A person who makes money by passing the hat (soliciting donations) while entertaining the public (often by playing a musical instrument) on the streets or in other public area such as a park or market.
Wow. I feel bad now soliciting donations. Its a funny thing but I look at people who don’t put money in the hat/ or guitar case/ or whatever I happen to have out and get a bit peed off but then I think about what reaction I would make to a busker. If they are good I will gladly leave money and if they are good they brighten up the area where they radiate music.
I now officially love busking. It frees you up to play a looser style , experimenting with songs and generally having a chilled out time
I can remember the first time I did it down the South coast of N.S.W. at Milton outside Pilgrims vegetarian cafe. A really cool hang for the hipsters and tourists. It was July school holidays and Lizzie and I had our time off from our students [I had nearly 40 at the time and was finding it exhausting] so what do I do….go and play music. I asked them with much trepidation if I could busk, [the cafe that is] and next thing you know I grab the guitar from the car and off we go.
I made a lot of money that day and noticed a trend for people paying if you played lots of Bee Gees, Simon and Garfunkel and Beatles.
That was back in 2014 and now I think I’ve racked up over 50 busking gigs…with or without Honey. At one stage I was helping raise funds for the Gulgong Folk Festival by busking every Friday morning outside 3 different locations in Mudgee. It was freezing and temperatures were around 3 degrees Celsius which is really hard on your fingers
It is an instant gig and Honey sometimes did Flash mob gigs or Pop up gigs promoted on Facebook but still they are basically busking
I love it and now down the coast I am planning where and when. I would love to busk at least once a week to keep my chops up and earn a little side cash and just get out there, get amongst it and have fun
Richard Lawson Music 