Whether you're a beginner or seasoned pro, there's always room for improvement when it comes to busking. Amazon has started carrying interesting books written by and for buskers for the worldwide busking community. Both fiction and non-fiction are covered in 6 amazing pages.Topics include making cash doing what you love, various how-to guides, essays about street performing, stepping out into the streets for the first time, enjoying public life, balloon busking, busking beyond borders, busking as a mercenary art, notes from London's underground, fire breathing, a busking bible, European street musicians, surviving half alive, songs sang on Bleecker street and other popular venues - all sharing tips, secrets and dreamy wishes from the pros. There's even a music book for a guide to busking....

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(WWW) A website by Isaac Wexler has included a history of busking as a means to promote his courses on successful street-performing. A busker for over ten years, Busker Pro is his way of giving back the knowledge and experience of his career as a busker.Some interesting notations include the furthest recorded history of law affecting buskers in ancient Rome back in 462 BC. It was made a criminal offense to sing or make parodies about the government or officials in public places. The result was a very harsh death penalty to the performers without noble protection from the privilege of justice.

Another was in 1530 when Henry VIII ordered the practise of minstrels and players, fortune-tellers, pardoners and fencers, as well as beggars that if they did not obey the law, they could be whipped for two days....

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(MINNESOTA) The fair city of Minneapolis is now paying buskers and street performers to add culture to the downtown area.Thanks to the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District (DID), streets will be more vibrant as the city encourages entertainers rather than shooing them away.

The DID Street Show pays performers $50 an hour (more if you have a duo or trio act) in addition to whatever they make in tips.

The downtown organization felt that the busking scene could get a boost by offering entertainers a guaranteed payment.

In Minneapolis, busking is legal as long as performers are on public property, don’t obstruct traffic and don’t violate noise ordinances.

But even a great artist can be met with indifference when trying to coax hurried pedestrians to stop, listen and open their wallets.

For more information on ...

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(NEW ORLEANS) Celebrating 300 years in the making, New Orleans is currently busy with Mardi Gras, Jazz, and the French Quarter festivals. A visit by Busker Central reporters for a month reveals some interesting developments along with a deep history.Bourbon street in "da qwada" is traditionally known for it's late-night activities, bars, drunks, fights, and arrests. It's still a wild place but not too suitable for busking. Jackson Square mall is known for it's daytime bands, painters, and psychic readers. Now, one block off Bourbon, Royal street is really nice and becoming popular for buskers both day and night. Among the historic quaint shops, several jazz bands and others buskers have sprung up. And who can blame them? It's probably the best single street that embodies the French Quarter at it's best....

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(LONDON) Striking photographs from nearly 70 years ago show some of London’s most colourful street performers wowing the crowds in the mid-20th Century.The incredible images at the Sun display a fearless acrobat flinging themselves through a small head-height hoop, a Charlie Chaplin impersonator ‘snake charming’ in front of a captive audience, and disabled ex-servicemen performing to the passing crowds.

Another stunning photo shows a banjo player being ably assisted by his pet pooch and a gentleman quietly concentrating as he plays a tune on what appears to be a Zither – a stringed instrument which is fiercely difficult to master.

The shots capture a post-war Britain, still labouring under rationing laws but blinking in the light of a blossoming economy.

Check out the link below for more amazing vintage...

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