shorter Than Other Bands', and Why That's a Good Thing
The Benefits of a Curated Show
Photo courtesy of Viera Photographics
Imagine one of your favorite bands or artists performing at an arena. Whether you’re thinking of Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, or Queen, two things are sure to be true: The band is immersed in the music, nailing every note and the set list is curated.
What’s not happening? You can bet that the singer isn’t choosing from a list of hundreds of songs; band members aren’t faking it, looking over to the guitarist in an attempt to get the form right. Nobody onstage is thinking, “Wow, haven’t played that one in awhile - how does it go, again?”
“ Nobody onstage is thinking, “Wow, haven’t played that one in awhile - how does it go, again?””
Photo courtesy of Thompson Photography Group
You’d never expect a rusty performance from a concert, and you shouldn’t from the band you hire for your party, either. This is why, whether you choose SpeechLess or another band, you should consider prioritizing a curated setlist rather than an overgrown song list.
The equation is simple: There’s a point of diminishing returns when it comes to the number of songs. The more songs a band adds to their repertoire, the less time they have for each tune to rehearse and memorize the music. And when bands have gigantic song lists, large percentages of that list get rusty -- even with frequent rehearsals.
Unfortunately, many bands feel the need to send clients song lists featuring hundreds of songs, because -- justifiably -- everyone has individual tastes and wants to know that a band can play the music they like. But here’s the catch: Of that gigantic song list, the band likely only knows a small portion at a concert level, and the band plays the rest of the songs either very rarely or not at all. This can lead to rough performances; band members searching their memories for the next chord instead of being fully immersed in the music and delivering a tight, emotional performance.
Photo courtesy of Viera Photographics
“Of that gigantic song list, the band likely only knows a small portion at a concert level, and the band plays the rest of the songs either very rarely or not at all.”
This begs the question: How do bands put on a top-notch, well-rehearsed show and still cater to the diversity of individual crowds? For us, the answer is to curate our set list based on our years of having experimented with repertoire on mixed ages, cultures, and musical tastes. It’s about finding the right balance: enough variety and special requests to match your unique event and vision, but not so many songs that the quality of the performance suffers.
We know that hiring a band leads to a lot of questions like one, but we’re here to help. Peruse the Advice Category of our blog to gain more insights and answers to your questions!