Musical Busker in the Guardian!

On Saturday 21 June Musical Busker appeared in an article about student jobs in the Guardian. Busking was recommended as a more interesting alternative to part-time bar or restaurant work, and a good way to promote yourself as a musician.

Take a look at the article here.

Bromley Arts Festival - Performing Opportunities

Bromley Arts Festival (11 to 13 July) are offering musicians the opportunity to perform for around 50,000 people on the Festival outdoor stage in the Market Square on Bromley High Street. They're looking for musicians of all kinds to perform for 15 minutes each on Sunday 13 July.

There's also a 'Battle of the Buskers' on Bromley High Street for you to compete in on Saturday 12 July. The competition will take place from 10am to 3pm, with each busker performing for 60 minutes each on designated pitches (not on the main stage). You'll have the opportunity to collect money and compete for a 'judge's prize' and 'popular prize', voted for by the public.

To get involved contact Parrabbola on baf@bromleymytime.org.uk or 07530 603 945 for further information and an application form.

Gig for blues guitarist in London

Bodean's BBQ Smoke House are looking for a blues guitarist to help promote the opening of their new restuarant in Tower Hill, London. They're willing to pay a fee and expenses for the right musician. The gig would be on Friday 11 July from 12pm to 2pm in an outside location near the restaurant.

To get an idea of the type of music they're looking for visit their website - www.bodeansbbq.com.

If you're interested get in touch with Courtney on courtneywinstone@btconnect.com.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe busker passes

If you're planning on busking at the Edinburgh Fringe this year (3 to 25 August) make sure you get your High Street pass application in before Monday 7 July 2008.

High Street Performer passes allow buskers and other street artists to book performance time on the High Street, the hub of all Fringe activity in Edinburgh. Thousands of people flock to this area over the 3 weeks of the festival - sometimes it's quite difficult to move - so you won't be short of an audience!

The Fringe are introducing charges for all street performers this year, including buskers. These vary from £5 for a one-off show up to £50 for the whole 3 weeks.

For more information and to apply for a pass visit www.edfringe.com.

Volunteers wanted for charity walk

Volunteer buskers are wanted to provide entertainment for a 5k charity walk in Bournemouth on 15 June. The walk will raise money for Leukaemia Research.

Unfortunately there'd be no chance to collect money, but you'd receive all the publicity associated with the walk and get a 'thank you' on the Forget me not Walks website. The organisers may be able to cover travel costs.

If you can help out then Kath, the walk co-ordinator would love to hear from you on kharrison@LRF.org.uk.

Busking competition in Matlock

Have fun performing and do your bit for charity at the same time by competing in Matlock Live's annual BuskIt competition. The competition is part of a larger local festival that takes place on 21 and 22 June around Hall Leys Park in Matlock, Derbyshire.

At 1pm on Saturday 21 June buskers of all types and ages are invited to perform either in Hall Leys Park or Matlock Town Centre. All proceeds will go to Aquabox, a charity that supplies safe drinking water to people in need all over the world.

There will be a special prize for the busker who collects the most money, and they'll also be featured on the Matlock Live website.

If you'd like to get involved visit www.matlocklive.co.uk and fill in the downloadable form.

New Busker Spotlight - The Howes Band

The Howes Band are a family ceilidh band from South Yorkshire. They perform folk tunes and also classic rock under the name of 'Pale Lilac'! Find out more here.

If you'd like to be featured in the next Busker Spotlight, just send an mp3 of a performance and a photo of yourself to admin@musicalbusker.co.uk.