How Our Musicians Build a Set List for the Water

A set on the river is not the same as a set in a club. Nobody is dancing, the room is moving, and every few minutes something spectacular happens outside the music. Here is how our bandleaders plan around that.

Start in the middle

The first tune is almost always a medium swing standard, something like “Just Friends” or “There Will Never Be Another You.” It is familiar, it is relaxed, and it gives the band a chance to hear how the deck sounds that night before committing to anything delicate.

Play to the bridges

The river section has a rhythm of its own: a bridge every couple of minutes, each with its own echo. Bandleaders save the ballads for the stretch between Michigan Avenue and the lock, where the walls are tall and a single horn line can hang in the air for a full bar.

Let the lake have its moment

The band stops when the boat clears the lock. It is a rule. The skyline reveal is the one thing on the cruise that music cannot improve, so the musicians put their instruments down and look too.

Finish warm

The last set builds to one or two uptempo numbers and then lands softly, usually on a tune everyone knows. The boat comes back under the bridges with the band playing something quiet, and more often than not the deck sings the last chorus along with them.