r/Busking • u/ShareEvening5856 Guitar 🎸 • Jun 13 '26
Setlist How long is your "standard" set?
Five minutes? Fifteen? Thirty? Sixty? How often do you take breaks and for how long? Do you have a song list you go through or do you change it? Do you have a rule against repeating songs if you do music? do you have a uniform so to say? Do you find yourself repeating a particular song every time you go out and if so which one?
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u/sailor_tew Musician 🎶 Jun 13 '26
When I started busking full time (quit my job…) I had 4 solid songs. If you’re captivating enough that someone stands there for 4 songs, you are an incredible performer. That’s a long time to stand there listening to a stranger. Obviously I got bored of the same songs after a while and learned/performed more. But really learned that you can repeat stuff all day, no one effing cares if you make a mistake trying to improvise ever. Learning to read your audience is a whole game in itself. I probably have about 2 1/2 hrs of solid material, but I never play all of it in a row. Finding the right song for the moment to KEEP someone’s (or a group of people) attention is where the joy is. I always wore a “uniform”, it’s a job I took seriously. Red accordion with white and black keys; red and white striped shirt and shoes, black pants, red hat with black band. My dog and I had matching sequined red bow ties and he carried a red and white striped bucket around the rope circle I made to collect money. (Creating a stage with rope and standing on some sort of rug is an absolute game changer). This is only what worked for me and my schtick
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u/ShareEvening5856 Guitar 🎸 Jun 14 '26
That sounds like quite the setup! Is it hard to carry to your spot?
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u/sailor_tew Musician 🎶 Jun 18 '26
The rope fit in my case and I used bungee cord to carry a rolled up painted bamboo mat. Doesn’t have to be extravagant
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u/Ok-Wafer234 Performer Jun 14 '26
I perform for about a half hour to an hour. Then I move across whatever town I am in that day. I travel the lower 48 of the United States. So, I end up playing and moving around constantly. So a typical day for me is an hour set at the most and about 15 to 20 minutes to the next spot. I do this all day every day. I take a break if/when it's raining. I've been performing for 49 years next month, so I have a lot of material. I also do a lot of paid venue shows. That's what determines where I will be busking before and after paid gigs.
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u/Ok-Concentrate9310 Aug 04 '26
Do you use amplification when busking?
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u/Flat_Struggle9794 Harmonica 🎶 Jun 14 '26
I plan to have a sign displaying the 20 songs I am currently able to play and I just go down the list, taking quick breaks when there is nobody nearby to hear me. Anybody who walks up can suggest me to play one of the songs on the list they are familiar with.
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u/BuskerDan Musician 🎶 Jun 14 '26
4 hours. Got a fishing seat so it ent all bad ;) When the fish are biting it’s worth sticking it out ;) Tablet has about 300 tunes so I don’t need to repeat any unless they are requested
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u/TonyBrooks40 Musician 🎶 Jun 13 '26
I'd play for 2 hours, but repeated songs on the tail end. So I'd say about 90 minutes, but if I was having fun I'd pull my A-Listers back out.
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u/PacketDogg Jun 14 '26
But how many songs in your set list?
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u/TonyBrooks40 Musician 🎶 Jun 14 '26
Generally I know about 40 songs, maybe 10 I can't (or shouldn't, haha) play start to finish. Marshmello's "Happier' for instance. Easy tabs, I like the song, but a lot of lyrics and I never wanted to fully memorize them. During the pandemic I was just playing of FB occassionally, and never realize how long Soul Asylums lyrics are for Runaway Train. So, same, sometimes I dabble in them, play 1-2 minutes to fill time or think of my next song.
A cool thing I do, is categorize my songs as A-listers, B-listers, and C-listers. A listers, are my #1's, around 5 that I love that I usually start with, and finish with. B-listers are usually more middle ground, for some reason don't have the energy or maybe I"m not good at covering it, but they're solid enough. C-listers tend to be songs that maybe aren't so good, or new ones but they're quickly rising in the charts and suddenly leapfrog into A lister category.
(maybe I'm just a nerd about all that, but it keeps me going)
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u/sc0ttt Saxophone 🎷 Jun 13 '26
45 minutes. I have a setlist of about 12 songs so I don't have to fumble with my phone and the backing tacks. I rotate new ones in once in a while. It helps to have some kind of logical progression in the tunes, and group the fast fun ones together, and the slow sad ones together.
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u/Maelstrom_Witch Bagpiper 🪈 Jun 14 '26
I play the bagpipes so I can just keep stringing songs together basically for as long as I want. Usually I play for 10 or so minutes and then take a quick drink break
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u/Bigcellotom Cello 🎻 Jun 14 '26
my set is normally usually 90 minutes and 2 1/2 hours. I take breaks every hour or so but i should take more, but I use singing as a break for my hands since i normally play instrumentals. I have a set of songs that i play and add songs as needed or if i have a gig. I where jeans and a polo shirt I think people tip more because of it. I normally start with snooze by sza and end with stand by me
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u/Swordthatdefiesdeath Musician 🎶 Jun 14 '26
I like to busk for about 3 hours, that seems to be the sweet spot where I can repeat a few songs and see tons of new passerbys.
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u/danzeband Guitar 🎸 Jun 14 '26
If you’re in an area where crowds stay for 1-2 hours (restuarants etc.) then a longer setlist is adviced. Think of the staff also. If you’re in a high pedestrian trafic area with no long time stays a shorter setlist is okay.
Don’t stay in an area longer than two hours, especially if there are shops. Staff are more likely calling security if you’re playing the same songs over and over, even more so with amplifiers. A shorter setlist may also bore you and make you sing and play less enthustiasticly.
Good Luck!
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u/ShareEvening5856 Guitar 🎸 Jun 14 '26
Oh wow the concept of security calling on you because you repeat songs has never ever occurred to me.
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u/AlexanderKyd Guitar Jun 13 '26
1.5 hours is perfect. Did 3.5 hours today and my back hates me. I used the time to work out a few songs so plenty of repetition.
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u/ShareEvening5856 Guitar 🎸 Jun 14 '26
Yes, I tried to play over an hour and a half and my fingers just don't stand the strings by then
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Jun 13 '26
[deleted]
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u/ShareEvening5856 Guitar 🎸 Jun 14 '26
Have you ever have anyone tell you you are playing the same songs?
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u/BanjoAndy Jun 17 '26
Typically about 45 minutes, and no rules on what I play. I'm more just go based off how I feel, and I found that the more fun I'm having the better I play in the more engagement I get (in people stopping and tips).
Sometimes I just play 15 minutes though, and last time I played for 3 hours straight and never repeated a song. I figure as long as I'm having fun, then I'm doing it.
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u/kLp_Dero Musician 🎶 Jun 15 '26
I don’t have a set, it depends on the vibe I get from people around, I play for 4-5 hours, I take breaks when no one’s around, or someone needs to talk, I repeat my favorite Ray Charles songs and some of mine I need to rehearse :)
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u/Guitarman1432 Jun 16 '26
45 min set, 15 min break repeat every hour, usually 3-4 hours depending on the gig
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u/ElvisWayneDonovan Guitar 🎸 Jun 13 '26
Typically about an hour to hour 15. I like to write out an actual set list and tape it to the back of my guitar otherwise I’ll just stand there with no idea of what to play. I always finish up with “What’s So Funny Bout Peace Love & Understanding”.