Editing Street performance

{{short description|Performing in public places for gratuities}}
{{Redirect2|Busking|Busker}}
{{Redirect2|Street music|Street singer|other uses|Street Music (disambiguation){{!}}Street Music|and|Street singer (disambiguation)}}
{{For|the fundraising pledge system also known as the Street Performer Protocol|Threshold pledge system}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
[[File:One-man band street performer - 5.jpg|thumb|215px|Jeff Masin, a [[one-man band]] in New York City]]
'''Street performance''' or '''busking''' is the act of performing in public places for [[gratuity|gratuities]]. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is practiced all over the world and dates back to [[ancient history|antiquity]]. People engaging in this practice are called '''street performers''' or '''buskers'''. ''Buskers'' is not a term generally used in American English.<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/busker "Busker"] ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary''. Quote: "chiefly British"</ref><ref>[https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/busker "Busker"] ''Cambridge Dictionary''. Quote: "mainly UK"</ref>

Performances are anything that people find [[entertainment|entertaining]], including [[acrobatics]], [[Animal training|animal tricks]], [[balloon modelling|balloon twisting]], [[caricature]]s, [[clown]]ing, [[comedy]], [[contortion]]s, [[escapology]], [[dance]], [[singing]], [[Fire performance|fire skills]], [[flea circus]], [[fortune-telling]], [[juggling]], [[magic (illusion)|magic]], [[mime artist|mime]], [[living statue]], [[music]]al performance, [[one man band]], [[puppeteer]]ing, [[snake charming]], [[storytelling]] or reciting [[poetry]] or [[prose]], [[street art]] such as [[sketch (drawing)|sketching]] and painting, [[street theatre]], [[sword swallowing]], [[ventriloquism]], [[weightlifting]] and [[Washboard (musical instrument)|washboarding]]. Buskers may be solo performers or small groups.

== Etymology ==
The term ''busking'' was first noted in the English language around the middle 1860s in Great Britain. The verb ''to busk'', from the word ''busker'', comes from the Spanish root word ''buscar'', with the meaning "to seek".<ref name="Webster">[http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=busker "busker"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927195530/http://www.webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=busker |date=27 September 2007 }} Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary</ref> The Spanish word ''buscar'' in turn evolved from the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] word ''*bhudh-skō'' ("to win, conquer").<ref name="Diccionario RAE">{{citation |url= http://dle.rae.es/?id=6LB1acb |title= buscar |work= Diccionario de la Lengua Española |edition=23rd |publisher= [[Real Academia Española]] |language= es }}</ref> It was used for many street acts, and was the title of a famous Spanish book about one of them, ''[[El Buscón]]''. Today, the word is still used in Spanish but mostly reserved for female street [[sex worker]]s, or mistresses of married men.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

== History ==
{{multiple image
| align     = right
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| image1    = Cego Rabequista GPEG.jpg
| width1    = 180
| caption1  = 1855 painting of a street musician, [[O Pobre Rabequista]] (The Poor Rabeca Player), by [[José Rodrigues]]
| image2    = Eugène Atget, Organ-grinder, 1898–99.jpg
| width2    = 194
| caption2  = An organ grinder in Paris, photographed by [[Eugène Atget]], {{circa|1898–99}}
}}
There have been performances in public places for [[gratuities]] in every major culture in the world, dating back to [[ancient history|antiquity]]. For many musicians, street performance was the most common means of employment before the advent of [[sound recording|recording]] and personal electronics.<ref name="BF">Baird, Stephen (2000).[http://www.buskersadvocates.org/saahistory.html#saafranklin "The History and Cultural Impact of Street Performing in America: Ben Franklin"]. Street Performers and Buskers Advocates. Retrieved 2010-06-10.</ref> Prior to that, a person had to produce any music or entertainment, save for a few mechanical devices such as the [[barrel organ]], the [[music box]], and the [[piano roll]]. [[Organ grinder]]s were commonly found busking in the 19th century and early 20th century.

Busking is common among some [[Romani people]]. Romantic mention of Romani music, dancers and fortune tellers are found in all forms of song poetry, prose and lore. The Roma brought the word busking to England by way of their travels along the [[Mediterranean]] coast to Spain and the Atlantic Ocean and then up north to England and the rest of Europe.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In medieval France, buskers were known by the terms [[troubadour]]s and ''jongleurs''. In northern France, they were known as ''trouveres''. In old German, buskers were known as [[Minnesingers]] and ''Spielleute''. In obsolete French, it evolved to ''busquer'' for "seek, prowl" and was generally used to describe [[prostitute]]s. In Russia, buskers are called ''[[skomorokh]]'', and their first recorded history appears around the 11th century.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

[[Mariachi]]s, Mexican bands that play a style of music by the same name, frequently busk when they perform while traveling through streets and plazas, as well as in restaurants and bars.<ref name="WebsterMariachi">[http://www.webster.com/dictionary/mariachi "mariachi"] Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary</ref>

{{Quote box
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|quote=We like playing for big crowds, and the goal all along has been for people to pay a little to come and see us. But it all started on street corners, and that is still very connected to what we do. It's such a validating musical experience. Busking is a very humble and brave act that takes courage to do well. It's also about the energy of music being alive outside in a city ... You can walk right by it right in front of you. Sure, to some people you're just another guy with his hand out, so sometimes busking can be great social barometer. You're able to gauge who you live with on earth.<ref name=Ferris>{{cite news|last=Ferris|first=Jedd|title=Catching Up With ... Old Crow Medicine Show|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2008/09/catching-up-with-old-crow-medicine-show.html|access-date=28 September 2012|newspaper=[[Paste (magazine)|Paste]]|date=25 September 2008}}</ref>|source=Ketch Secor, [[Old Crow Medicine Show]]}}

Around the mid-19th century Japanese ''[[Chindonya]]'' started to be seen using their skills for advertising, and these street performers are still occasionally seen in Japan. Another Japanese street performance form dating from the [[Edo period]] is [[Nankin Tamasudare]], in which the performer creates large figures using a bamboo mat.
[[File:BOURCARD(1853) p1.192 - I VIGGIANESI.jpg|thumb|300px|''I Viggianesi'', street musicians from [[Viggiano]], Italy. Work by [[Filippo Palizzi]], 1853]]
In the 19th century, Italian street musicians (mainly from [[Liguria]], [[Emilia Romagna]], [[Basilicata]]) began to roam worldwide in search of fortune. Musicians from [[Basilicata]], especially the so-called ''[[Viggiano|Viggianesi]]'', would later become professional instrumentalists in symphonic orchestras, especially in the [[United States]].<ref>[[International Council for Traditional Music]], ''Report from the International Meeting of the International Council for Traditional Music's Study Group on Folk Musical Instruments, Volume 11'', Musikmuseet, 1992, p. 54</ref> The street musicians from Basilicata are sometimes cited as an influence on [[Hector Malot]]'s ''[[Sans Famille]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=L'arpa perduta - L'identità dei musicanti girovaghi |url=http://www.consiglio.basilicata.it/consiglionew/files/docs/28/54/62/DOCUMENT_FILE_285462.pdf|publisher=consiglio.basilicata.it|author=Eva Bonitatibus |language = it, en|access-date=June 22, 2016}}</ref>

In the United States, [[medicine show]]s proliferated in the 19th century. They were traveling vendors selling [[elixir]]s and [[potion]]s which purportedly improved people's health. They would often employ entertainment acts as a way of drawing in potential clients and relaxing them. The people would often associate this feeling of well-being with the products sold. After these performances, they would "pass the hat".{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

[[One-man band]]s have historically performed as buskers playing a variety of instruments simultaneously. One-man bands proliferated in urban areas in the 19th and early 20th centuries and still perform to this day. A current one-man band plays all their instruments acoustically usually combining a guitar, a harmonica, a drum and a tambourine. They may also include singing. Many still busk but some are booked to play at festivals and other events.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

[[Folk music]] has always been an important part of the busking scene. Cafe, restaurant, bar and pub busking is a mainstay of this art form. The [[delta blues]]men were mostly itinerant musicians emanating from the Mississippi Delta region of the USA around the early 1940s and on. [[B.B. King]] is one famous example who came from these roots.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

[[File:Dancing in Sutton High Street cropped.jpg|thumb|300px|Dancers in [[Sutton High Street]], [[Sutton, London]], England]]

The [[counterculture]] of the [[hippie]]s of the 1960s occasionally staged "be-ins", which resembled some present-day [[buskers festival]]s. Bands and performers would gather at public places and perform for free, passing the hat to make money. The [[San Francisco Bay Area]] was at the epicenter of this movement – be-ins were staged at [[Golden Gate Park]] and [[San Jose, California|San Jose]]'s Bee Stadium and other venues. Some of the bands that performed in this manner were [[Janis Joplin]] with [[Big Brother and the Holding Company]], the [[Grateful Dead]], [[Jefferson Airplane]], [[Quicksilver Messenger Service]], [[Country Joe and the Fish]], [[Moby Grape]] and [[Jimi Hendrix]].{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

[[Christmas carol]]ing can also be a form of busking, as [[wassailing]] included singing for alms, [[wassail]] or some other form of refreshment such as [[figgy pudding]]. In the Republic of Ireland, the traditional Wren Boys, and in England [[Morris Dancing]] can be considered part of the busking tradition.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In India and Pakistan's [[Gujarati people|Gujarati]] region, [[Bhavai]] is a form of street art where there are plays enacted in the village, the [[barot (caste)|barot]] or the village singer also is part of the local entertainment scene.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

In the 2000s, some performers have begun "Cyber Busking". Artists post work or performances on the Internet for people to download or "stream" and if people like it they make a donation using [[PayPal]].{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}

== Forms ==
[[File:Bubble Bath Cherry Blossom.jpg|thumb|275px|A walk-by street performer blowing large bubbles in [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]], United Kingdom]]
There are three basic forms of street performance: circle shows, walk-by acts, and stoplight performances.

"'''Circle shows'''" are shows that tend to gather a crowd around them. They usually have a distinct beginning and end. Usually these are done in conjunction with [[street theatre]], [[puppeteer]]ing, [[Magic (illusion)|magicians]], comedians, [[acrobatics|acrobats]], [[juggle]]rs and sometimes musicians. Circle shows can be the most lucrative. Sometimes the crowds attracted can be very large. A good busker will control the crowd so the patrons do not obstruct foot traffic.

"'''Walk-by acts'''" are acts where the busker performs a musical, living statue or other act that does not have a distinct beginning or end, and the public usually watches for a brief time. A walk-by act may turn into a circle show if the act is unusual or very popular.

"'''Stoplight performances'''" are performances in which performers present their act and get contributions from vehicle occupants on a crosswalk while the traffic lights are red. A variety of disciplines can be used in such a format (juggling, break dancing, even magic tricks). Because of the short period of time available to them, stoplight performers must have a very brief, condensed routine. This form is seen more commonly in Latin America than elsewhere.

=== Collecting money ===
[[File:Firejuggling 2009 ubt.ogv|thumb|right|275px|[[Toss juggling]] street performance in Denmark]]

Buskers collect donations and tips from the public in a variety of containers and by different methods depending on the type of busking they are performing. For walk-by acts, their open, empty instrument case or a special can, box, or hat is often used. For circle shows the performer will typically collect money at the end of the show, although some performers will also collect during the show, as some audience members do not stay for the entire performance. 

Sometimes a performer will employ a ''bottler'', ''hat man'', or ''pitch man'' to collect money from the audience and encourage them to contribute, sometimes by cajoling them in a humorous fashion. The term ''bottler'' is a British term that originated from the use of the top half of a bottle to collect money. The bottle had a leather flap inserted in the bottleneck and a leather pouch attached. This design allowed coins to be put in the bottle but did not allow them to be removed easily without the coins jingling against the glass. The first use of such contrivances was recorded by the famous [[Punch and Judy]] troupe of puppeteers in early Victorian times.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Somerville |first1=Chris |title=Who is Mr Punch |url=http://www.punchandjudy.com/bottle.htm |website=punchandjudy.com |access-date=14 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224181144/http://www.punchandjudy.com/bottle.htm |archive-date=24 February 2023 |date=1997 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The increasing use of cashless payments in the 21st century, and the corresponding lessening of the amount of cash typically carried, has affected buskers, some of whom have begun using electronic payment systems including contactless payment terminals and web or app based payment systems (sometimes reachable by [[QR code]]). This trend accelerated after [[COVID-19]] lockdowns, but predates this.<ref name="Wollaston">{{Cite news |last=Wollaston |first=Sam |date=8 November 2018 |title=Where the streets have no change: how buskers are surviving in cashless times |language=en |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/nov/08/where-the-streets-have-no-change-how-buskers-are-surviving-in-cashless-times |access-date=16 August 2024 }}</ref><ref name="Shular">{{Cite news |last=Shular |first=Emma |date=8 March 2023 |title=Buskers change their tune with digital payments and promotion |language=en |work=Langara Voice |url=https://www.langaravoice.ca/buskers-change-their-tune-with-digital-payments-and-promotion/ |access-date=16 August 2024 }}</ref>

=== Pitches ===
The place where a performance occurs is called a "pitch". A good pitch can be the key to success as a busker. An act that might make money at one place and time may not work at all in another setting. Popular pitches tend to be public places with large volumes of pedestrian traffic, high visibility, low background noise and as few elements of interference as possible. Good locations may include tourist spots, popular parks, entertainment districts including many restaurants, cafés, bars and pubs and theaters, [[rapid transit|subways]] and bus stops, outside the entrances to large concerts and sporting events, almost any plaza or [[town square]] as well as [[zócalo]]s in Latin America and [[piazza]]s in other regions. Other places include shopping malls, strip malls, and outside supermarkets, although permission is usually required from management for these.

In her book, ''Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics in the Subways of New York'', Susie J. Tanenbaum examined how the adage "Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast" plays out in regards to busking. Her sociological studies showed that in areas where buskers regularly perform, crime rates tended to go down, and that those with higher education attainment tended to have a more positive view of buskers than did those of lesser educational attainment.<ref name="Tanenbaum">Tanenbaum, Susie, J. (1995). [https://books.google.com/books?id=mjIuOSZe2j0C&q=Underground+Harmonies:+Music+and+Politics+in+the+Subways+of+New+York Underground Harmonies: Music and Politics in the Subways of New York.] ''Google books''; Cornell University Press. {{ISBN|0-8014-8222-4}}</ref> Some cities encourage busking in particular areas,<ref name="Startz">{{cite web| title=What this town needs is a little street music| author=Startz, Dick | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404212605/http://www.uwnews.org/admin/ss/page.asp?pid=247&articleID=10422|archive-date=4 April 2008| url=http://www.uwnews.org/admin/ss/page.asp?pid=247&articleID=10422 |work=uwnews.org |publisher= University of Washington News and Information| date=25 May 2005 }}</ref> giving preference to city government-approved buskers and even publishing schedules of performances.<ref name="MTANY">[http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/muny/ MTA: Arts for Transit: Music Under New York]. ''mta.info''; [[Metropolitan Transportation Authority]], New York. Retrieved 2016-07-15.</ref>

Many cities in the United States have particular areas known to be popular spots for buskers. Performers are found at many locations like Mallory Square in [[Key West]], in [[New Orleans]], in New York around [[Central Park]], [[Washington Square Park|Washington Square]], and the subway systems, in San Francisco, in Washington, D.C. around the transit centers, in Los Angeles around [[Venice, Los Angeles|Venice Beach]], the [[Santa Monica]] [[Third Street Promenade]], and the Hollywood area, in Chicago on [[Maxwell Street]], in the [[Delmar Loop]] district of [[St. Louis]], and many other locations throughout the US.
Busking is still quite common in Scotland, Ireland ([[Grafton Street#Busking|Grafton Street]], [[Dublin]]), and England with musicians and other street performers of varying talent levels.

== Legislation ==
{{See also|Street performing (U.S. case law)}}

[[File:Buskers no amplification allowed - sign in tourist area of Edinburgh in Scotland advises buskers that guitar amplifiers and PA speakers are not allowed.jpg|thumb|A sign in a tourist area of Edinburgh, Scotland, advises buskers that guitar amplifiers and PA speakers are not allowed.]]

The first recorded instances of laws affecting buskers were in [[ancient Rome]] in 462 BC. [[The Law of the Twelve Tables]] made it a crime to sing about or make parodies of the government or its officials in public places; the penalty was death.<ref>(Cohen and Greenwood 1981: 14) Smith, Murray (1996). [http://cjtm.icaap.org/content/24/v24art3.html Traditions, Stereotypes, and Tactics:: A History of Musical Buskers in Toronto]. cjtm.icaap.org; ''[[Canadian Journal for Traditional Music]]''. Retrieved 2010-06-10.</ref><ref>
Blue, Niceol (27 June 2006). [http://www.pikemarketbuskers.org/busking.html A History of Busking] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615034839/http://www.pikemarketbuskers.org/busking.html |date=15 June 2006 }}  Pike Market Performer's Guild. Retrieved 2010-06-11.
</ref> [[Louis the Pious]] "excluded ''[[jester|histriones]]'' and ''[[clown|scurrae]]'', which included all entertainers without noble protection, from the privilege of justice".<ref>(Krickeberg 1983 : 24). Smith, Murray (1996). [http://cjtm.icaap.org/content/24/v24art3.html Traditions, Stereotypes, and Tactics:: A History of Musical Buskers in Toronto]. cjtm.icaap.org; ''[[Canadian Journal for Traditional Music]]''. Retrieved 2010-06-10.</ref> In 1530 [[Henry VIII of England|Henry VIII]] ordered the licensing of minstrels and players, fortune-tellers, pardoners and fencers, as well as beggars who could not work. If they did not obey they could be whipped on two consecutive days.<ref>(Krickeberg 1983 : 62. Smith, Murray (1996). [http://cjtm.icaap.org/content/24/v24art3.html Traditions, Stereotypes, and Tactics:: A History of Musical Buskers in Toronto]. cjtm.icaap.org; ''[[Canadian Journal for Traditional Music]]''. Retrieved 2010-06-10.</ref><!-- yes this belongs in split cite/ref format -- Lexein. See Discussion.-->

In the United States under [[constitutional law]] and most European [[common law]], the protection of [[artistic]] [[free speech]] extends to busking. In the U.S. and many countries, the designated places for free speech behavior are the public [[park]]s, streets, [[sidewalk]]s, [[thoroughfare]]s and [[town square]]s or plazas. Under certain circumstances even private property may be open to buskers, particularly if it is open to the general public and busking does not interfere with its function and management allows it or other forms of free speech behaviors or has a history of doing so.<ref name="autogenerated1">[http://funandmagic.com/decision.pdf Berger v. Seattle, C03-3238JLR] (PDF). Decision, U.S. District Court, Western District of WA at Seattle, 22 April 2004. Retrieved 2010-06-11.</ref>

While there is no universal [[code of conduct]] for buskers, there are common law practices that buskers must conform to. Most jurisdictions have corresponding [[statutory laws]]. In the UK busking regulation is not universal with most laws (if there are any) being governed by local councils.<ref>{{cite news|title=Who, what, why: Where is the hardest place in the UK to be a busker?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-magazine-monitor-28112716|access-date=9 October 2014|work=BBC News|date=July 2014|last1=Why|first1=Who}}</ref> Some towns in the British Isles limit the licenses issued to bagpipers because of the volume and difficulty of the instrument.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} In Great Britain places requiring licenses for buskers may also require auditions of anyone applying for a busking license.{{Citation needed|date=September 2010}} Oxford City Council have decided to enact a [[public spaces protection order]]. Some venues that do not regulate busking may still ask performers to abide by voluntary rules. Some places require a special [[License|permit]] to use electronically amplified sound and may have limits on the [[Loudness|volume]] of sound produced.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://411newyork.org/guide/2007/07/16/street-performances-in-new-york/ |title=Street Performances in New York |publisher=411newyork.org |date=16 July 2007 |access-date=2012-07-19}}</ref> It is common law that buskers or others should not impede pedestrian traffic flow, block or otherwise obstruct entrances or exits, or do things that [[endangerment|endanger]] the public. It is common law that any disturbing or noisy behaviors may not be conducted after certain hours in the night. These curfew limitations vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. It is common law that "performing blue" (i.e. using material that is sexually explicit or any vulgar or obscene remarks or gestures) is generally prohibited unless performing for an adults-only environment such as in a bar or pub.

In London, busking is prohibited in the entire area of the City of London. The [[London Underground]] provides busking permits for up to 39 pitches across 25 central London stations.<ref>[https://tfl.gov.uk/corporate/about-tfl/culture-and-heritage/busking Transport For London, Busking]</ref> Most London boroughs do not license busking, but they have optional powers, under the [[London Local Authorities Act 2000]], if there is sufficient reason to do so. Where these powers have not been adopted, councils can rely on other legislation including the [[Environmental Protection Act 1990]] to deal with noise nuisance from buskers and the [[Highways Act 1980]] to deal with obstructions. Camden Council is currently looking into further options to control the problem of nuisance buskers and the playing of amplified music to the detriment of local residents and businesses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london-insider.co.uk/2010/02/busking-in-london-explained-guide/|title=The Big Busk: London Busking Explained|author=Appleton, Natalie|date=7 February 2010|publisher=The London Insider|access-date=2010-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213044505/http://www.london-insider.co.uk/2010/02/busking-in-london-explained-guide/|archive-date=13 February 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Buskers may find themselves targeted by thieves due to the very open and public nature of their craft. Buskers may have their earnings, instruments or props stolen. One particular technique that thieves use against buskers is to pretend to make a donation while actually taking money out instead, a practice known as "dipping" or "skimming". [[George Burns]] described his days as a youthful busker this way:<ref name="CigarBurns">
[http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,3,00.html The Ultimate Cigar Aficionado: Ninety-eight-year-old George Burns Shares Memories of His Life] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100307054715/http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,3,00.html |date=7 March 2010 }} , article and interview by Cigar Aficionado Online
</ref>

{{quote|Sometimes the customers threw something in the hats. Sometimes they took something out of the hats. Sometimes they took the hats.}}

== Notable performers ==
[[File:Colin Huggins playing piano with listeners.jpg|thumb|[[Colin Huggins]] playing a grand piano in [[Washington Square Park]], New York City]]
[[File:Edward McMichael Seahawks NFCChamps 20060122 094.jpg|thumb|[[Edward Scott McMichael|Ed "Tuba Man" McMichael]] (''right'') in 2006]]
[[File:Arthur Nakane.jpeg|thumb|[[Arthur Nakane]], a street performer and former one-man band who performs regularly in the [[Little Tokyo, Los Angeles|Little Tokyo]] community of Los Angeles]]
[[File:Billy Waters, a one-legged busker. Coloured engraving by T.L Wellcome V0007298.jpg|thumb|[[Billy Waters (busker)|Billy Waters]], a London busker from the 19th century]]

<!--PLEASE KEEP THIS ALPHABETICAL --- PLEASE GET A CONSENSUS BEFORE ADDING ANY ADDITIONAL NAMES-->
*[[5 Seconds of Summer]], Australian pop rock band. Prior to achieving international fame, the band busked in [[Rouse Hill, New South Wales|Rouse Hill]] and other parts of [[Sydney]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2014-08-01|title=Video surfaces of band's humble beginnings|url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/the-hills/before-they-were-famous-5-seconds-of-summer-busked-for-their-pennies-in-a-rouse-hill-mall/news-story/5c66a5f72a5fa8aa6a0590d467d11c8b|access-date=2020-08-26|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|language=en|last1=Murray|first1=Oliver}}</ref>
*[[Abby the Spoon Lady]] is a professional spoon player, street performer, and [[Street performing (U.S. case law)|busking]] advocate who lives in [[Asheville, North Carolina]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2014/11/13/living-portrait-series-spoon-lady/18982245/|title=Living Portrait series: The Spoon Lady|newspaper=Citizen Times|language=en|access-date=2017-01-25}}</ref>
*[[Josephine Baker]] started street dancing to make money and was recruited for the St. Louis Chorus [[vaudeville]] show at the age of 15, which started her dancing career. 
*[[Joshua Bell]], a noted classical violinist, posed as a busker in the [[L'Enfant Plaza station|L'Enfant Plaza]] Metro station in [[Washington, D.C.]] at rush hour in 2007, as part of a feature in ''[[The Washington Post]]''. In the 45 minutes that Bell played, only seven people out of over a thousand who passed by stopped to watch, and he took in just over $32. [[Gene Weingarten]] later won a [[Pulitzer Prize]] for the story.<ref>[[Gene Weingarten|weingarten, Gene]] (April 8, 2008) [https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/pearls-before-breakfast-can-one-of-the-nations-great-musicians-cut-through-the-fog-of-a-dc-rush-hour-lets-find-out/2014/09/23/8a6d46da-4331-11e4-b47c-f5889e061e5f_story.html?noredirect=on "Pearls Before Breakfast: Can one of the nation's great musicians cut through the fog of a D.C. rush hour? Let's find out"] ''[[The Washington Post]]''</ref>
* [[Catfish the Bottleman]] a well-known busker from Sydney, Australia, so inspired Van McCann of [[Catfish and the Bottlemen]] that he named his band after him. He watched him perform as a child and said that it was his first memory of music.<ref>{{cite web|title=Catfish and the Bottleman reveal touching Aussie story behind their band name|url=http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/musicnews/s4132717.htm|website=abc.net.au|access-date=3 July 2015}}</ref>
*[[Tracy Chapman]] began her career busking in [[Harvard Square]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]].
*[[Mike Doughty]], former singer for [[Soul Coughing]], released ''[[Mike Doughty|Busking]]'', which contains 12 tracks from a 2007 busking performance in the [[14th Street/Sixth Avenue (New York City Subway)|14th Street subway station]] in New York City.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mikedoughty.com/blog/archives/000789.html |title=Mike Doughty |access-date=2009-11-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514111241/http://www.mikedoughty.com/blog/archives/000789.html |archive-date=14 May 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>
*[[Newton Faulkner]] has been known to busk and video footage of him busking has been made available on YouTube, including a full acoustic cover of [[Queen (band)|Queen]]'s "[[Bohemian Rhapsody]]".
*[[Benjamin Franklin]], the American inventor and statesman, was a street performer. He composed songs, poetry and prose about current events and went out in public and performed them. He would then sell printed copies of them to the public. He was dissuaded from busking by his father who convinced him it was not worth the stigmas that some people attach to it. It was this experience that helped form his beliefs in free speech, which he wrote about in his journals.<ref name="BF" />
*[[G4 (band)|G4]], the British [[popera]] quartet, performed as buskers across London during their college days.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6532633.stm|title=Classical group G4 announce split|date=6 April 2007|access-date=12 September 2016|via=bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://metro.co.uk/2008/02/24/x-factor-star-tops-classical-charts-7844/|title=X Factor star tops classical charts|last=metrowebukmetro|date=24 February 2008|access-date=12 September 2016}}</ref>
*[[Mark Goffeney]], aka 'Big Toe', known for playing guitar despite being born [[Amelia (birth defect)|without arms]].<ref name="ABILITY1">{{Cite web |date=2010 |title=Mark Goffeney — There's No Business Like Toe Business |url=https://abilitymagazine.com/mark-goffeney-theres-no-business-like-toe-business/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220722203206/https://abilitymagazine.com/mark-goffeney-theres-no-business-like-toe-business/ |archive-date=2022-07-22 |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=ABILITY Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>
*[[Shannon Hoon]], former singer for [[Blind Melon]], was known to busk all over the U.S.{{Citation needed|date=August 2011}}
*[[Colin Huggins]], a classical pianist who performs on a [[Steinway]] [[grand piano]] in [[Washington Square Park]] and other parks in [[Greenwich Village]], [[New York City]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/16/nyregion/coronavirus-pianist-washington-square-nyc.html|title=It's a Tough Time to Be a Street Musician With a 900-Pound Piano|author=Alex Vadukul|date=July 16, 2020|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 6, 2021}}</ref>
*[[Henry Johnson (acrobat)]] (1806–1910), [[circus]] acrobat and street entertainer using [[acrobatics]], [[tightrope-walking]] etc.
*[[Keytar Bear]], a busker in Boston, Massachusetts, who wears a bear suit and plays a keytar. 
*[[Guy Laliberté]] was a street performer when he founded the [[Cirque du Soleil]] theatrical company in 1984.<ref>[http://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/1689/From-Busker-To-Billionaire-How-Guy-Laliberte-Achieved-Success.html From Busker To Billionaire: How Guy Laliberté Achieved Success] EvanCarmichael.com.</ref>
*[[Loreena McKennitt]], developing a passion for Celtic music, learned to play the [[Celtic harp]] and began busking at various places, including St. Lawrence Market in [[Toronto]] in order to earn money to record her first album.
*[[Edward McMichael]] was a celebrated street musician known as Seattle's "Tuba Man", who busked outside the city's various sports and performing arts venues. In 2008, he was killed by attackers who were attempting to rob him.
*Sterling Magee and [[Adam Gussow]], AKA [[Satan and Adam]], were busking on [[125th Street (Manhattan)|125th Street]] in Harlem, New York City, in the summer of 1987 when the members of [[U2]], accompanied by a film crew, paused to watch the blues duo. The scene later appeared in the film ''[[Rattle and Hum]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6M2aWVx0LA| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211107/x6M2aWVx0LA| archive-date=2021-11-07 | url-status=live|title=Satan and Adam – Harlem, 1987 (in U2's ''Rattle and Hum'')|last=Modern Blues Harmonica|date=6 March 2007|access-date=12 September 2016|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*[[George Michael]] used to busk near the [[London Underground]], performing songs such as [[A Night at the Opera (Queen album)#"'39"|'39]] by [[Queen (band)|Queen]].<ref>
[http://www.queenzone.com/news/a-night-at-the-opera.aspx A Night At The Opera] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150510152854/http://www.queenzone.com/news/a-night-at-the-opera.aspx |date=10 May 2015 }}  QueenZone.com Retrieved 23 January 2013
</ref>
*[[Peter Mulvey]], the singer-songwriter, recorded an entire album down in the [[Boston subway]], where he was a regular busker. In most cases, songs were recorded in one or two takes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/programs/wesun/features/2002/mulvey/ |title=The Subterranean World of Peter Mulvey |author=Hansen, Liane |date=22 September 2002 |access-date=2010-06-13 |work=Weekend Edition |publisher=[[National Public Radio]]}}</ref>
*[[Kristyna Myles]] won the BBC Radio 5 Live Busker of the Year competition in 2005 and has gone on to sign a recording contract with Decca. Her debut album is due for release in September 2012.
*[[Paul Oscher]], a famous Blues musician and harp player, has busked as "Brooklyn Slim" on the Venice Boardwalk to try out new material. Oscher, a two-time [[Blues Music Award|W.C Handy Award]] winner, was the harp player for [[Muddy Waters]] and his band in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He currently performs at blues festivals in the U.S. and internationally.
*[[Amanda Palmer]], singer-songwriter, internet personality and founder of [[The Dresden Dolls]] started out performing as a [[living statue]] around the world.
*[[Don Partridge]], an English singer and songwriter, known as the "king of the buskers". Achieved unexpected commercial success in the UK and Europe in the late 1960s with the songs "Rosie", "Blue Eyes" and "Breakfast On Pluto".
*[[Natalia Paruz]], aka 'Saw Lady', who can be seen in movies such as ''[[Dummy (2002 film)|Dummy]]'' and heard on many movie soundtracks, has been playing the [[musical saw]] in the New York City subway since 1994.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vimeo.com/21236399 |title=Natalia Paruz, musical saw Player | work=subwaymusicblog.com (Vimeo)| date=15 March 2011 |access-date=2011-04-09}}</ref>
*Surf/ska band the [[Red Elvises]] boosted their career by playing outside in [[Santa Monica, California]], on the [[Third Street Promenade]]. Their manic performances attracted such large crowds that city officials asked them to stop.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.sanantoniomag.com/events/red-elvises/ |title=Red Elvises |date=November 2023 |magazine=San Antonio |access-date=25 January 2024}}</ref>
*[[Alice Tan Ridley]], busked in New York City subway stations for 30 years; semi-finalist in ''[[America's Got Talent]]'', mother of [[Gabourey Sidibe]]<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/nyregion/alice-tan-ridley-subway-singer-gets-the-spotlight-after-years-underground.html "After Years Underground, a Subway Singer Gets the Spotlight"] by Susan Hartman, ''[[The New York Times]]'', 16 September 2016</ref>
*[[Rodrigo y Gabriela]], began their career by busking in Dublin, Ireland.
*[[Peg Leg Sam]], a famous harmonica player from South Carolina, preferred busking over all other forms/venues. His most requested song was "[[John Henry (song)|John Henry]]".{{citation needed|date=June 2013}}
*[[Daniel Seavey]] performed in the streets of Portland, Oregon, and subsequently joined boy band [[Why Don't We]]. 
*Ketch Secor, whose group [[Old Crow Medicine Show]] started with busking and remains committed to it, has said: "People ... have short attention spans. ... So if you can get 'em to stop ... if you can get 'em to listen with a song, then you've got yourself a keeper."<ref name=Parton>{{cite news|last=Parton|first=Chris|title=Old Crow Medicine Show Carries Traditional Country New Album, Carry Me Back, Takes a Somber Approach|url=http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1690042/old-crow-medicine-show-carries-traditional-country.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722031923/http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1690042/old-crow-medicine-show-carries-traditional-country.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 July 2012|access-date=25 September 2012|newspaper=CMT News|date=19 July 2012}}</ref>
*[[The Piccadilly Rats]], street performance group from Manchester, England
*[[Allie Sherlock]] sings on [[Grafton Street]], [[Dublin]]
*[[Tuba Skinny]], street band in New Orleans
*[[Rod Stewart]] began hanging around folk singer [[Wizz Jones]] and busking, at [[Leicester Square]] and other London spots in 1962.<ref name="eh-24-28">Ewbank and Hildred, ''Rod Stewart: The New Biography'', pp. 24–28.</ref> On several trips over the next 18 months, Jones and Stewart took their act to [[Brighton]] and then to Paris, sleeping under bridges over the river [[Seine]], and then finally to [[Barcelona]].<ref name="eh-24-28" /> Finally this resulted in Stewart being rounded up and deported from Spain for [[vagrancy]] during 1963.<ref name="eh-24-28" /><ref>{{cite book| last=Pareles | first=Jon | author-link=Jon Pareles | author2=Romanowski, Patricia | title=The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll | url=https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneency00pare | url-access=registration | publisher=[[Rolling Stone Press]]/[[Summit Books]] |year= 1983 |isbn=978-0-671-43457-1 | page=[https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneency00pare/page/530 530]}}</ref>
*[[Tash Sultana]], an Australian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who busked on the streets of Melbourne.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/tash-sultana-review-welcome-to-the-jungle-of-the-one-woman-band-20161019-gs5ieb.html | title=Tash Sultana review: Welcome to the jungle of the one woman band | newspaper=Sydney Morning Herald | date=October 19, 2016 | author=Lucy Cormack | access-date=2017-01-26 }}</ref>
*[[SungBeats]], a beatbox loop artist won the [[Apollo Theater|Amateur Night at the Apollo]] competition in 2014.
*[[Damo Suzuki]], the singer of the band [[Can (band)|Can]], was found by band members Czukay and Liebezeit busking outside a [[Munich]] café and was asked to perform with the band that same night. 
*[[Tones and I]], an Australian indie-pop singer-songwriter and musician.
*[[KT Tunstall]], a popular Scottish singer, has been recorded busking in Glasgow.
*[[Nik Turner]], former saxophonist with [[Hawkwind]] and [[Inner City Unit]], continues to busk regularly in the streets of his adopted hometown [[Cardigan, Ceredigion|Cardigan]].
*[[T. Rex (band)|T. Rex]] members [[Marc Bolan]] and [[Steve Peregrin Took]] first performed as an acoustic guitar/bongos duo when they went busking together in [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]] in summer 1967 after their electric equipment had been confiscated by [[Track Records]] and their two bandmates had both left. In this acoustic format, the duo would go on to release three albums.
*[[Unipiper]], a performer in Portland, Oregon, is known for playing the bagpipes on a unicycle.
*[[Violent Femmes]] were discovered by [[James Honeyman-Scott]] (of [[The Pretenders]]) on 23 August 1981, when the band was busking on a street corner in front of the [[Oriental Theatre (Milwaukee)|Oriental Theatre]], the [[Milwaukee]] venue that [[The Pretenders]] would be playing later that night. [[Chrissie Hynde]] invited them to play a brief acoustic set after the opening act.
*[[Yamunabai Waikar]], decorated Indian folk–[[Lavani]]–[[Tamasha]] artist busked with her mother as a child.<ref>[http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/A-tearjerker-from-Wai/articleshow/603512.cms "A tearjerker from Wai"] by Navami Naik, ''[[The Times of India]]'', 11 February 2002</ref>
*[[Billy Waters (busker)|Billy Waters]], a one-legged busker who rose to prominence in London during the nineteenth century.
*[[Hayley Westenra]] at one time busked on the streets of Christchurch, New Zealand.<ref>
[http://www.askmen.com/celebs/women/singer_300/375_hayley_westenra.html#famous Hayley Westenra Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127103000/http://www.askmen.com/celebs/women/singer_300/375_hayley_westenra.html#famous |date=27 January 2010 }}  ''askmen.com''; IGN Entertainment.
</ref>
*The NYC BuskerBall; BuskerBall.com, is an annual event showcasing the worlds best buskers, NYC Buskerball INC is a registered non for profit (501(c)(b) that strives to educate the public on the art of busking and stages an annual festival in Brooklyn.

== Gallery ==
<gallery class="center" widths="237" heights="167">
File:Fotothek df roe-neg 0000222 003 Straßenmusiker und Passanten.jpg|German street performers play for pedestrians in 1948
File:Arles Busker IMG 8299.jpg|Classical fiddler in [[Arles]], France
File:Street musicians in Prague.jpg|A street performance trio on their pitch outside [[Prague Castle]]
File:Mother & son playing lute. Lhasa 1993.jpg|Mother and son busking in [[Lhasa]], Tibet, 1993
File:Street Acrobats in DC - 2013-06-07 - 16.JPG|Acrobat jumping over volunteers in Washington, D.C.
File:Street performer, Sutton High Street, Sutton, Surrey, Greater London (2).jpg|Violinist in [[Sutton High Street]], [[Sutton, London]]
File:Malabarista de Rua.jpg|Street performer using a fire devilstick in [[São Paulo]], Brazil
File:Street Musician North Fourth Street Ann Arbor Michigan.JPG|Street musician playing congas, [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]]
File:Špancirfest 2023. - ulična glumica.JPG|Street performer at [[Špancirfest]], Croatia
File:Saxophone Player in Balboa Park.jpg|Saxophonist in [[Balboa Park (San Diego)|Balboa Park]], [[San Diego]]
</gallery>

== See also ==
{{portal|Theater}}
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order & add a short description [[WP:SEEALSO]] -->
{{div col|colwidth=20em|small=yes}}
*[[Busking Day]]
*[[:Category:Busking venues]]
*[[List of circus skills]]
*[[Music Under New York]]
*[[Bhand]]
*[[Skomorokh]]
*[[Street artist]]
*[[Street painting]]
*[[Street theatre]]
{{div col end}}
<!-- please keep entries in alphabetical order -->

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category multi|Busking|Street music}}
{{Wiktionary|busker}}
'''Organisations'''
*[http://worldstreetmusic.com/ World Street Music – international project about street musicians]
*[http://www.buskercentral.com/calendar.php Busker Central] Calendar of worldwide busking events
*[http://nasauk.org/ National Association of Street Artists UK]
*[http://www.streetarts.org.uk/ Street Arts]
*[https://www.flickr.com/search/?w=52027561@N00&q=busker Photographs of buskers around the world] by Tudor ApMadoc
*[http://thebuskingproject.com/ The Busking Project], celebrating and supporting buskers across the world.

'''Press'''
* [https://www.today.com/popculture/striving-make-music-under-nyc-streets-wbna5682773 "Striving to make music under the NYC streets"]. Daniel Strieff and Jon Sweeney. 24 August 2004. [[MSNBC]].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060612203810/http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2003/0309.thompson.html "What the ailing record industry can learn from a successful subway musician"]. Nicholas Thompson. December 2003. ''[[Washington Monthly]]''.
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/nyregion/thecity/31pian.html?_r=1 "The Real Piano Man"] Steven Kurutz, 30 August 2008. ''[[The New York Times]]''.

'''Other'''
* {{cite journal |url=https://salford.academia.edu/GeorgeMcKay/Papers/117976/-A-soundtrack-to-the-insurrection---street-music--marching-bands-and-popular-protest |author=McKay, George |year=2007 |journal=Parallax |volume= 13 |issue=1 |pages=20–31 |title='A soundtrack to the insurrection': street music, marching bands and popular protest|doi=10.1080/13534640601094817|s2cid=143754205 |ref=none}}
* Bennett, Elizabeth, and McKay, George. 2019. ''[https://www.academia.edu/39141393/From_Brass_Bands_to_Buskers_Street_Music_in_the_UK From Brass Bands to Buskers: Street Music in the UK.]'' Norwich: AHRC/UEA. {{doi|10.13140/RG.2.2.18521.98408}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Street performance| ]]
[[Category:Buskers| ]]
[[Category:Busking venues| ]]
[[Category:Occupations in music]]
[[Category:Performance art]]
[[Category:Theatre]]
[[Category:Comedy]]
[[Category:Music performance]]
[[Category:Magic (illusion)]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]