Here's a heads up for all of us to consider (yes me too)... Senior Communities are quickly aging out from nostalgic songs of 1940's - 60's UP TO the 1970's and 80's. The day is coming fast when the Baby Boomers are going to have to share space with the early Gen Xrs in Assisted Living and even Memory Care. These Facebook Videos (below) are examples from the largest retirement community in the World called "The Villages" in Florida. (83,000 residents) They have live music 7 nights a week year round in 4 different town squares. (that's 28 different bands per week) The average age in the Villages is 74 years old and they are demanding to have the music of their youth played by live performers. These reels (below) are "average" level bands. They have other groups that are so much better than these guys you would swear you were listening to the original performances of Aerosmith, Queen, Led Zeppelin, Boston, and John Cougar Mellencamp. I'm just sayin'... I'm already mixing The Eagles, Steve Miller and Bruce Springsteen into my senior shows and seeing people singing along to every word. I would encourage us all to open our minds and songlists to newer songs because time is quickly running out on Rock Around The Clock. I agree that the Memory Care shows need some special kid gloves but with many Assisted Living and Independent Living situations we shouldn't be afraid to "Let'Er Rip". (just ask the Activities Director for permission to stretch your style - the one's I've asked have said "Please Please Please") https://www.facebook.com/reel/1082933464369169 https://www.facebook.com/reel/1646077297175778 https://www.facebook.com/reel/1087145053801513

https://youtu.be/qx3vyYHf_5M It's really true! When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you. But this was never something my guitar teacher told me to practice! Then I reviewed a video of myself playing "Secret Agent Man" at a retirement community gig, and for the most part, scowling intently or just making a general "serious guitar face." https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18rA7CVJMs/ [evidence here] Is this something that comes naturally to you? Or did you find it was something you needed to practice? And what did you do to practice it? I took a stab at this by playing through a song (or two) in front of a mirror, and concentrated on two things : 1) Maintaining eye contact with myself, and 2) SMILING. It's something I need to practice regularly, but I think this approach has led to some improvements. What works for you? And then there's Roy Clark... https://youtu.be/xlrcNtH5pu8

Long post ... Well, that was possibly the hardest gig I’ve ever done, but also one of the most useful. It was a large retirement village, memory care to independent living. Last night there were around 80 in the audience, ranging from people in wheelchairs and using zimmer frames to those on their feet ready to rock ’n roll. Ages roughly late 60s to 80s... three decades of musical expectations in the room! I planned a gentle 30-minute opening “dinner set” after being told they’d all be eating, followed by a more upbeat "party set" … like Stuck in the Middle With You, Bad Bad Leroy Brown, Hard Days Night, Sweet Home Alabama and such. Turns out the diners were in a distant alcove. The majority were already sitting in front of me in their buddy groups, drinking and chatting. Some came over to greet me and inspect my gear, others were eyeing me as I carried it all in, some said hello. Then start time. After three sweet and lovely warm-up songs from the dinner set, it became obvious most of them weren’t particularly interested in easing into anything. They’d eaten, were onto their (not first) drink, and were ready to party. First lesson: Friday in a retirement village is still a Friday! A couple came up and said, “You should lift it or you’ll lose them. Give us dance music!” No pressure then … So I ditched the 20 minutes remaining in my dinner-set and anything remotely nostalgically sweet, and went straight to my upbeat material. Then everybody became a sound engineer: “Too loud.” “Too soft.” “Too bassy.” “Too trebly.” “Too muffled for my hearing aid.” "Can you turn it up for those people eating dinner way back there …" "You have a lovely voice for a lounge." ??? So, I spent half the evening wondering whether my PA sounded terrible. The bigger problem was that I’d just lost about a quarter of my planned set and still had two hours to fill. So I repeated choruses, repeated verses, and if people got up to dance near the end of a song, I just kept it going and on a couple of occasions doubled the song.

Doing a Memory Care show? These songs work every time: Side by Side Wabash Cannonball Home on the Range You are my Sunshine Que Sera Sera Don't Fence Me In On the Road Again Yesterday Somewhere Over the Rainbow What a Wonderful World Blue Suede Shoes What songs do you include for your memory care gigs?

I'm curious what everyone uses when referencing a setlist during shows? I go completely from memory and don't rely on anything and I'm wondering if anyone else does this?