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Originally Posted by Yankincovers
Hello! My wife and I are professional musicians from Toledo, Ohio, and we perform as a duo together. We play all around the tri-state area - Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana. We have a catalog of about 300 songs of various genres - classic rock, southern rock, blues and country, so we can cater to just about any venue. We will be moving into The Villages for 3 months - January, February, and March, 2026. We would really enjoy the opportunity to play at some of the venues in TV.
What opportunities are available? What specific venues are there that we should look at? Are the bar/restaurants open to new entertainers, or do the local entertainers have those opportunities locked up? Are there any specific contacts of people that do the bookings for TV? Thank you so much! I appreciate any input and advice. Cheers - John
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I’d say that playing in a town square is unlikely. Sawgrass sometimes has duos, but all the town squares have full bands only, and as others have said, there are a number of bands on rotation, ranging from once a month to two or three times a week. There are a few restaurants and bars with live music. I try to sit as far away from it as possible, as the music tends to be too loud for my taste. Often it’s a one man band. That’s your best bet.
There are a lot of jams and amateur performances available at the rec centers, in air-conditioned comfort. I play in eight of them per week, various kinds of music. Fun for people like me, but not really welcoming for people who want to play plugged in or use keyboards, electric guitar, etc.
Some of the musicians at these jams are retired professionals, but they fit in with the rest of us and don’t try to take over. There are a couple of higher level bands that are mostly retired music teachers, symphony musicians, etc. They aren’t really open to outsiders, though.