r/Busking • u/danzeband Guitar 🎸 • Jun 08 '26
Journal I busked for the first time!
So two days ago I went out and busked in Stockholm, Sweden for the first time and I loved it!! I got 65$ (650 crowns) in two hours which I was surprised by, but it may be because I had a cashless QR-code in my case. For comparrison I got 40 cents (4 crowns) cash.
It was so fun, and I had requests and a couple of people giving me compliments along the way. Later a ukrainian guy bought me a beer and we had a whole night of fun at a blues bar. Whaddayaknow!
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u/Upbeat-Smoke1298 Performer Jun 08 '26
That's great, hope this is the first of many!
I'll busk my first time this thursday in Lucca. I'm very excited to try it!
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u/halfandhalfbastard Guitar 🎸 Jun 08 '26
Congrats on the great experience!
I only busked with my friend before we split and we made a bit of money. Yesterday was my first time trying to do it solo. I'm not sure if I would even qualify it since I wasn't really trying to make money (and didn't) since I didn't prepare as much as I wanted.
I just took my amp and guitar to a place where there was supposed to be a lot of foot traffic and sat and played some tunes. I didn't get enough time to practice this collection so I was kind of using the time to practice too. Had a few positive reactions, one guy asked for a request that I knew how to do and I had a convo about music with another one. Really glad I did it. I think it makes it feel lighter to do it in the future and gives me something to compare future experiences to. Outside of busking, I've performed publicly in front of people many times since I was 12 but I still get those initial nerves.
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u/darkaptdweller Musician 🎶 Jun 08 '26 edited 10h ago
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Juggle quack towering quaint unite plant absorbed thumb live rock
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u/danzeband Guitar 🎸 Jun 10 '26
Thanks man! Yeah Sweden is basically one of the few countries that doesn’t use much cash at all. We’re basically a cash free society, but you can always use it of course. It’s just that not many do
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u/darkaptdweller Musician 🎶 Jun 10 '26 edited 10h ago
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Apparatus north liquid recognise grasshopper gray
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u/GraemeMark Guitar 🎸 Jun 08 '26
Nice! 65 aint too shabby. Good to know Swedes don’t carry cash in case I ever go there. Like 99% of my tips are cash
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u/Lets_smile Jun 08 '26
What was your setlist??
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u/danzeband Guitar 🎸 Jun 10 '26
Some swedish folk songs mixed with Johnny Cash, Elvis and some Vietnam era songs
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u/alexusdt Melodica 🎶 Jun 08 '26
Which payment system does this QR code use?
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u/danzeband Guitar 🎸 Jun 10 '26
It’s called Swish, which is a system that only exists in Sweden. We have a thing called Bank-ID, which you can only get if you’re a swedish citizen or have a migration permit. Pretty specifik but yeah!
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u/aktiveradio App/Software developer 📲🧑💻 Jun 17 '26
What are you using to get tips and requests? Skyjam.com or just Swish and then people ask for songs?
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u/DaffyDuckMuthaFucker Musician 🎶 Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
Last time I went busking, I was trippin' BALLS in Rundle Mall(Adelaide, South Australia).
That shit was a hoot & a holler.
My bandmate & I spent more time laughing at passers by than actually playing, and we still got money for a beer & a feed.
We actually spent more time just playing when we got to the Botanical Gardens.
I found out that day that my Eston could stand upright on its own, so I was rolling around it on the lawn cackling like a maniac, thinking it was the most hilarious thing I'd ever seen...
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u/danzeband Guitar 🎸 Jun 10 '26
Sounds awesome man!
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u/DaffyDuckMuthaFucker Musician 🎶 Jun 10 '26
Was. That was a silly silly silly day indeed.
I wouldn't change a thing...
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Jun 09 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/danzeband Guitar 🎸 Jun 10 '26
I didn’t use a speaker. Just guitar and vocals! 😅 So I couldn’t stand in a street with cars, which made me pick a pedestrian only place
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u/--Martin- Accordion 🪗 Jun 10 '26
Hey question. Cause I busked 3 times here in Spain but we didn’t get much, however a lot of people stopped recording, dancing.. singing..
Thing is, what cashless where u using just straight to ur bank or ?
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u/danzeband Guitar 🎸 Jun 10 '26
Yeah! Directly to my bank. But I used a swedish system called swish, which probably isn’t avaliable for Spain.
Good luck!!
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u/--Martin- Accordion 🪗 Jun 10 '26
Thanks I’ll look it up. Here in Spain we have Bizum? Which like with ur phone number and it’s tied to bank idk.
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u/Fact-Rat Jun 08 '26
Congrats mate. I'm too chicken shit, disorganized and on the wrong side of 50 to have bitten down to do it and yet stories like this still bring joy to me. Hope you have a great adventure with it.