(ARIZONA) You wouldn't think Arizona would have come this far - but Downtown Phoenix, Inc. thinks the time is right. Lo and behold, there's music and performing where there once was none. It seems the desert southwest has caught the busker bug.

From flea markets to sporting events to outdoor malls, there are buskers plying their trade and free to now express themselves artistically. The times - they are a changin'.

And why not? Making a more vibrant community can only enhance revenue for the cities thru increased sales in shops and restaurants.

The atmosphere is rhythmically changing into something we can all appreciate when we try. Add a dash of interviews and you've got a nice recipe for explaining Busker Nation.

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(SEATTLE) Believe it or not, buskers can end up in the strangest of good fortune. It's happened before and it will happen again. All it takes are some good busking skills and a little luck.Enter Whitney Monge - a busker in Seattle's famed Pike Place market. She soon found herself making more money busking than working at the big corporate coffee shop down the street.

Whitney spent over eight years at the market and, although having moved on, still considers it "100% home". She also had to weather the pandemic experience.

What's Whitney doing these days? Nothing much - just singing and playing guitar with the Seattle symphony as part of their Essential Series.

Check out the interview and video at KNKX public radio station's website through the link below.

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Website: www.stcbuskerfest.com

The inaugural St Catharines International Busker Festival will welcome artists from around the globe performing over 100 acts during the three days of the Festival. All performances will take place in downtown St Catharines with the temporary closure of James St. to Church Street, and a sweeping corridor along King Street to include Market Square. Performances are slated for six stages (5 outdoor) as buskers entertain crowds with unforgettable acts. The festival is a community event for all ages and marks the first of its kinds in the Niagara Peninsula.

Niagara Inflatables Kidz Stage will host an inflatable playground for children to welcome the youngest of us into a world of make believe. Suitcase in Point Theatre Company (SIP) along with Lyndesfarne Theatre Projects (LTP) will produce The Late Night Cabaret (Saturday, August 13, 2011) with creative staff Deanna Lynn Jones and all Buskers. Visit the website for more details!

(AUSTRALIA) Chayne Hultgren a.k.a. "The Space Cowboy" has just set a new Guinness worlds record by swallowing 18 razor-sharp swords. The brave performance artist acomplished the feat by swallowing the 72cm swords in Sydney. "The Space Cowboy" beat his own 2008 record of 16 and used different throat stretching methods to perfect the art.

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(NYC) Times Square busker and street-performer Bob Burck has filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against CBS over a 'Bold and the Beautiful' promo. Burck filed for trademark on his act back in 1997. He now seems content to sue mega-conglomerates with questionable legal teams for his livelihood. M & M Mars was his previous infringement suit which was settled out of court.

This time around, he's accusing the CBS network of using a guitar-toting drunken fool in a cowboy hat and underwear to promote a TV soap opera. However, as Bob has mentioned in his "brief" run for NYC mayor, "Nobody will take you seriously without wearing a suit", so he's gearing up for his court date and sending his suit out to the cleaners.


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