bands.
Info.
The Big Busk is a new music festival for downtown Portland.
These are the ingredients:
The idea is, for an entire afternoon, to saturate downtown with music. All kinds of music. Up and down Broadway, the transit mall, the park blocks to the esplanade.
There is no stage, but every corner is a stage. There is no audience, but everyone is the audience. There is no admission fee, but we trust attendees tip generously.
So it's kind of an experiment. It's also kind of an art project and a tongue-in-cheek celebration of creative defiance. Good music for tough times.
If you'd like to be a part, please send me an email at richard@thebigbusk.info.
News.
July 10
Big news announced today: Robert Wagner and Sabrina Miller are "putting together a crack team of commandos" who will roam the Busk and record interviews + performances for a special edition of their show. What we'll be bringing to the streets, they'll be bringing to the internet.
June 23
During their show today, Robert Wagner and Sabrina Miller say they've decided to take a personal interest in The Big Busk, and also give tips on tipping performers. That's friggin awesome.
June 19
The infamous and hilarious Robert Wagner of pdxsucks.com says The Big Busk "is the coolest thing I've heard of in several weeks." I couldn't agree more.
June 15
The Big Busk got a mention on the Portland Mercury music blog.
Busking.
To busk is to play music or otherwise entertain people in a public place for tips.
Many musicians get their start by busking, and some famous musicians take to the streets just for fun. When he was young, Beck busked his way around Europe and L.A. Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Simon and Garfunkel, Louis Armstrong, B. B. King, Norah Jones, Billie Holiday, Bon Jovi, Sting and Lou Reed have all played their music on downtown streets. In 2007, Joshua Bell played in the subway of Washington, D.C.
Buskers are a big part of what makes urban areas so fun. They invite us out of our iPods. They help make downtown beautiful.
In short, it's a respectable way to live one's art.
No permits are needed to busk in Portland. You should have no trouble from business owners or the police as long as you abide by the Street Musician Partnership Agreement and the sidewalk obstruction laws.