List of busking locations

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This is a list of locations where busking is known to happen on a regular basis. They tend to be low motor traffic places.

## Africa

[edit]

### South Africa

[edit]

* Cape Town: V&A Waterfront

## Americas

[edit]

### United States

[edit]

#### Central U.S.

[edit]

* Minneapolis, Minnesota: Nicollet Mall, Hennepin Ave (downtown), any of the co-ops. Buskers often appear at the Mall of America and the skyways, but may be asked to leave.
* Boulder, Colorado: Pearl Street Mall[1]
* Chicago: Busking is allowed at several places:
* The Chicago Transit Authority currently only allows street performers to pitch at four stations; Jackson/State on the Red Line, Washington/State on the Red Line, Jackson/Dearborn on the Blue Line, and Washington/Dearborn on the Blue Line
* Maxwell Street: This locale was featured in the Blues Brothers movie and has been the place of convergence for blues musicians since the 1930s.[2][3]
* Michigan Avenue ("Magnificent Mile")[4]
* Decatur, Illinois: Saturday Produce Market, Richland Community College, June - September
* Kansas City, Missouri: The Plaza, Westport and the City Market
* Wichita, Kansas: Old Town and entire downtown area[5]
* New Orleans, Louisiana: The French Quarter and the entire city in general[6]
* Cincinnati, Ohio: The entire city, especially Over-the-Rhine and downtown, Findlay Market, and Clifton, where the bands Plastic Inevitables and Tillers started their careers[7][8]
* Nashville, Tennessee: 2nd Avenue and Broadway
* Austin, Texas: 6th Street[9][10]
* Tulsa, Oklahoma: Brady Arts District, Blue Dome
* Dallas, Texas: Deep Ellum
* St. Louis, Missouri: Delmar Loop
* Houston, Texas: Montrose District
* Madison, Wisconsin: State Street
* Indianapolis, Indiana: Washington Street downtown; Broad Ripple Avenue

#### East Coast

[edit]

* Asheville, North Carolina: downtown area
* Washington, D.C.: Washington Metro
* Burlington, Vermont: Church Street Marketplace
* Portland, Maine: Monument Square
* St. Petersburg, Florida: The Pier and other locations in the downtown area
* Key West, Florida: Mallory Square
* Miami Beach, Florida: South Beach[11]
* Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Riverwalk[12]
* St. Augustine, Florida: downtown areas; 50 ft East or West from St. George Street on most cross-streets with the exception of Hypolita Street
* Atlanta, Georgia: Little Five Points
* Athens, Georgia: College Avenue
* Savannah, Georgia: River Street
* Boston, Massachusetts: Faneuil Hall
* Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard Square
* New York City, New York: New York City Subway; Battery, Central, and Washington Square Parks
* Baltimore, Maryland: Harborplace
* Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: near the tourist and historical sections
* Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Roberto Clemente Bridge on 6th Street, South Side along the Monongahela River, Pittsburgh Public Market at 2100 Smallman Street, Mt. Washington, Steel Plaza - Downtown, and Squirrel Hill

#### West Coast

[edit]

* Los Angeles, California: Venice Beach Boardwalk, Hollywood (especially Grauman's Chinese Theater, Santa Monica Pier and Third Street Promenade)
* San Francisco, California: Fisherman's Wharf and Market Street and the whole city in general
* Oakland, California: Art Murmur and the whole city in general
* Santa Barbara, California: State Street
* Santa Cruz, California: Pacific Garden Mall and the beach area
* Santa Monica, California: Third Street Promenade outdoor mall
* Honolulu, Hawaii: Waikīkī
* Portland, Oregon: Portland Saturday Market
* Seattle, Washington: Seattle Center and Pike Place Market
* Las Vegas Strip
* San Diego, California: Seaport Village, Gaslamp Quarter, The Embarcadero, and Balboa Park

### Canada

[edit]

* Halifax, Nova Scotia: Halifax Waterfront, site of the Halifax International Busker Festival
* Kingston, Ontario: Ontario Street, site of the Kingston International Buskers Rendezvous
* Montréal, Québec: Rue Sainte-Catherine, most Métro stations, Place-des-Arts, Vieux Montréal (Place Jacques-Cartier, Vieux Port)
* Ottawa, Ontario: Sparks Street, Byward Market (both require costly licences), site of the Ottawa International Buskers Festival (though local buskers are not permitted to participate), heavy foot traffic area in the Byward Market, foot traffic between 11am-2pm weekdays and during festivals on Sparks Street. Queen and Bank Streets and Wellington in front of the Parliament buildings are licence free and have excellent foot traffic.
* Regina, Saskatchewan: Scarth Street
* Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Broadway (downtown)
* Toronto, Ontario: Eaton Centre (illegal weekdays from 9am-12pm and 2pm to 5pm), both by Dundas Street and Queen Street; Kensington Market, St Lawrence Market, any street corner with a $40 license
* Vancouver, British Columbia: Granville Island, Granville Mall, in front of downtown SkyTrain Stations
* Victoria, British Columbia: waterfront of the downtown Inner Harbour
* Winnipeg, Manitoba: The Forks

## Asia

[edit]

### China

[edit]

* Beijing: Beijing Subway
* Qiqihar, Heilongjiang: the lakeshore at Qiqihar University campus, by English majors throughout the city

### Iran

[edit]

* Tajrish Square, Tehran[13]

### Taiwan

[edit]

* Xinyi Place, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, Taipei, a shopping plaza

## Europe

[edit]

### United Kingdom

[edit]

#### England

[edit]

* London: Covent Garden,[14] Piccadilly Circus, London Underground,[15] South Bank[16]
* Bath, Somerset[17]
* York[18]
* Stratford-on-Avon[19]
* Chester[20]
* Birmingham: New Street, Victoria Square
* Truro: Pydar Street, High Cross
* Newcastle upon Tyne: Northumberland Street
* Brighton
* Bristol: Broadmead

#### Scotland

[edit]

* Edinburgh: Edinburgh Festival Fringe, where street performers can perform at one of three allocated spots on the Royal Mile and at busking competitions

### Netherlands

[edit]

* Amsterdam: Leidseplein and Vondelpark

### Germany

[edit]

* Berlin: Alexanderplatz, Friedrichsbrücke leading to Museumsinsel, various underground stations, increasingly on underground trains
* Cologne: Domplatte, Hohe Straße, Schildergasse

### Belgium

[edit]

* Brussels: Boterstraat
* Antwerp: Groenplaats

### Spain

[edit]

* Barcelona: La Rambla
* Madrid: Puerta del Sol
* Madrid: Parque del Buen Retiro

### Republic of Ireland

[edit]

* Dublin: Grafton Street, Temple Bar, Mary Street/Henry Street
* Galway: Shop Street including Eyre Square and the Spanish Arch
* Kilkenny: Kieran Street
* Mayo Westport: Main Street

### Poland

[edit]

* Kraków: Main Market Square, Kraków, coronation route and surrounding streets
* Lublin: Kraków Gate, Promenade
* Wroclaw: Rynek, Ostrow Tumski
* Poznań: Rynek, Półwiejska Street, underground passages at Kaponiera roundabout.

### France

[edit]

* Paris: Montmartre, Notre Dame de Paris (Parvis)

### Greece

[edit]

* Athens: Ermou Street, Monastiraki, Nea Smirni
* Thessaloniki: Navarinou square

### Norway

[edit]

* Oslo: Karl Johans gate

### Italy

[edit]

* Bologna: Via indipendenza, Piazza Maggiore
* Rome: Piazza Navona
* Modena: Free city center
* Milan: Comune di Milano website
* Cremona: Free city center

### Sweden

[edit]

* Stockholm: Drottninggatan

## Oceania

[edit]

### Australia

[edit]

* Adelaide: Rundle Mall
* Brisbane: Queen Street Mall and Brunswick Street Mall
* Geelong: Geelong city centre[21]
* Melbourne: Bourke Street Mall and Southbank
* New South Wales: Echo Point in the Blue Mountains
* Sydney: Circular Quay, Devonshire Street Subway, Darling Harbour and Pitt Street Mall

### New Zealand

[edit]

* Christchurch: Cathedral Square and the Arts Centre
* Wellington: Cuba Mall
* Auckland: Queen Street, Auckland

## See also

[edit]

* Busking Day
* Category:Busking venues
* Circus skills
* Music Under New York
* Skomorokh
* Street artist
* Street painting
* Street theatre

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "BUSKERS TURNING DOWNTOWN STREETS INTO A STAGE". Rocky Mountain News. June 21, 1996. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
2. ^ "Chicago--yours for a song". Chicago Tribune. November 11, 1982. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
3. ^ "The Indestructible Beat of Bo Diddley". The Rolling Stone. Aug 11, 2005. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
4. ^ Carlozo, Louis R (Jul 17, 2008). "How the city's sidewalk performers get legal". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
5. ^ Cohan, Jillian (May 27, 2007). "ON 'BUSKER FRIDAYS,' MUSICIANS TAKE TO THE STREET". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
6. ^ "All the JAZZ". Daily Record (Glasgow, Scotland). January 11, 1997. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
7. ^ "Appalachian Festival kicks off at Coney Island". Middletown Journal. May 8, 2009. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
8. ^ "Background - Art on the Streets". Google Docs. Retrieved 2016-02-15.
9. ^ Date, MICHAEL CORCORAN (March 22, 1998). "Night-hopping and nostalgia in full SXSW swing". The Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
10. ^ "Way down south." St Paul Pioneer Press. March 21, 1996. Retrieved 2009-08-21.
11. ^ "Buskerfest Miami | Fostering a culture of street performance in Miami-Dade County". buskerfestmiami.com. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
12. ^ "Buskers Wanted: Fort Lauderdale Ramps Up Opportunities For Street Performers". WLRN. 2019-08-02. Retrieved 2024-01-05.
13. ^ "A Look at Life in Iran". Avax.news. Retrieved 2022-12-07.
14. ^ "redirect - /events-entertainment-culture/street-performers/page/1". 23 November 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
15. ^ "Busking | Transport for London". Archived from the original on 2013-02-14. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
16. ^ "A busker's tale | Street's Got Talent". Archived from the original on 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2013-02-10.
17. ^ "404 Not Found - Bath BID". Retrieved 23 September 2016. `{{cite web}}`: Cite uses generic title (help)
18. ^ "York busking badge scheme for buskers and street entertainers - Street trading and busking - City of York Council". www.york.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 2013-06-07.
19. ^ Council, Stratford-on-Avon District. "Street Performers: Stratford-on-Avon District Council". Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
20. ^ "New rules for city centre buskers". 13 June 2011. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
21. ^ "Busking". Retrieved 23 September 2016.