Free Setlist Template: What to Put on a Setlist (and What to Leave Off)

Most setlists are a list of song titles in biro, and most of the time that's enough. Then the singer asks what key the third song is in, the drummer isn't sure who counts in the fifth, and the sound engineer has no idea the seventh one ends cold. A slightly better setlist prevents all three, and it takes about two extra minutes to write.

Here's a template you can copy, plus what each line is for.

The template

Copy this, replace the contents, and delete any line your band doesn't need:

• BAND NAME - VENUE - DATE
• Set 1 of 2 - 21:00 to 21:50
• 1. Song Title - key - BPM - who counts in - note
• 2. Song Title - key - BPM - straight in from 1
• 3. Song Title - key - BPM - cold stop at the end
• 4. Song Title - key - BPM - talk here, band intros
• 5. Song Title - key - BPM
• 6. Song Title - key - BPM - extend outro if floor is full
• 7. Song Title - key - BPM - CLOSER
• Spares: Song A (key), Song B (key)

A real line ends up looking like: "3. Superstition - Eb - 101 - drums count in - cold stop". That single line answers every question anyone is going to ask you about that song while standing on a stage.

What each field is for

• Number: so "from the top of five" means one thing to everyone. Number every song, even a seven-song set.
• Title: short form is fine, but use the name your band actually says out loud, not the full official title.
• Key: the key you play it in, not the key the original is in. Non-negotiable if you transpose for your singer, and the field that saves the most confusion.
• BPM: optional but useful for the songs you habitually rush. Adrenaline adds about five beats per minute to everything.
• Who counts in: prevents the two-second standoff where the drummer and singer look at each other. Worth marking on every song that doesn't start with drums.
• Notes: only what changes behaviour on stage: cold stops, false endings, key changes, where the talking goes, which songs can stretch.
• Spares: two or three songs at the bottom for a short set or an encore. Always include them.

What to leave off

A setlist is read at a glance, in bad light, at a distance, by someone holding an instrument. Everything you add makes the rest harder to find:

• Full lyrics or chord charts. Those belong on a stand or a tablet, not on the setlist.
• Arrangement essays. "Cold stop" is a note. Three lines about the ending is a rehearsal conversation you should have had already.
• Songs you decided against. Cross them out cleanly or delete them - a maybe on a setlist is a mistake waiting to happen.
• Anything you won't read while playing. If it isn't load-bearing at showtime, it belongs in the rehearsal notes.

Make it readable on a dark stage

The most common setlist failure isn't missing information, it's unreadable formatting. A few rules that hold up in practice:

• Big and bold: aim for 24pt or larger if printed, because it will be on the floor two metres from your eyes.
• One set per page. Flipping pages mid-set is how songs get skipped.
• Group with space, not lines. A blank line between blocks reads faster than boxes or borders.
• Keep the key hard against the title. Eyes scan one column, not two ends of a page.
• Print two more copies than you have members. One will end up under a monitor, and someone always forgets theirs.

Three versions of the same set

Once the set exists, three different people need three different views of it:

• The band's version: keys, cues, and notes. The full working document.
• The engineer's version: titles and order only, plus anything that affects sound: cold stops, songs with a keys intro, where a guest singer appears. They don't need your BPMs.
• The venue or client version: titles and set times, cleanly laid out. At a wedding this doubles as the schedule the planner works from.

Paper or digital?

Paper taped to the floor is tradition, and for a single gig it's completely fine. It breaks the moment something changes: swap two songs at soundcheck and now five printouts disagree. A shared digital setlist fixes exactly that - one list everyone sees, keys attached to each song, and a reorder that reaches the whole band at once. In Music Planner you build the set by dragging songs, each song carries its own key and charts, and the printable PDF is generated from the same list - so the paper version can't drift out of date.

Filling the template in is the easy part. Deciding what goes in slot four is the craft, and that's covered in how to build the perfect setlist.

Skip the retyping: build your setlist in Music Planner - drag songs into order, keys travel with them, and export a print-ready PDF for the stage.

Frequently asked questions

What should a setlist include at minimum?

Numbered song titles in order, plus the key of each song if your band transposes anything. Everything else is a refinement on those two.

Should the setlist show song keys?

Yes, if you ever change keys from the original or play with guest singers. Write the key you actually perform in - the original key on a setlist is worse than no key at all, because it's confidently wrong.

How do bands print setlists for the stage?

Large bold text, one set per page, landscape or portrait to taste, printed on plain paper and taped to the floor or clipped to a mic stand. Bring spares. If you generate the PDF from a shared setlist, reprinting after a change takes seconds.

Do we need timings on a setlist?

For bar gigs, no - set start and end times are enough. For weddings, festivals, and anything with a schedule, yes: timings turn the setlist into a run sheet everyone else can work from. Our wedding band setlist guide covers that in detail.