NEW YORK — The Naked Cowboy of Times Square says he's dropping out of the race for New York mayor.Robert "Bob" Burck is a tourist attraction known for strumming his guitar in the square while wearing only briefs and a cowboy hat.

He entered the mayoral race in July with the slogan, “Nobody has done more with less.”

But now, he says he's had enough of the red tape that goes with a mayoral run.

He says the last straw came when the city's Conflicts of Interest Board fined him $250 for failing to file a required financial disclosure form.

Mr. Burck says the only way to be taken seriously is to appear in a suit and tie.

"And away he goes...skidmarks and all," said a Times Squar...

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(SHANGHAI) The magazine That's Shanghai has published a detailed account of a Laowai busker's adventures entitled "Streetside Serenade". Over the past few years, China has relaxed it's laws against any crowd forming in public.As Benjamin Lipschitz reveals, "I soon discovered the true beauty of sidewalks: all cities had them! I traveled to Shandong, Shaanxi, Fujian, Hong Kong and eventually Taiwan. I got more ambitious. I went to the United States and eventually to Mexico where I lived for a year and a half. Everywhere I went, I found that by seeking sustenance in the streets with my music, I could learn more about a place and its culture than by visiting tourist sites."

And that's just the beginning of a fascinating account of a true world-class...

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(INTERNET) The leaves are turning a fantastic color of orange in direct sunlight. Along with Fall comes the cold North wind blowing down the alley and snow finding it's way into the tiniest crevice. To top it off, the holidays are coming and we're considering presents to purchase.Busker's Holiday is a new work just published by author Adam Gussow, an associate professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi. It's the kind of book you want to curl up and read on a cold winter's night as you sit and contemplate next year's show. It warms your mind as you learn it's Summer all over again.

Gussow (or as the locals call him, Mister Satan) establishes Busker's Holiday as a story of one McKay Chernoff, a Columbia University grad student with a harmonica in his pocket and a blues band in...

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(LAWRENCE, KANSAS) It's hard to believe the Lawrence Busker Festival is celebrating it's tenth year keeping Lawrence weird. The festival will host over 50 difference acts on it's five downtown pitches. Included are fire displays, pogo stick acrobatics, break dancers, aerial artists, rubber chicken tricks, musicians and much more.The Great Escape will kick off the festivities where an escape artist will replicate Harry Houdini's feat of escaping from a strait jacket while hanging upside down two stories above the crowd. Other events include an attempt to to set the Guinness World Record for the most people attempting a water bottle flip. And it gets even better.

Street performers will soon become a regular sight in Lawrence. Thanks to a $5,000 City Hall grant, the city's Community Arts Grant Competition's...

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An interesting article at American Songwriter has an in-depth interview of the successful and creative busker by the name of Ori Rakib.Ori is an energetic soul. He's been busking in the New York subway for years. One day after losing his jacket, Ori said to himself, "Alright - I’m going to start busking until I make enough money to buy myself a new winter coat." Survival comes first in busking. Some of us have already been there. At times, it can be hand-to-mouth with even experienced buskers.

"Once you’re past that first stage where it’s not really about being 'good' or 'bad' anymore, you start to realize how many lives you are able to touch by just going out there, opening your mouth, and singing."

"You’re not a brand - You’re just a guitar and a voice. People don’t know you, y...

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