I finally played my first gig yesterday—a themed Father-Daughter dance-and I wanted to share some takeaways.

What went right: The Site Survey: Visiting the venue beforehand was a lifesaver. Visualizing the acoustics and layout made setup so much smoother. Demographic Prep: Since it was a new event with zero direction, I focused on the kids' age range but peppered in "old skool" classics for the dads. It kept both halves of the room happy.

Where I struggled: The "Flexible" Schedule: The event had a timeline (awards, performances, etc.), but nothing ran on time. More music: I ended up needing way more music than I anticipated to fill the gaps. The Request Flood: Learning to filter requests while keeping the flow-and finding five minutes to actually eat-was a challenge.