What Every Guitar Player Must Know To Make Good MONEY at Christmas!

What Every Guitar Player Must Know To Make Good MONEY at Christmas!

What Every Guitar Player Must Know at Christmas!

Happy Holly-days guitar gang!  I'm penning this blog to let y'all in on a little not so well kept secret:  come Christmas time, ya need to know some Christmas songs.  I know, some of y'all might think this is downright cheesy, well, so is most EVERYTHING that people out there actually want to hear.  Sorry to burst your bubble, but folks just ain't going to pay to hear your own original 120-minute guitar solo.  But come Christmas time they just might pay to have a cool guitarist play Christmas songs.  Seriously, let's chat about this:

Over the years, I've done a bunch of Christmas gigs, and often they are the best paying gigs I get all year as a guitar player.  Here's a list of gigs I've done and the pay for a good solo guitarist/vocalist with a nice PA system:

• Corporate Christmas Parties: They LOVE having a live player to provide music and encourage sing-alongs. Usually $500-$1,500/show.
• In-store events and promotions: From the grocery store to the Mercedes dealership, folks love live music at Christmas. Again, about$500-$1,500/event.
• Church/religious organizations:  There is ALWAYS a plethora of opportunities!  Word to the wise, go to a BIG church if ya need to be paid well.  Pay ranges from ZERO to about $500.
• Theme Parks:  Always need LOTS of live Christmas music.  Pays not great, about $150-$300/day.
• Restaurants & Coffee Shops:  Even joints that usually have music WILL at Christmas time.  Pay about $100-$400/night.
• The Mall:  Essentially the same as In-store events, but booked through the mall promotional department.

So there y go gang!  Now, google up the top 40 Christmas songs of all time, learn to play them in your own unique and cool way, and make a Killing this and every Christmas season.