Gig is slang for a musical engagement in which musicians are hired. Originally coined in the 1920s by jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 musicians, the term, short for the word "engagement", now refers to any aspect of performing such as assisting with performance and attending musical performance. More broadly, the term "gigging" means having paid work, being employed.

A gig is sometimes called a "set", referring to the set list

Set list

A set list, or setlist, is a document that lists the songs that a band or musical artist intends to play, or has played, during a specific concert performance...

 of compositions played.

The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians

The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, it is the largest single reference work on Western music. The dictionary has gone through several editions since the 19th century...

describes it as "a term commonly applied to a musical engagement of one night's duration only; to undertake such an engagement," (although the term "regular gig" is common in reference to a repeating engagement). The first documented use of this term in this way appears in 1926: Melody Maker 7 September 1926

Melody Maker

Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...

, with the story byline

Byline

The byline on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name, and often the position, of the writer of the article. Bylines are traditionally placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines place bylines at the bottom of the page, to leave more room for graphical...

 stating, "One Popular Gig Band Makes Use of a Nicely Printed Booklet."

According to Richard Digance

Richard Digance

Richard Digance is a comedian and folk singer.- Biography :He studied Mechanical Engineering at Reid Kerr College Paisley, during which time he was inspired by Billy Connolly....

 on UK TV Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

's Countdown, this definition derives from a small carriage in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

 known as a gig

Gig (carriage)

A gig, also called chair or chaise, is a light, two-wheeled sprung cart pulled by one horse.-Description:Gigs travelling at night would normally carry two oil lamps with thick glass, known as gig-lamps. Gig carts are constructed with the driver's seat sitting higher than the level of the shafts. ...

, where coloured musicians could perform, so they would not be arrested for playing on the street.