Great advice, GB.
I honestly don't know how someone can keep the same strings on a guitar for 1.5 years. I can barely stand to have mine go a week on the same strings because I just love the tone and response of new ones cranked through some tasty distortion.
To the OP:
You might as well go ahead and invest in a box of string sets.
I use D'Addario XL superlights, got a couple boxes of 10. Cheap in bulk, and well worth it.
Bring a box with you to your gig. If you have another guitar that can serve as a stand-in, it might be advantageous of you to string it up and bring it along in case you break a string during the gig.
The last impression you want to make is having the crowd wait while you string and tune a guitar because you weren't prepared.
Have fun.
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