Performing in The Villages

[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

[bagboy]

The Villages Entertainment (https://www.thevillagesentertainment.com/)

This would be a good place to start. Give them a call, and good luck!

[charlie1]

Best bet is the local establishments. Almost every restaurant and country club has nightly music. Also, Edna's draws big crowds everyday, twice a day over the weekends. Probably need to contact each group separately. The Villages Entertainment does the squares and I believe it is hard to get on their list of performers. They pretty much use the same groups and rotate them around the squares a couple of times a month.

[Papa_lecki]

Codys and RJ Gators always have live music.

[Tustin714]

Good luck -- you'll have a ball playing music here.

[Yankincovers]

Thank you so much! I'll give them a try!

[bagboy]

Suleiman Family Restaurants Catering & Events | catering | Havana Country Club Restaurant, Odell Circle, The Villages, FL, USA (https://www.sfrcatering.com/)

Our Restaurants | FMK Hospitality Group in The Villages, FL (https://www.fmkrestaurants.com/locations)

Above are two groups that own many of the restaurants in The Villages. Many of their venues have entertainment.
You can also contact Cody's Roadhouse. They have entertainment daily.

Cody’s Original Roadhouse – Hand-Cut Steaks – Daily 2-4-1 Happy Hour - Cody's Original Roadhouse - Hand-Cut Steaks - Daily 2-4-1 Happy Hour (https://codysamerican.com/)

[Taltarzac725]

Brian Russo - Executive Director of Entertainment - The Villages® | LinkedIn https://share.google/46tfIXEqu11wPNzOF


Here's a link. Good luck.

[MandoMan]

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

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.

[Johnnybgood]

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
Go to Cody’s in brownwood. Ask for Al or Mary. They are the managers. Tell them John and Beth sent you. I bet they hire you. Good luck!!!

[Craig Vernon]

Put a video on some of the popular social media platforms playing and offer to do driveway or street parties. If you have talent people will hire you and develop a following locally.

[jmaccallum]

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.

At what Rec Centers are the Jams or where can we find a schedule? Open to Villagers? We’d love to come and listen.

[nmgirardot]

At what Rec Centers are the Jams or where can we find a schedule? Open to Villagers? We’d love to come and listen.

We saw Renegade Band at Everglades Rec Center; local band from The Villages. Lots of fun, bring your own food and drinks, $10 cover charge. People up and dancing. They could be a good resource for info and they do have a Facebook page.

[virtualcynthia]

I know two musicians here. One makes his living by playing the restaurants in the Villages, but does not live in the Villages (lower expenses). He introduces himself to the owner/manager and offers one night free. He works one or two nights per week. The other is retired works the same market but only does it about 4 to 6 nights a month. She also does Assisted living facilities. Of course, if you’ve done Tri-state, Orlando and Tampa are only about an hour away. Good luck.

[Yankincovers]

The Villages Entertainment (https://www.thevillagesentertainment.com/)

This would be a good place to start. Give them a call, and good luck!

Thanks bagboy!

[Yankincovers]

Best bet is the local establishments. Almost every restaurant and country club has nightly music. Also, Edna's draws big crowds everyday, twice a day over the weekends. Probably need to contact each group separately. The Villages Entertainment does the squares and I believe it is hard to get on their list of performers. They pretty much use the same groups and rotate them around the squares a couple of times a month.

Thanks charlie1! I appreciate the input!

[Yankincovers]

Codys and RJ Gators always have live music.

Thank you Papa_lecki! I'll give Codys and RJ Gators a try!

[Yankincovers]

Good luck -- you'll have a ball playing music here.

Thank you so much Tustin! I'm looking forward to it!

[Yankincovers]

Suleiman Family Restaurants Catering & Events | catering | Havana Country Club Restaurant, Odell Circle, The Villages, FL, USA (https://www.sfrcatering.com/)

Our Restaurants | FMK Hospitality Group in The Villages, FL (https://www.fmkrestaurants.com/locations)

Above are two groups that own many of the restaurants in The Villages. Many of their venues have entertainment.
You can also contact Cody's Roadhouse. They have entertainment daily.

Cody’s Original Roadhouse – Hand-Cut Steaks – Daily 2-4-1 Happy Hour - Cody's Original Roadhouse - Hand-Cut Steaks - Daily 2-4-1 Happy Hour (https://codysamerican.com/)

Thank you so much bagboy! These suggestions look awesome! I appreciate it!

[Yankincovers]

Brian Russo - Executive Director of Entertainment - The Villages® | LinkedIn https://share.google/46tfIXEqu11wPNzOF


Here's a link. Good luck.

Thanks so much Taltarzac725! Brian looks like a great contact!

[Yankincovers]

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.

Thanks for the input MandoMan! The jam sessions sound like a lot of fun.

[Yankincovers]

Go to Cody’s in brownwood. Ask for Al or Mary. They are the managers. Tell them John and Beth sent you. I bet they hire you. Good luck!!!

Thank you so much John! I will definitely give Cody's a try, and to be able to use your name and Beth's name should really help! Awful nice of you! I can tell by your name title we would probably get along with each other......are you a guitar player by any chance? (Johnnybgood) As a side note - I'm a guitar player and my name is also John.

[Yankincovers]

Put a video on some of the popular social media platforms playing and offer to do driveway or street parties. If you have talent people will hire you and develop a following locally.

Thanks for the advice Craig!

[Yankincovers]

I know two musicians here. One makes his living by playing the restaurants in the Villages, but does not live in the Villages (lower expenses). He introduces himself to the owner/manager and offers one night free. He works one or two nights per week. The other is retired works the same market but only does it about 4 to 6 nights a month. She also does Assisted living facilities. Of course, if you’ve done Tri-state, Orlando and Tampa are only about an hour away. Good luck.

Thanks for the input Cynthia! That's great advice. We do a lot of bar/restaurant gigs, breweries & wineries, private parties, and fairs & festivals. Recently we have been doing some assisted living facilities and we have found it to be very rewarding. Some of the folks there don't want us to leave and tell us that we made their day. It is very touching.

[Nell57]

Many many of the Social Clubs hire live entertainment.
Since you are from Toledo, you could start researching ohio clubs, such as Ohio State Alumni Club of The Villages . I bet the Toledo area has a social club.