Our group does primarily cover songs although one of our band members has written a handful of songs we do. We do our own arrangements of cover songs, so they're not note for note, etc. When you go somewhere to listen to music do you prefer to hear a group do songs you are familiar with or do you like a band that does their own music? There is a local group that does all of their own stuff..100%. I've noticed that after they do a few songs, they pretty much lose their audience. They have their regulars that show up (family and friends, I think). Any thoughts? I'm just curious.
My wife likes 75-ish% familiar material. Fwiw, I concur.
I’m thinking the “man-on-the-street” probably wants to hear familiar favourites,, musicians in the audience would be open to originals. I also think an energetic rendering of an uptempo original is better received than a slow one.
Covers get the folks singing and dancing, filling the tip jar, and gets you invited back. Originals send folks to the bathroom and gets them on their phones. Sad but true when I was playing the bar scene. However… there were rare exceptions. We had a silly song about our state, that we really hillbillied up with banjo, and ended it with FMB, that folks liked. And possibly the best idea was writing a song about one of the venues we frequented, their clientele, and their menu… and it kind of became a cult classic whenever we played there. We had one more about cheating and sleeping etc that was kind of clever, and had limited success. But that was a total of three original songs, over the 4 years I was with these guys, that kind of worked. The other hand full of our original attempts were good songs, but total flops in public. We kind of had a unwrittian rule of one original per hour.
Edited by - Dean T on 03/14/2025 19:50:04
It depends. Molly Tuttle’s numerous originals don’t seem to have hurt her popularity. But she’s way beyond the local band category.
I always like a mix of both: new and traditional. Love to hum and/or sing along with the songs that I know and always interested in learning new songs. I may not be the typical person sitting in the audience since I both play and sing.
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Originally posted by Bill RogersIt depends. Molly Tuttle’s numerous originals don’t seem to have hurt her popularity. But she’s way beyond the local band category.
Which brings up an interesting viewpoint. When a cover band plays an original, it's an original. When a popular band or musician plays an original, it's new music.
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Originally posted by stonebroke
When you go somewhere to listen to music do you prefer to hear a group do songs you are familiar with or do you like a band that does their own music?
I like to listen to good music. Familiar is unimportant.
The problem with many bands is that while they might be fine musicians, but are not necessarily very good composer or songwriters. IMO if they lack those skills, would be better off playing something a skilled songwriter wrote. Again, doesn't have to be a note for note cover of a popular familiar hit; there are lots of really good songs out there, that few folks have heard.
To coin a phrase, "There's no accounting for taste." 
When I go to hear a bluegrass band, I want to hear good singing—I don’t care if it’s originals or covers. OTOH, If I go to hear an old-time band, I don’t go to hear originals, though I don’t mind two or three. .
banjoak said it best "The problem with many bands is that while they might be fine musicians, but are not necessarily very good composer or songwriters.". I prefer originals. If a band only plays covers, what differentiates you from every other bluegrass / OT / Rock / Blues band out there?
I don't like the word "cover" at all. Cover bands are the guys with the ruffled shirts at the Holiday Inn trying to replicate the original performances, but if you are playing a good song your own way I don't consider it a cover. Jazz players do "standards," and I think there are a lot of standard bluegrass songs that people like to hear - and I like to hear a band do a song I know so I can hear what they can do with it. I have friends that do some songs so well that they own them as far as I am concerned, and I never think about the original performer. Good original songs are good, too, but I go to a show to hear good music, whether it is an original song, a classic of the genre, or one taken from another style of music.
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Originally posted by stonebrokeOur group does primarily cover songs although one of our band members has written a handful of songs we do. We do our own arrangements of cover songs, so they're not note for note, etc. When you go somewhere to listen to music do you prefer to hear a group do songs you are familiar with or do you like a band that does their own music? There is a local group that does all of their own stuff..100%. I've noticed that after they do a few songs, they pretty much lose their audience. They have their regulars that show up (family and friends, I think). Any thoughts? I'm just curious.
People like GOOD music. What counts as good, of course, depends on personal tastes, mood, how many drinks they have had, etc. Think of that scene in The Blues Brothers, and learn how to find something that your current audience wants to hear.
Thank you kindly.
The very few years I played in bands we wore out the “standards” - Fox on the Run, Fggy Mtn Brkdwn, Beverly Hillbillies, Dueling Banjos, Rocky Top. Those tunes got the most yahoos & applause
For the most part I think it would depend on the venue. If you are doing bars, coffee houses etc then generally people will be more into covers of their fav tunes. However, if as a group you all would like to eventually do all original stuff that could be done as well. After you have gotten the crowd warmed up with some covers tell them you are going to do an original and want to know what they think. Try the song out a few times in a few different venues and if it gets a decent response, keep it. Over time keep slowly trying out new songs like that until you have enough to record an album and/or do some kind of concert. Just a thought...
I either like what's being played or I don't.I have little care who wrote it unless I know the writer.
Thanks for all of the input. Our group is primarily bluegrass (guitar, banjo, mandolin, dobro, and bass), but we do a mix of some country as well. Where we play, if we did all bluegrass we'd lose our audience as this is really "Old Country" country, but we do most everything with a bluegrass flavor. We're not talented enough to do any cover song note for note, so whatever we do is our own version. We do not play bars very often...it's usually special events... birthday parties, anniversaries, fund raisers, etc. And as someone else mentioned, we get the best response when we play the popular songs like Rocky Top, FMB, Fox on the Run, etc.
I've been to a couple of concerts by well known musicians expecting to hear their hits and they do a couple and then start doing new songs and people are very disappointed. We went to see Emmy Lou Harris a couple of years ago and she hardly did any of her hits. She about put people to sleep and many people got up and left.
John Hartford once said that if you have a hit song you better REALLY like it because you’ll be playing it the rest of your life.
Edited by - chuckv97 on 03/17/2025 16:42:33
We do almost nothing original and we often draw 150 - 200 people who keep coming back. People really like what they know and can sing along with.
Rick
