I use Program Change for live shows, so that a track will usually have its own sound.
I’ve been setting up so that the Program Change ‘CC’ is set to the level throughout the track. That way if I turn on the track slightly early, the Program Change normally has taken hold by the time that the first note of that track is playing.
I did a bit more of an indepth look here: Program change behavior - #11 by Loz
Hope that helps.