I've been playing nursing homes for a few years. My wife is an 'Activity Director'
& she always tells me that this is the residents home and anyone coming in is a 'guest'
I always contact the AD 2-3 days before playing to confirm time, date, and fee. Just a couple of days ago, I was setting up and another musician rolled his equipment in. The AD told him he was a month early lol!Regarding getting paid, I always ask for payment the same day I play-no invoices-no delay. Ad know what you charge & know when you are coming, so it should not be a problem. Regarding activity when your playing (Cake/Juice served, people talking and so on), as my wife says, this is their home, so many things can be going on when performing-so just smile and entertain. I use a little Rolls MX 122 mixer
to mix voice and keyboard. Other than the 'line outputs' for the powered speakers, this unit has a phone level control & I use Sony earbuds to monitor my sound. I simply set the line level to make the AD happy & set the headphone level for me-so I have no sound level problems.