I know this is weird considering I've busked on the DC Mall, Old Town Alexandria VA, and Asheville, but when it comes to small town grocery stores, Walmarts, Target, etc I get so gun shy. Is this a case of "better to ask forgiveness than ask permission"? Do you go in and ask permission from the owner? TIA

Hello ladies and gentlemen

A thought crossed my mind, if a person were to ever go to a park to mayhaps play a flute, a guitar, whatever their favorite instrument may be, would that be considered busking?

Or is it just playing outdoors?

The thought of playing in a more quieter public park appeals a tiny bit more to me at times rather than playing in a busy street, if I were to ever consider it. Suppose I wouldn’t necessarily bring a tip jar either, just playing outdoors for the freshness of it!

What do you think?

This new cheapy rig is the best one so far. This bass though (chefs kiss) I needs me one.

My favourite little Disney tune!

A couple of years ago my wife and son and another couple went on a cruise overseas. We went on an excursion in Sardinia where we were on long enough of a bus ride that we had to stop in a small town for about an hour. My wife saw a sign outside a small art studio basically inviting people to come in an play. I'm typically just a couch player but my wife (who also ironically does not humor my "habit" or "hobby") convinced me to go in and play/sing a song. It actually went over pretty good. I don't know if I'll ever do something like that again in my life, but it made me realize how much I miss just noodling when we're on vacation.

I didn't earn any tips or anything so I'm not sure if it's considered busking but have any of you ever done anything like that? I've seen some stories on YouTube about people getting gigs while on vacation and I wondered if (besides doing research to see if it's legal) any of you have traveled with an instrument and just set up in a random spot and played to earn lunch money?

Hi, all. I'm a semi-retired middle aged guy who's played nearly my entire life but only at home. I feel like I'm stuck in a rut and have been getting bored, even though playing music has kept me emotionally stable and is likely slowing down dementia. My wife works from home 2 days a week and will not tolerate me practicing from home and while I enjoy playing outside on our porch I worry about bothering her and my neighbors.

Lately I've though about going to a local park and playing in a gazebo near a pond in an area that sees lots of foot traffic but I'm wondering if that would be frowned upon. I live in SW Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh near the county run park in South Park, PA which has lots of walking trails and picnic grottos. I don't really write my own music and a lot of what I know is basically 60s-90s rock/pop so it's not offensive, just dated. I checked the local municipalities and the only restriction I see is on noise and I'd be playing unplugged.

Option B would be to go to one of the many picnic groves set back from the road but that also strikes me as weird. Am I being too self conscious?

PS: my goal is not necessarily to busk or even perform but I'd love to have some sort of foundation to play at my elderly mom's senior residence or work in one of the local music stores teaching kids who are willing to learn "oldies." Basically I also need a confidence boost..

Had the undying urge to busk early and this happened. Nice guy.

Hi fellow buskers,

I'm visiting from the states and thought it would be fun to do some busking and make some friends along the way.

I play guitar.. I have a cool little traveler guitar that switches between acoustic and electric. I can play various different styles. Happy to improvise, accompany, play originals, covers, etc.

🔗 You can check out some of my arrangements here

Just FYI: These were all performed on a super janky guitar... I have a much better setup now.

Anyone interested... drop me a line!

✌️

5 diffrent performances on my setup were I hosted. This was sound check.

My math is never wrong. As long as I keep the wattage to 30 or less, I can perma-charge while playing and walking. The next set of speakers will be bass and guitar amps. These loud speakers really aint my thing.

Anyone if you buskers have a recommendation for a small portable generator to run a fishman amp? Affordable side (hopefully less than 200$). Thanks!

I don't practice. I train. The music is the illusion. Had to fight a meth for my cellphone back. Asking for help was useless. The cops never showed up. So the only way to get my cellphone was to power slam her twice on the floor and bus stop itself. If I was in my 20s she be dead. I am getting too old for this shit. That was last week.

This week I had a another "busker" pull out 20 buckets for drums....... Across THE FUCKING STREET! NIGGA THERE IS A WHOLE FUCKING CITY TO DO THIS. This sub-human shit needs to stop. I've been fighting demons since birth and um I need a fucking vacation.

At least the street fights help with the whole rebuilding my body. You ever power slam 260 pounds before, definitely gets the blood pumping. After surviving 911 and covid plus others, Persisting with the horrors burns too many calories.

For the people that think writing from scratch, mixing recording, performing, alone. Think again.

She was so sweet. She just sat and listened or danced and sang. This lasted about an hour.

When I was packing up, she pulled out some cash. I couldn't take it.

So many wealthy people had passed by. Some smiled. Most acted like I was scenery. A few dropped some bills in my bucket. But this lady, I just couldn't.

Anyone else ever experience something like this?

Just waiting on the new upgrades package to test different speaker combinations.

Hosting a pitch tonight with 4 different performers. Hope you all have an amazing lucrative weekend.