The closest thing to a medicine show is a TV info-mercial. at least pitchwise--after the medicine show circuits dried up, the medicine show pitchmen often went on to sell gizmos of various sorts at fairs and carnivals, and Ron Popeil, is pretty much the classic showman, both in presentation and in the products he sells--in terms of the use of music, strange as it may seem, a tent revival show is put together pretty much like an old time medicine show, even to the part where they have ringers planted in the crowd to "come down" to be saved, pretty much the way that, at about the same time in the medicine show, ringers were planted to buy the first few bottles of the "remedy"--

In case you wondered, Carol, as I remember, Jack Van Impe and his wife, Rexine(it has been years since I've seen them, so I may have misremembered some of this) used to play twin accordions at a critical point in their revival meeting--another highpoint of his show were the lurid and graphic descriptions of the activities of various and sundry sinners, and his shameful confession that he once played his accordion for dancing, but after he was saved, he played only for the grace of God--

Plenty of room on the gospel circuit for musicians and entertainers, even nowdays--