How Pick5 Works
The ultimate jam band setlist prediction game — pick songs, earn points, climb the leaderboard.
How to Play
Find a Show
Browse upcoming shows for your favorite jam bands. Shows are synced automatically so you always have the latest schedule.
Pick 5 Songs
Search the band's catalog and select 5 songs you think will be played. Optionally predict which song will be the opener, closer, or encore.
Earn Points
When the show happens, your picks are scored in real-time. Rare songs earn more points, and correct position predictions earn bonus multipliers.
How Scoring Works
Every song in a band's catalog has a point value based on how rarely it's played. The rarer the song, the more points it's worth — from 25 to 300 points.
How Points Are Calculated
Three signals blend together to set every song's point value. The rarer a song is across all three, the more it's worth.
Shows since the band last played the song. Resets to 0 the show after it appears, then ticks up by 1 each show. A song they just played is worth less; a song dormant for 50+ shows is worth a lot.
How many times the song has appeared in the last 30 shows. Songs in heavy rotation are worth less; songs that have surfaced only once or twice are worth more.
How often the band has played the song across their entire history. Rank #1 is the most common (lowest points); the highest rank is the rarest (most points).
Position Predictions
When making your picks, you can optionally predict where in the setlist a song will appear. Positions are for the entire show (not per set), and each song can only have one position prediction. Correct predictions multiply your points — wrong predictions have no penalty.
💡 No penalty for wrong guesses! If you predict a song as the opener but it's played mid-set, you still earn the full base points.
Wild Card Wager (Optional)
Before picks lock, you can optionally activate the Wild Card. It's a single yes/no bet on whether the band will play a song we've never seen from them before — a true debut that doesn't exist in our catalog yet.
🃏 Your 5 picks still score normally. The Wild Card is a separate, show-wide bet. Leave it off and nothing changes — no bonus, no penalty.
Scoring Examples
See how scoring works with real scenarios
Example 1: Basic Pick (no position predictions)
| Song | Rank | Points | Played? | Earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tweezer | #15 | 38 | ✓ | 38 |
| Ghost | #28 | 45 | ✓ | 45 |
| Divided Sky | #45 | 53 | ✗ | — |
| Fluffhead | #89 | 82 | ✓ | 82 |
| Harpua | #412 | 222 | ✗ | — |
| Total: | 165 pts | |||
Example 2: With Position Predictions (multipliers active)
| Song | Points | Predicted | Actual | Multiplier | Earned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tweezer | 38 | Opener | ✓ Opener | ×2.0 | 76 |
| Ghost | 45 | Any | Mid-set | ×1.0 | 45 |
| Fee | 60 | Encore | ✓ Encore | ×1.5 | 90 |
| Fluffhead | 82 | Closer | Mid-set | ×1.0 | 82 |
| Harpua | 222 | Any | Not played | — | — |
| Total: | 293 pts | ||||
Notice: Fluffhead was predicted as Closer but played mid-set — still earns full 82 base points, no penalty!
Live Scoring
Your picks are scored in real-time as the show happens
Real-Time Updates
We poll multiple sources every few minutes during live shows to detect songs as they're played.
Instant Scoring
As each song is detected, scores update automatically. Watch your points climb during the show!
Final Score
After the show ends, scores are finalized with the complete, verified setlist. Points are locked in.
Maximum Theoretical Score
If all 5 of your picks are ultra-rare songs that get played, with correct opener (×2), closer (×2), and encore (×1.5) predictions. Extremely unlikely — but not impossible!
Quick Reference
✅ You Score Points When...
- • A song you picked is played at the show
- • Rarer songs earn more points than common ones
- • A correct position prediction multiplies your points
❌ You Don't Lose Points When...
- • A song you picked isn't played (0 points, no penalty)
- • Your position prediction is wrong (you still get base points)
- • You don't make any position predictions at all