I started music as a child in grade school, in orchestra. In public shool music programs, in the US, in the 70's, you start publicly performing (for mostly the parents of the kids playing) right away. I did music in orchestra and jazz band all through my school years and it progressed up to adjudicated performances with some tough critics. At the same time I got into bluegrass and rock and played in a few flash in the pan bands, but by the time I was doing that (with other orchestra and band geeks), we were all actually pretty well seasoned public performers.
As an adult learner, likely self or internet taught, your experience is going to be way different. If you've never performed on a stage before in front of an audience, I would NOT suggest you play solo the first time. You may not know if you'll lock up with stage fright, be able to engage with the audience, remember chords & lyrics, etc.
I recommend you have a playing or singing partner, someone hopefully with a little performance experience. Plan your set list and practice it until you are sick of the songs. Do "dress rehearsals" using the sound gear you'll use for your performance, real time. Play each tune all the way through, just like on your set list. Record it! Have a few friends there so they can give you honest, real feedback. Listen to and watch the recorded practice.
There are people who'll say this is overkill, just wing it. That works for some but for most it doesn't. I've run open mics and seen spectacular crashes. People painfully unprepared, with no idea how their gear worked, no backup cord/tuner/battery/strings/etc. No idea what they were going to play. Started the song, realized they forgot their capo, fumbled for it (finally the host lent them one), started over, guitar sounded terrible, realized they didn't tune, didn't have a tuner, borrowed one from the host..... Some people go through that and never want to play in public again.
Its kind of similar to your first big road trip. Some people head out without checking the tires, oil, belts, etc. and they arrive just fine 1500 miles later by sheer luck or the kindness of strangers. Others do a little preparation and have a few glitches but at least were prepared for the problems they encounter. Some break down 20 miles from home. Are you the kind of person that likes to wing it and trust fate or try to be reasonably prepared?
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