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Setlist help (kinda urgent)


Mog
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Hey y'all......

Myself and a couple of mates have been asked by the owners of a local hotel to play a 2-3 hour set on a Thursday evening/night for the next few months, with the possibility of it becoming a long-term arrangement. According to the manager and some of the staff we've talked to the most popular acts are those who play Americana/Folk and bands who play the usual Irish Traditional/Ballads. :dash1:

The trad won't be a problem for us and we should be able to cover about 90 minutes worth of a set with our collective knowledge.

What we're stuck on is options for Folk/Alt-Country/Bluegrass etc. I really don't have the foggiest when it comes to those genres. I'm assuming that bands such as the following would be worth covering,

Mumford & Sons
Noah & The Whale
Old Crow Medicine Show

Can anyone recommend a band(s) or better still a track(s) that would be suitable? The more up-tempo the better as we'll have enough Ballads to cover the slower tempo requirements.
Instruments wise we'll have Acoustic Guitars/Bass and one of the three of us will be able to add Banjo/Mando etc. when needed. We'll most likely be using a Cajon, Bodhrán and foot blocks for percussion if we need them.
Cheers.

Edited by Mog
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Cheers guys.
We do a couple of Saw Doctors tunes Rodger, 25 Quid and To Win Just Once, and they always go down well. The Pogues are a no-go. Played too many of them over the years. McGowan is a regular in one of my locals.
Looking up Hayseed Dixie and Little Feat now.

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Some reworkings of Ray Lamontagne would be awesome. 'Repo Man' and 'Trouble' I think would work the best and have fairly simple structures so can be learned quickly. While you're at it, you simply must get ahold of the 'God Willin' and the Creek Won't Rise' album. Stunning!

Also get creative with some classic rock n roll! The only thing stopping that kind of music from being country/americana/folk is the electric! Nadine (Chuck Berry), Kansas City (Wilbur Harrison), Shake Your Moneymaker (Fleetwood Mac) and I've Got My Mojo Working (Muddy Waters) would be great candidates for simplification.

Good luck!

Truckstop

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Go and watch O Brother Where Art Thou for some bluegrass inspiration! For a more contemporary Americana vibe, try Paul Curreri. Beautiful songs, often solo but which could be done with a small acoustic band. I love his track 'Bees'. Or check Gillian Welch for a more rootsy American Folk. Or Steve Earle. Try Gram Parsons for a tasteful Country feel. I love Little Feat! Great band with a monster rhythm section. You could look at The Byrds, Neil Young etc for a popular, very American sound.

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The following bluegrass acts have all recorded stuff you may recognise: Allison Krauss and Union Station, Bela Fleck, Del McCoury, Bill Monroe, The Stanley Brothers, Ricky Skaggs, Jerry Douglas, Wade Mainer and his Mountaineers. Well, maybe not Wade Mainer and his Mountaineers.

And pretty much most of Johnny Cash's early stuff can sound bluegrassy if played fast enough, so stuff like Wreck of The Old 97, Big River, Cocaine Blues would do the trick.

And for laughs, how about The Louvin Brothers 'The Great Atomic Power'

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEW0vsuCet0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEW0vsuCet0[/url]

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The first artists that sprang to my mind were :

Wilco (the Mermaid Avenue albums made with Billy Bragg are a great starter , with lyrics by Woddy Guthrie)

Ryan Adams/Whiskeytown (Heartbreaker/Gold by R.A and Strangers Almanac/Pneumonia are my faves )

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Some great stuff lads. Cheers a sh*teload. Been writing out the tab for a lot of these for the other guys in the "band" and its looking good so far. (The next step is to get the plebs sight reading from proper notation, should make my life a hell of a lot easier). I'll post the final setlist for y'all once we settle on it.

Again, many thanks. Ye've really dug me out of a hole. :drinks:

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