Start With the Room, Not the Songs

A set list is stagecraft, not just a running order. Before writing down a single title, picture the room. A 45-minute headline slot at a seated folk club, where people have paid to listen, asks for something very different from a 20-minute support slot in a noisy bar or a festival stage where the audience drifts in and out. The room decides how much patter you can carry, how quiet you can go, and how quickly you need to establish who you are.

Ask yourself: how long have I actually got, allowing for tuning and chat? Who is listening, and what do I want them to remember? A club audience will follow you into a long ballad or an unaccompanied song; a festival crowd at two in the afternoon wants a rhythmic opening and short gaps between numbers. Write the list for the gig you are actually playing.

Pacing: Shaping the Arc of the Set

Good sets breathe. They move between energy levels rather than sitting at one volume for 45 minutes. A useful shape is a strong opening, a build, a deliberate lull, then a finish that lifts the room again. Vary tempo and texture as well as volume.

• Open with something you could play in your sleep. Nerves peak in the first three minutes; choose a song that shows your voice without demanding everything you have.
• Follow a fast tune set with a song. Two relentless sets of jigs back to back can flatten an audience rather than excite them.
• Place quiet ballads deliberately. One slow song after two lively ones lets listeners lean in; two in a row can lose a room that is still settling.
• Don't spend your best material early. If your strongest chorus is third on the list, the rest of the set has nowhere to go.
• Plan the last two numbers as a pair. The penultimate song should set up the finale, not compete with it.

With a two-set gig, treat each half as its own arc, but make the second more relaxed and conversational.

Keys, Capos and Instrument Changes

Folk musicians often overlook how much key and tuning changes affect flow. Moving from G to A to D is comfortable for the ear; jumping from G straight to E flat, or from DADGAD to standard, creates a jolt unless you handle it.

• Group songs that share a key or a closely related one, so a capo move becomes a natural breath rather than a fumble.
• Cluster anything in an alternative tuning together, and talk over the retuning so the audience has something to listen to while you work.
• Keep a second instrument tuned and ready if you can — swapping guitar for bouzouki or mandolin is a change of scene.
• End an upbeat number in a key that leads neatly into the next, even if that means transposing one of them.

Keys matter for voices too. Moving from a low, chesty ballad to a high, bright chorus song needs a moment's rest — a spoken link, a sip of water, or a tune in between.

The Patter Between Songs

The talk between numbers is where a folk gig becomes a conversation rather than a recital. Audiences often remember where a song came from as vividly as the song itself, so patter deserves the same care as the music.

• Keep introductions short and specific. A sentence or two about the song's origin, the singer you learned it from, or the place it belongs to beats a lecture.
• Don't apologise. "This one's a bit miserable, sorry" tells the audience not to bother listening. Introduce it with confidence instead.
• Vary the length. A three-minute story before every song is exhausting; mix a quick title-and-go with a longer anecdote once or twice a set.
• Use patter to cover the practical. Retuning, a snapped string or a change of instrument becomes part of the performance if you keep talking.

If nerves get the better of you, jot two or three keywords on the set list itself — a prompt, not a script.

Build In Flexibility

A set list is a plan, not a contract. Rooms run late, support slots get cut short, and a stage manager may tap their watch halfway through your third song. Mark two or three numbers you could drop without harming the arc, and know which one you would add if you are called back for an encore. If you play with others, agree a signal for cutting a verse or jumping straight to the last chorus.

Requests are part of club life; a cheerful "not tonight, but catch me at the break" is usually enough. Keep one well-known song in reserve, because a chorus everyone knows can rescue a flagging second half.

Rehearse the Transitions, Not Just the Tunes

Most bands rehearse songs and hope the gaps between them will sort themselves out. They rarely do. Run the set from beginning to end, in order, without stopping — including the talk. Time it. Notice where you lose momentum, where a tuning change drags, where the patter rambles.

Record a run-through on your phone and listen back with a cup of tea. You will hear what vanishes on stage: a ballad too close in mood to the one before it, an introduction that gives away the punchline, a fast tune placed where the audience is still arriving. Adjust, then run it again.

Finally, write the list out cleanly in large letters, with keys, capo positions and first lines as prompts. Tape it where you can see it without turning your back on the room. The aim is a set that flows as one piece of music, with the list as a safety net rather than a script.