Tips for creating a setlist that doesn’t suck

As someone who makes several setlists a week, I’m no stranger to wondering if my setlist is going to be a hit or a miss. I’ve learned a few things along the way that might help you as you create future setlists.

Work smarter, not harder

I’m a believer in using the tools available to you to make you more efficient. I recommend experimenting with your LLM of choice (my personal favorite for this task is Claude) to help you create setlists. It can be surprisingly good at creating a rough draft, but you should treat it as such — it’s a draft. There hasn’t been one setlist I’ve performed live that hasn’t had some tweaks made by a human. It’s not perfect, but it helps you have something to react to instead of just a list of songs (hello, decision paralysis).

If you choose to use AI to assist with this task, here are the types of instructions you can provide to make sure your setlist comes out the way you want it.

• Use each song exactly once. There are X sets, and there should be an even number of songs in each one

• We like to open with [song name] and close with [song name]

• Don’t put any of these songs back to back: [song list here]

• These songs should be back to back: [songs here]

You’ll figure out what instructions are necessary for your gigs, and it will get easier every time!

Track what works… and what doesn’t

This tip is pretty simple: pay attention to what works during your set. Whether it’s a mental note or a quick scribble between songs, keep track of what songs hit when placed in sequence as well as which songs hit better at different points in the night. If you start paying attention, you may notice trends that can inform future setlists.

Timing is everything

Timing, like literal timing, matters a lot for setlists. I’ve gotten better at this, but I still have a tendency to list more songs than we have time to play, and we end up having to skip songs on the fly. You should know how long each song is (your version, not the studio recording), your average between-song downtime, and how long real breaks are. This helps you prepare the right number of songs for the set and focus on quality over quantity. My bands use a software called BandHelper that I’ve found particularly useful for timing.

Know your audience

If you’ve played at a venue before, you should have a pretty good idea of the songs that resonate with that audience. So, your setlist should reflect that! A really good setlist at one venue may not end up being successful elsewhere. Try to remember what genres or artists are highly favored at the venue and make sure those songs are well placed in your set.

Know your limits

This is particularly important for vocalists, but it can be true for any musician. You need to know your limits when creating a setlist so that you don’t accidentally overdo it. Don’t program three of your hardest songs back-to-back; otherwise, you might gas out early and possibly lose your voice (or injure yourself, for my instrumentalists out there). Trust me on this, as I learned the hard way. Make sure that you have recovery in between any difficult songs and slowly increase the difficulty over time — don’t put one of your hardest songs right up front when you aren’t warm.

Minimize instrument chaos

Do you or another bandmate play multiple instruments during your set? Minimize transition times (and dead air time) by grouping some of these songs back to back. Not only does this speed up your transitions — it also avoids you rushing to switch and risking the dreaded instrument drop. Some switches are inevitable, but save yourself the chaos if you can! That said, sometimes the changeup is nice. So do what you need to do.

Bottom line

There’s really no magic sauce for a setlist, but there are certainly some tangible ingredients. Leveraging an AI tool, using a little bit of common sense, and your own observations are some of the key elements that will make your setlists better over time.