First live band performance: Popular recommended songs to cover for entertainment acts and showcases [2026]
For your first performance in front of an audience, it’s natural to feel nervous, and above all, to agonize over the setlist.
For beginner bands, I’ve picked out well-known bands and highly recognizable songs that are easy to play even for a first performance and are likely to get everyone excited.
Consider the age range of the people who’ll be there, and choose some good tracks from this list.
I hope you find a wonderful, perfect song worthy of your debut performance—and I wish you the best of luck!
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First Band Performance: Popular Recommended Songs to Cover for Entertainment/Acts [2026] (21–30)
SolaninASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
In addition to ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, this song is also known for having been sung by Aoi Miyazaki.
It has a calm yet catchy melody that easily sticks in your head.
The male and female versions are in different keys, so be careful when making a cover.
Shunkan SentimentalSCANDAL
This is a beat-driven rock track with an exhilarating sense of speed that becomes addictive.
It’s a song by SCANDAL, released in February 2010 as their fifth single.
Chosen as the ending theme for the anime Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, it drew a lot of attention.
The lyrics—impressive for their depiction of complex emotions after getting what you wanted and a strong will to face challenges and hardships—stand out.
With its easy-to-remember melody and powerful guitar riffs, it’s a great pick for beginner bands, too.
It seems like a song that can create a wonderful experience where both performers and the audience can get hyped together.
First Band Performance: Popular Recommended Songs to Cover for Entertainment/Showcases [2026] (31–40)
JitterbugELLEGARDEN
The technique of plucking strings one by one is called arpeggio, and this track is perfect for practicing it! It’s a single released in 2003 by ELLEGARDEN.
With a dynamic sound arrangement and vocalist Takeshi Hosomi’s soaring high tones, it’s a mid-tempo guitar rock song that leaves a strong impression.
It was also selected as the ending theme for TBS’s CDTV in November 2003.
The arpeggio phrase is very simple, making it ideal for beginners, and it’s a great choice for the first song in a cover band’s set.
This work is a re-cut single from the album “BRING YOUR BOARD!!,” peaking at No.
75 on the overall chart.
It also became their first indie release to reach No.
1.
Last live showBurandē Senki
Formed in Osaka in 2022, Brandy Senki has been drawing attention with their unique musicality and powerful live performances.
Their 2025 digital single “Last Live” is a song that shakes listeners to the core with the emotions of regret and anxiety depicted by Hasutsuki.
If you were to arrange this track for a full band, the key would be how to express the dramatic shift from the melancholic, ’90s alternative rock vibe in the first half to the driving, high-energy rock sound in the latter half.
In particular, when the tempo kicks into high gear, you’ll want everyone to lock in precisely on the drummer’s fill as the cue.
Nail that, and the audience will get chills.
Looking at individual parts, the bass line is fairly active, so it’s a great study for bassists who want to break out of strictly root-note playing.
Dear, boyHump Back
It’s a powerful cheer song that resonates in the hearts of those on the verge of giving up on their dreams.
With warm, tender vocals that embrace the struggle to push forward through the anxieties and setbacks of youth, and a driving rock sound full of momentum, the track has captured the hearts of many listeners.
Released in June 2018 as Hump Back’s major-label debut single, it reached No.
13 on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.
With its easy-to-sing melody and lyrics that cut straight to the heart, it’s sure to unite the entire school festival venue in excitement!
asking for the moonKANA-BOON
This is a track distinguished by its exhilarating four-on-the-floor rhythm! Known as one of KANA-BOON’s signature songs, it was released in April 2013 as their second single.
The lyrics depict the fluctuations of romance, making it highly relatable.
With guitars panned left and right engaging in a memorable call-and-response, the sound is guaranteed to get you hyped.
It’s not particularly difficult to play, so even a three-piece band can cover it.
Perfect for getting the crowd going at school events like sports days and culture festivals.
boyfriendaiko
When it comes to songs that girls adore, boys love, and everyone’s heard somewhere, isn’t aiko’s “Boyfriend” the one? If an all-girl band plays it together, it’s guaranteed to have that cool-cute vibe! The melodies and rhythms for a band might be a bit on the challenging side, though.