(TEXAS) Austin is using a bankroll of $150,000 in private funds from site developer Trammel Crow to create a Busking Pilot Program in the new Green Water development in the Seaholm District downtown.“Busking is a hugely overlooked art form. From it, you can gain exposure, a surprisingly diverse fan base, other paid performance opportunities, paid practice time in front of a live audience, and perhaps make enough to live on. Many benefits can be gained from an underrated thing such as street performance if you really work at it. It is definitely something that every artist should take advantage of especially where it is open for anyone and everyone.”

The music office plans to pay musicians to perform at the development each weekend for a full year. They are currently accepting applications from street mus...

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Move over Penélope and Scarlett - a struggling musician-turned-diva is the real feelgood story behind Woody Allen's new movie.

When British cinemagoers flock to Woody Allen's latest film Vicky Cristina Barcelona this week, they are likely to have been drawn by the triple attraction of Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson and Javier Bardem, who star in the tale of a love triangle conducted in one of Europe's most charismatic cities. But in Catalonia the true hero of the film is an Italian busker who has never been anywhere near the studios of Hollywood.

The film has already garnered a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination, but last week a less publicised award - a Catalan film festival award for best original music - went to Giulia Tellarini, whose "Barcelona" forms the opening soundtrack to the film and has already been adopted by the city's tourist board.

Tellarini and her band a...

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(BOULDER) It's more popular than ever. This month, Busker Central has reached a pinnacle point of three thousand unique members. This landmark achievement exemplifies the power of the internet and the need to know all about busking and street performing. It showcases the research being performed and illustrates how we, as part of the human race, can and do make a difference.Launching in 2005 and standing it's ground, Busker Central has managed to carve out it's niche on the world wide web. There was the Busker Central reference website long before social mega-sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and all the rest ever existed. Reference video shot for Busker Central dates back to 1995.

Busker Central is about the world's arts and humanities. People thrive with diversity and by making Busker Central accessible,...

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(ENGLAND) Busker and supply teacher Phil Gray was happily busking away when a passerby casually took the hat off Gray's head and disappeared.It all seemed to be a joke until the grim reality set in. The hat was gone - never to be returned.

Fortunately, an audience member was shooting a video with his cell phone of Gray performing when the incident occurred.

Gray claims the creep who stole his hat had talked with him several times earlier in the day.

In the video, you actually see the crime committed. The thief was later picked up but no hat was to be found.

Full story and video

We've all found ourselves at one point or another staring in fascination at a busking mime or a talented street musician.In recent years, busking, the term for performing in public places usually for money from the crowd, has grown into an organized art form complete with professional networks, associations and showcase festivals around the world.

Here in the United States, cities such as Miami, San Francisco, New York and New Orleans have become known for their thriving busking scenes.

Take Maria for instance. A longtime busker in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Maria acts as a human statue, completely still, covered in metallic gold paint and dressed in a matching antique wedding gown. While one may think Maria, often referred to as the Jilted Bride, just stands there doing nothing, her motionless presence...

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