I have to Agree with JM here. I'm only lvl 21 and I never have a problem grouping with people. Of all the groups I have been in, of all the compilments that players have handed out to each other, most are directed to the Bard. If I remember correctly, if you look at the fires of heaven screenshots when they took down lady vox, there were at least one bard in their group ("xxx's song has ended" is seen in the text box from time to time).
There was a compliant a few weeks ago from 1 person who was in his lvl 30's that had trouble finding a group. A discussion ensued over the next few days and the final consenus was that at the time, there were few characters that high lvl (game had only been out a couple of weeks) and those characters were ignorant of the power of a Bard (not good tatical thinkers).
Are we overpowered? No. They are very powerful, but it's not obvious to realize that because a Bard's power is equally divided upon each of the players in his party. At lvl 21, I heal for 10 points per 'pulse' (for lack of a better word). With 6 players, I heal 60! If I could heal myself for 60 points per 'pulse' with no mana expended, I'd be way too powerful, but that is not the case. Our power is spread out to everyone
We are unique beasts, more unique than just about any class in the game. To understand the power of a Bard, a person must think past the traditional 2-dimensional hack-n-slash strategy. If you are trying to group with a person who can't do that, then too bad for them, move on to a more intelligent area. Remember, EQ is filled with people ages 12 - 80. There are a lot of morons out there :)

-Alex
aka Goatnatos, lvl 21 Bard

I think you'll find that at higher levels, the players DO appreciate a bard, and actively seek them out, if there's not a regular one in their cadre.

By that point, the newbie curse of the bard has worn off, there's no confusion in the upper level players mind about what a bard can do.

And, by default, if you've taken a bard to the 40's and beyond, you have "proven" yourself to be skilled in bardic ways and a good social animal as well.

Not to mention that not only do you have an active support role, you have an active combat role as well, and neither requires you to sit on your duff for 10 minutes after each fight, staring at a spell book. And, when you're along, of course, you minimize that for others as well.

As far as boosting bardic power, it's already done. At 45th level, (or pretty much any level after you get Hymn, for that matter) you DO see the health bar move at an appreciable rate, as well as the mana bar, when a bard is along. A single bard in a group of 6 can flat outheal a cleric over time, doing around 1200 hp per minute per person in the party. The offensive powers of a bard are subtle, but still very potent. DDD was added to give them a bit more rapid firepower in limited situations, for there are times when nuking is handy.

Anyone who thinks a high level bard is weak has a serious perception or education problem. There's been an ongoing debate internally for months now about bards being, if anything, too powerful, and nobody internal, even the staunchest bard advocates, have ever claimed they were weak, not since phase 2 (before that point, many classes, including the bard, were in a much more unfinished state).

Personally, I think one of the defining moments for a bard is when they find themselves no longer memorizing Bellow, even when solo. I won't expound on that, when that time comes, you will know.

So, fear not, unless you've done something of a personal nature to make others hesitant to group with you, you'll not lack appreciation for what you bring to the table.