Willie-O is right about location location location ... I would add that part of a good location is where people will have their money handy. For example, around a free art show was dumb. Where people are in mind of spending is part of the equation.

"Image is everything." Yup!! Made diddly in the hot weather the last two summers during Parry Sound's Festival of the Sound (3 glorious weeks of international chamber music talent for about $200 Can., plus accommodation). When it was too hot to "dress" I made less money than when I wore scarf, hat and generally too much flowing girl-stuff.

Little Neo, in the dead of a Toronto summer, make that gown strapless, have air conditioning installed in the stole and go for it. People love the banjo.

Repertoire? What repertoire? Three songs are plenty; the variety was for myself:

-one fiddlish tune
-one familiar song (King of the Road paid well from an older crowd)
-one a capella show-off song, sad & slow (best money of all -- I guess it's different -- so I'm going to learn a couple more).
-St. Louis Blues

Same as Willie-O, any more than that was for my own amusement or practice. Frankly, it paid better not to stray too far from the tried and true. Once I hit the formula, the practising was done back at camp.