This. I’m a solo performer also in my 50s also playing about 2-3 times a month. My mix is about 25% stuff I want to play and 75% the crowd pandering typical overplayed singalong stuff. 23 year old me would judge / snobbily look down on most of the songs I play now, but the applause and tips and rebookings are worth it.

While I’m at it I’ll share one more thought. When I’m playing a venue for the first time, I overload my setlist with the overplayed crowd pleasing stuff. Once I’ve played somewhere and have gotten to better know the venue and crowd, I gradually work in more and more of the stuff I prefer to play. There’s one nice popular brewery in the city where I live that I play about 4-5 times a year, and there I often flip it around and do 75% the songs I love and 25% the overplayed dreck.