Anyplace to play PP&M, etc.

[MJH]

I love PP&M, John Denver, Pete Seeger, Arlo Guthrie, Bob Dylan etc., but there doesn't seem to be anyplace in my area to play this stuff for others to hear. Maybe I haven't searched enough. I also might not be good enough to do a whole night. Who knows.

How about the rest of you? Any old folkies out there doing this type of gig regularly? Not just mixed in, but really this genre. I would love to be able to do a set of PP&M and have people love it!

[Chicago Sandy]

First you need to find a place that doesn't have an "originals-only" policy because they won't purchase an ASCAP or BMI license. One way around that is to hold an invitation-only house concert--the performing rights orgs. have reached an agreement with the North American Folk Alliance not to bother house concerts.

Nursing homes, libraries and schools would love that kind of stuff.

I write mostly in that genre.

[martind gibsona]

I would love to be able to do a set of PP&M and have people love it!

I could be wrong -- Lord knows I have been -- but I doubt you'd do an entire set of ANY artist and have people love it. I know I wouldn't. If I wanted to hear a whole set of music from PP&M or John Denver or Jethro Tull or Steppenwolf, I wouldn't go out to hear someone cover them ... I'd buy their Greatest Hits CD. Doing covers is fine, but I don't think a whole set of any single artist is gonna win you many fans.

Nursing homes, libraries and schools would love that kind of stuff.

I agree with Sandy; that's why 2/3 of my gigs are at retirement centers. But having said that, I'll also say that I doubt a whole show of 40s-60s folk music will sell. Now I might include a tune from John Denver or Bob Dylan or Tom Paxton or John McCutcheon ... in fact, I do all of them -- but the only Guthrie I do is Woody. I also throw in some Norman Blake and Johnny Cash and The Carter Family and a bunch of old public domain tunes such as "The Ship That Never Returned" ... this is all what I call Original Folk Music. My audiences, both public and private, seem to love it! I really believe that if you're gonna be a "hit", you're gonna need to expand your performing repertoire.

Don Smith

[Andromeda]

Another suggestion, and my partner and I do a lot of this besides the old folks home (which is a great place to play) but we also hold house concerts where we go into peoples homes and play. If you can find ways to do that I think you may find it very rewarding...much better than a bar scene!!!

[Chicago Sandy]

IS Edwardsville a suburb or exurb of St. Louis? Are there any coffeehouses (especially UU or UCC church coffeehouses) around there frequented by baby boomers and seniors? Do they have any open mics where you can test the waters? I agree that a concert should not be 100% covers of one particular act, unless you are doing a tribute show simulating that act, with their permission of course (e.g., Weavermania or Work O' the Weavers, with the blessing of the surviving members of the Weavers) or an educational presentation about a particular artist (such as UncleDizzy60 is planning--let him clue you in on the details). However, if you make your show from PP&M *and* their contemporaries, as well as perhaps your originals written in that style, people might be more receptive.

[radiator bug]

Convalescent Homes. Yup! You will probably find yourself enjoying the "gig" more than almost anywhere else once you see the happiness on the face of the residents. Go for it!

[sirflyguy2000]

Originally Posted by Chicago Sandy

IS Edwardsville a suburb or exurb of St. Louis? Are there any coffeehouses (especially UU or UCC church coffeehouses) around there frequented by baby boomers and seniors?

Edwardsville isn't far from St. Louis, and there is an SIU campus there. Smaller than SIU-Carbondale (my alma mater), but a nice school. I don't know about anything else there, although I did a photo shoot there for my website.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by martind gibsona

I could be wrong -- Lord knows I have been -- but I doubt you'd do an entire set of ANY artist and have people love it. I know I wouldn't. If I wanted to hear a whole set of music from PP&M or John Denver or Jethro Tull or Steppenwolf, I wouldn't go out to hear someone cover them ... I'd buy their Greatest Hits CD. Doing covers is fine, but I don't think a whole set of any single artist is gonna win you many fans.I agree with Sandy; that's why 2/3 of my gigs are at retirement centers. But having said that, I'll also say that I doubt a whole show of 40s-60s folk music will sell. Now I might include a tune from John Denver or Bob Dylan or Tom Paxton or John McCutcheon ... in fact, I do all of them -- but the only Guthrie I do is Woody. I also throw in some Norman Blake and Johnny Cash and The Carter Family and a bunch of old public domain tunes such as "The Ship That Never Returned" ... this is all what I call Original Folk Music. My audiences, both public and private, seem to love it! I really believe that if you're gonna be a "hit", you're gonna need to expand your performing repertoire.

Don Smith

Good points, Don. Thanks! I just love to play their stuff so much. In all actuallity, I would mix PP&M, Dylan, Denver, Buffett, etc. I just don't really get a lot of groups that like that much PP&M and Denver.

Nursing homes and retirement centers sound like good ideas.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by Chicago Sandy

IS Edwardsville a suburb or exurb of St. Louis? Are there any coffeehouses (especially UU or UCC church coffeehouses) around there frequented by baby boomers and seniors? Do they have any open mics where you can test the waters? I agree that a concert should not be 100% covers of one particular act, unless you are doing a tribute show simulating that act, with their permission of course (e.g., Weavermania or Work O' the Weavers, with the blessing of the surviving members of the Weavers) or an educational presentation about a particular artist (such as UncleDizzy60 is planning--let him clue you in on the details). However, if you make your show from PP&M *and* their contemporaries, as well as perhaps your originals written in that style, people might be more receptive.

I guess a suburb across the Mississippi River. I see that everyone is right about not just doing one artist. I don't know about coffee houses, but will look into it. As far as open mics go, those that I know of locally would probably not dig PP&M.

[Bluepoet]

I don't have any suggestions for you, MJH, but I do have a little story.

I once playe an Open Mic at a coffee house near Arizona State. There were maybe two peope in the entire place who were over 20yrs. old, and I was one of them. Well, I played a Tim Buckley song, from 1970, as one of my three, and afterwards there must have been a half-dozen people come up and ask me if that was my song, or who's it was--they really liked it!

Just something to remember, when choosing venues...sometimes, the old songs are totally new, dig?

Good luck!

[lodi_55]

I've got great advice...Move to the bay area, specifically the San Mateo Coast area, which includes San Gregorio Country Store and Alice's Restaurant. Folks around these parts love to hear this kind of music.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by lodi_55

I've got great advice...Move to the bay area, specifically the San Mateo Coast area, which includes San Gregorio Country Store and Alice's Restaurant. Folks around these parts love to hear this kind of music.

I'm on my way!

Just visited your website. Very nice. I love the K20. Looks like a beautiful place to live.

[mzanger]

I also hail from E'ville, and for the last 30 years or so have gone to the Stagger Inn Again, which offers two weekly open mics (Wednesday and Sunday) and live acoustic acts Fridays from 5-8. A wide range of music is played at both open mics; the Friday 'happy hours' typically feature local acoustic performers playing mostly folkish covers, with occasional originals as well.