The Busking Project - Documenting Street Performance Worldwide

Two weeks ago I got an email from an angry busker in South Carolina about a street performance ordinance the city of Columbia is currently trying to pass: I went to that city hall hearing tonight and the ordinance was struck down, thankfully, with another hearing scheduled for next week. It will be an exploratory [...]

Yes, that’s right, a School of Busking. In the words of the school’s founder, Mario Morris: “We create a fun learning environment, in the shape of an evening course, one to one consultation or master class, we can bring our training course to you as we have done around the World – Cardiff, Cambridge, Milan, [...]

Dear friends, fans, buskers and browsers, We have filmed in 40 cities on 5 continents, and have made it home, safe and almost sound. We filmed hundreds of street performances, and we know you want to see more. That’s why we created the following video. I promise you’ve never seen a street performer video like [...]

THIS IS A PERSONAL PLEA FROM THE BUSKING PROJECT We’ve filmed hundreds of you around the world, your home lives, your performances, interviews with you. We’re now in possession of the world’s only global footage of street performance: we’re uniquely situated to make a documentary that ties the street art of Africa, Asia, Europe, North [...]

Hi all, There has always been a little confusion about exactly what The Busking Project hopes to achieve: a book, a documentary, a website…and for what? So, we thought we’d write a post about the aim for all the work we’ve put in over the last 10 months. This is an ideal list, some of [...]

VANCOUVER – JUNE (11): An anonymous busker, plays an unusual instrument, earning the approval of a young man on June 11, 2010, Downtown, Vancouver, British Columbia.   The Louder Later Project Erica Wilk contacted us about her photo-book project in Vancouver. From what I’ve seen, it’s absolutely gorgeous. The following is text from an email [...]

We got the following email off of Richard Hartnell, a resident artist at Flowtoys, a hub of the Bay Area flow arts community, and contact juggler. He’s thinking of making a pocket letter to show policemen that clearly state the street performers’ rights. What do you think — a good idea? “I’ve been performing up [...]

Artis the Spoonman is a local legend in Seattle. He has cerebral atrophy after 45 years of drinking, which has seriously affected his short term memory. He forgot we’d organised an interview after his closing set at the Pike Place Market busker fest (which was no problem, as by then we were pretty tired), and [...]

Here are three videos from our interviews taken with Charlie Caper in Stockholm. If you’ve ever thought about becoming a street performer, but haven’t plucked up the courage or are still hesitant about it, perhaps his advice will help. Share and Enjoy:

Mazurka Wojciechowska, from Chicago, IL, contacted us about a shitty experience she had, when another group of buskers set up in front of her and started drowning her out. In our following email exchange, she described a code-of-ethics for buskers. It’s an interesting addition to the debate on how buskers “should” act. — MAZURKA: Your [...]

A sad experience from internationally acclaimed busker, Space Cowboy: After 24 hours locked up I am now released from jail!!!! All my performance props have been confiscated but I am a free man. I was arrested for entertaining on the streets of New York! They charged me for ‘Disorderly conduct’ and I was locked up [...]

Mark Plessinger is the owner of the Main Street eyewear boutique Frame of Mind and founder of First Thursdays on Main in Columbia SC, a monthly event designed to promote the arts in the SC state capital: Can you tell us a little about the history of First Thursdays and talk about the street performance [...]

We recently spoke to Arif, a member of the Covent Garden Street Performers Association (SPA), about the busking situation in London. In his emailed response, he detailed the problems they’ve had with authorities, tells of why street performers are capable of regulating themselves, and suggests that new licensed pitches should be opened up. It’s makes [...]

A powerful testimony from Asheville busker, Sandra Hess: My hands are getting sweaty. My heart beating harder and harder as I take my seat. The footsteps of the people on the street echo through my mind like a freight train. Confusion and panic start to set in. The cars that drive by feel as if [...]

On the 23rd of August, in a white Volkswagen Beetle, we drove to Walterboro to meet Jim Hadley. We didn’t notice the earthquake because the car was Richter scale eight on wheels, windows rolled down and rattling in the doors. It was a surprise to hear the reports on the radio, tales of dislodged roof [...]

My name is Richard Erno, and I am trying to unify the standard of street performance permits around the world. Most permits either allow only for local performers, or have a deadline for application stopping even the most professional touring performer from local pitches. This infringes on first amendment rights and also against the charter [...]

“You can’t swing a cat in New Orleans without hitting a street performer,” said Philipe LaMancusa, co-owner of Kitchen Witch, a lovely bookstore in the heart of the French Quarter. In certain places, he’s totally right. But what’s so nice about NOLA is that the type and quality of street performance there is unique, very [...]

Benjamin Stein has been making his living on the streets for a few years, playing improvisations and traditional music from Afghanistan, Iran, Macedonia, Turkey, Japan, and Greece, amongst others. He started playing with the guitar, but moved onto instruments with much better names: the bağlama (Turkish lute), the santoor (Persian hammered dulcimer), the tar (Persian [...]

In Hellzapoppin’s touring Caravan, we interviewed Tim Cridland, known across the street performing world as Zamora the Torture King. Tim is a successful and professional performing artist, and has appeared on a host of television programs. We were lucky to see him performing on stage and on the streets while he was in Copenhagen, Denmark. [...]

Hey everyone, If you have enjoyed the website or have met us along the road, please share your experiences with us in the comment section below. We have put a massive amount of work (and even some tears) into making this project what it is, and feedback from our audience plays a large part in [...]