drnathan747 - Posted - 09/02/2010:  07:08:57

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Hello, anyone have any experience with busking at Farmer's Markets? Does that seem to be a good place for that sort of thing, any money to be made there?

Do the Farmer's Markets charge a fee to busk there?, or would they welcome that sort of activity for its ambiance?

Thanks for your help,
Nathan

coelhoe - Posted - 09/02/2010:  07:34:42

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Varies quite a bit around the country. Check with local arrangements to find a spot without problems. Typically loud, noisy bustle. I've seen authorities round up players because they were impeding the flow of foot traffic. Typically also difficult for the public to hear. You'll need good back up.

Never heard of a fee being charged but I have seen access denied because of limited space.

DougD - Posted - 09/02/2010:  08:04:35

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I think it probably varies from market to market. I know I asked one of the smaller ones around here, and they said fine, but I never followed up on it. The largest one used to have informal music, but now they pay performers to play on Saturday mornings when they don't have other events (composting or quilting demonstrations and the like). I think you'll just have to visit the ones you have in mind and see what they say.

wooliver - Posted - 09/02/2010:  08:40:00

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i wouldn't do it totally uninvited.
I'd have to have at least one vender or promoter's invite.
Even better if the majority wants/knows you.
Good potential.
Seems like all gigs are better with a buddy too.

fiddler george - Posted - 09/02/2010:  11:17:47

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Grettings from Hot Springs Ar. every saturday at the farmers market here they have a band. I was called yesterday about our band playing but all they wanyed to pay was 50 dollars so we had to decline.hope this info helps.George

Christy - Posted - 09/02/2010:  12:03:25

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I haven't busked at a farmers' market, but I play at them regularly--you can't swing a dead cat here in Portland without hitting one--but you'll have to work to find a friendlier and more forgiving audience. Seems to me that anything that gets you out in front of people is gonna be good for your technique, and I really don't mind getting paid $50 to practice.
I usually take a few dollars out of the tip jar for the buskers who set up just beyond the market proper.

robinja - Posted - 09/02/2010:  12:05:13

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They seem to all work differently. One of the farmer's markets here hires an entertainer, one books entertainers but doesn't pay (allows you to make tips), one allows people to play for tips - first come, first served. I would think it would be best to contact the organizer of the particular market you have in mind and ask if it's OK.

Judy

FScholle - Posted - 09/02/2010:  12:36:21

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Friend of mine once asked the folks who run the Raleigh farmers market if they would let people play music. The answer was: No that would distract people from their shopping.


Probably the dumbest thing I had heard in a while.

fiddleplayer2 - Posted - 09/02/2010:  13:39:26

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Not farmers markets but I have seen people playing at flea markets and doing fairly well.

A few years back I was selling Boiled P-Nuts regularly at a local flea market and started taking my Banjo and other instruments and was making some goods tips and it helped my P-Nut sales.

I also had a couple of roadside spots I worked on a regular basis and again it helped a lot, People would stop to watch me pick and buy P-nuts or they would stop and request a song and tip.

If you can rent a spot and don't play to loudly I don't think you'd have a problem.









( FT )

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Edited by - fiddleplayer2 on 09/02/2010 13:57:58

ajisai - Posted - 09/02/2010:  17:14:09

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There are lots of farmers' markets in the Chicago area and a number of my friends play them. Hopefully someone will chime in with the details but it seems to me that they schedule musicians ahead of time and let them put out a container for tips. I think it really adds to the market atmosphere.

abinigia - Posted - 09/02/2010:  17:14:31

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I play with friends at a little market in Northern Ca. once a month, but it's definitely a scheduled thing. There are other local musicians scheduled to play the other weekends of the month. My advice is to avoid stepping on other people's toes. And if you do play at a market, or anywhere else where other people are playing, get far enough away that you're not in each others sound space.

Brian
briankwood.net/

abinigia - Posted - 09/02/2010:  17:16:11

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P.S. There's no money in it to speak of.

bj - Posted - 09/02/2010:  17:51:01

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When you play a farmer's market people aren't there to hear music, they're there to buy their veggies. It's a bust, even though they're nice places to play. Make more moolah out on the street.

fiddlepogo - Posted - 09/02/2010:  21:16:05

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That hasn't been my experience... the local Farmer's Market which I used to play at gets a LOT of traffic,
and if you play well and play your fiddling cards right, you can make beaucoup bucks.

1. Your tone needs to be reasonably sweet.. general public is not into SCRATCHY.
2. Your intonation needs to be good. General public is not into ignoring this for the sake of a cool fiddle tune.
3. You need some variety.... do whatever you can to avoid them thinking "It all sounds alike!" Variety in keys, time signatures (a couple of jigs and a few waltzes are good for this)
Variety in modal vs. major. Variety in obscure vs. familiar (I often use really well known waltzes for this... like Take Me Out To the Ball Game, How Much Is That Doggy In the Window?) Variety in instrumentals vs. songs (if you can pull this off- not all can sing, and singing with a fiddle is difficult for some- you already have a LOT going on). If you played an hour's worth of obscure hoedowns, all in the key of D, shame on you!!! Variety also helps foster good relations with the vendors near you. If they get sick of you and complain to the Farmer's Market management, they have clout!
I'm not saying you can't play ANYTHING obscure, but it's good to alternate them with familiar tunes, and the obscure stuff had better be the BEST obscure stuff!!! One for them (familiar), one for me (that I just plain LIKE). Variety is also good, because Farmer's Markets have people from ALL age groups- little kids to seniors and everything in between!!!
4. You need to interact a little and recognize who is getting into the music.
If someone stops to listen, once I finish the current tune, and especially if they donated, I'll try and guess roughly what they might be familiar with.
Seniors get Tennessee Waltz
Toddlers get Turkey in the Straw (they like the verses about the Bullfrog and the Toad)
or Old McDonald (with as realistic animal noises as I can muster) if I'm in a wild and crazy mood,
and maybe nursery rhyme tunes (which are usually jigs) if they hang around.
Adolescent girls get something Irishy sounding, maybe an O'Carolan harp tune.
40 and 50 somethings might get Shove That Pig's Foot or Ashokan Farewell since they may recognize them from the
respective movies they were used in the sound tracks of... or something modal, since they may like something exotic sounding.
You won't always guess right, but it works more often than not.
And if you have a little knot of happy people in front of you, it may cause others to "sit up and take notice' (even if they're standing)
and a flurry of dollar bills may come your way. Likewise if you can get the little kids a-dancin'!
If someone listens REALLY intently, and their eyes get a certain look, I guess they probably play fiddle or banjo,
or some kind of music, anyway,
and give them something classic and a little showy or bluegrassy like Blackberry Blossom.

And I nod or even say thank you when people put in money... ESPECIALLY if a little kid put in the money... I think that you being a good example for their kid is something the parents appreciate.

I'm not gonna say what my best take was, but it was a whole lot better than Joshua Bell's busking experiment!!!
Which makes me think that Farmer's Markets CAN be a whole lot better than a rush hour subway!
Usually my worst takes were still good enough that I could buy some gas with it and not be totally embarrassed
at the amount.
People may be there to buy veggies, but they don't mind having a good time if you can help them do that,
and will reward you if you do. They will also put in some of the produce they've bought!!!
And it's usually on their day off, so they usually have a little time to linger, unlike in the subway.

At another Farmer's Market I played, that is definitely a farm town a half an hour away, I definitely do more country-flavored stuff...
stuff more like I do for senior gigs- Golden Slippers, Red Wing, Eighth of January, Arkansas Traveller- the classics like that.
Stuff that people from a fiddling state like Arkansas or Oklahoma or Missouri would be sure to recognize, since a lot of the farmers and farm town people came from those states (or by now, their parents did). But at that one I got paid $50 by the management.
I do fewer modal tunes, nothing Irishy at all, and then I get out the banjo and guitar like I do at the senior gigs, do Stephen Foster and such on the banjo, and country-folk on guitar.

Although not all my song choices are what is considered Old Time today, the one's that aren't are usually easily recognized folk tunes that,
when you play them and think about them, sound like they were written by a fiddler for the fiddle, and they talk about the same things that Old Time songs do.... difficult traveling conditions and FOOD (usually poultry!!!).
So the difference is academic. And they are nearly all OLD or at least OLD-FASHIONED sounding.

For the "kitty" I recommend a brightly colored coffee can:
1. It's less of a trip hazard... people at a Market are NOT looking where they are going.
If they hit the coffee can, it'll move, and they won't trip. And it's brightly colored so they'll see it...
many fiddle cases are grey or black, neither of which stand out against asphalt.
I was even thinking of mounting the coffee can on a small orange traffic cone.
I also bungee some flyers to the coffee can.

I do recommend wearing SOMETHING a little old-fashioned and different.
Since you may be playing in the sun sometimes, a straw hat is practical.
Suspenders for guys "say" Old Timey without getting too extreme.
An old fashioned western or cowboy shirt works well in California, I dunno about the rest of the country.
If you have some kind of historical reenactment costume...why not???
Especially if you adjust the tune choice to match.

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Edited by - fiddlepogo on 09/02/2010 22:16:09

lg - Posted - 09/03/2010:  04:58:07

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Fiddle Pogo's comments are pretty close to my experience. We play as a band, which means no one goes home with a whole lot, but enough to make it worth doing. And we're out having fun and meeting folks. We do have to make sure it's OK with the market. Many markets here in Chicagoland schedule performers. Sometimes we go home with produce from the vendors.

ajisai - Posted - 09/03/2010:  10:54:02

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I played bass (sort of--it's not really my instrument) with a band at a market a few of times last year (lots of fun) and one of the people playing brought a limberjack. It was great fun and people walking by really seemed to enjoy stopping to watch and listen. I think Golden Slippers was one of the most popular tunes.

drnathan747 - Posted - 09/03/2010:  12:20:20

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Wow, thanks so much to everyone for sharing their suggestions and experiences about busking at Farmer's Markets. We've certainly got a wealth of information here on FHO with this stellar group. I really appreciate your willingness to share.

I am working on a tune/song list to use when busking. Golden Slippers (as mentioned) is an excellent one, and at the top of the list.

Thank you,
Nathan

drdosido - Posted - 09/05/2010:  09:03:26

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My 15-year-old daughter is in an old-time band doing the farmers market circuit in Chicago. The dad of the other two kids scheduled the dates with a variety of north suburban markets starting way back in the spring. None of them pay, but they allow the musicians to accept (hint at, beg for) tips. The kids split the tips 3 ways. Sometimes she comes home with $5. Every once in a while it's close to $50. Her bank account has grown by several hundred dollars this summer, and they still have a half dozen more dates to go. Of course it helps to be too young for a driver's license, talented and cute.

OTJunky - Posted - 09/05/2010:  09:11:55

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quote:

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Originally posted by drdosido

Of course it helps to be too young for a driver's license, talented and cute.

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Indeed it does...

But this supports FiddleJammer's observation that literally hundreds of dollars a year can be made by playing OT music...

--OTJ

drnathan747 - Posted - 09/05/2010:  09:42:11

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drdosido-- thanks for sharing your experience about your daughter's busking. I am looking into this for my son, who also is "too young to have a driver's license".

OJT-- glad to hear about your observation. Do you happen to have any suggestions for other money making venues?

Thanks,
Nathan

OTJunky - Posted - 09/05/2010:  09:56:33

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Well, the other common venue is playing in retirement homes and other facilities for the elderly.

These venues often need some kind of "inexpensive" entertainment, often prefer acoustic music to electric, and many members of the population there can be very appreciative of OT music. And, IMO, playing these venues makes the world a slightly better place...

There's a member here - fiddlepogo - who does this a lot and I think makes more money at this than at busking. I think you need to do some singing though and probably enhance the repertoire to include some well-known "favorites" - in the vein of "Golden Slippers", "Red Wing", etc.

Probably, he'll chime in. If not, send him private email about it.

--OTJ

drnathan747 - Posted - 09/05/2010:  10:27:53

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OTJ-- Thanks. I would be interested to hear more about playing senior centers with the possibility of getting paid, even if it was a modest amount.

My son did play at a senior center in June. He had a nice "favorites" repertoire worked out, including Red Wing, Tennessee Waltz, Turkey in the Straw, Danny Boy and such. That particular perormance was done on a volunteer basis and was well received.

My goal now is to have my son be able to make enough from his violin/fiddle playing that he could cover his own music costs--private lessons, new strings, bow rehairing, sheet music, etc., that way I can move on to covering the costs for my daughter who is just starting in 5th grade strings.

Thanks again,
Nathan

coelhoe - Posted - 09/05/2010:  18:42:39

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They call playing at senior centers a "volunteer" activity because, well,....people don't get paid, or rather getting paid is not the reason they play, but instead providing entertainment.

I've played with a group for almost five years now, Tuesdays and Thursdays afternoon, and we have a set schedule of senior center, rehab center, VA hospital where we play. We keep a repertoire of 170 pieces and we practice new material about every four weeks. We do mostly CW music 40-60's and few other favorites.

Having said all that. Each of the places we play does pay some one, under contract, once a month to perform. How these people got their contact is beyond me, but they all do the same thing: vocal with recorded backup, and it is all what I would call uptown soporific religious music, gospel in theme but very mellow. Each plays all up and down the Front Range from Pueblo to Cheyenne and so they get back to us about once a quarter. They each use the very expensive Bose set up, and so far we have managed to never being playing at the same time.

Anyway, on that basis, I guess it is possible to get a paying gig in such places.

We had one fellow in the band who quit in disgust when a VA social director offered him a coupon for a free dinner at Denny's. "That's not why I do this," he said, and he hasn't been back.

OTJunky - Posted - 09/05/2010:  18:52:22

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quote:

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Originally posted by coelhoe

We had one fellow in the band who quit in disgust when a VA social director offered him a coupon for a free dinner at Denny's. "That's not why I do this," he said, and he hasn't been back.

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I dunno - without hearing more, my sympathy's lie with the social director...

--OTJ

drnathan747 - Posted - 09/05/2010:  19:14:41

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coelhoe-- Thanks for your post. I think it is wonderful what you and your group are doing, by volunteering to play at senior centers. I am sure the seniors that you play for deeply appreciate what you do for them by providing live music that they might not otherwise be able to enjoy.

My son and I had a great time at the center where he played, and the residents seemed to enjoy it as well. I am sure that we will do other/many volunteer performances in the future.

Still, I am trying to learn about ways that my son can make a contribution toward his own musical expenses, and perhaps some day down the road make a living at it. It seems that if one is not in the top 1 or 2 percent of the music business, where the big names are making big money, that one needs to consider earning an income in music from multiple sources, such as gigging, giving private lessons, writing music (if one is able to), perhaps playing in a symphony. Many of the musicians that I have run across here do combinations of these things, and some have so called "day jobs" so they can play the music they love at night.

Anyway, to me it is interesting to see what is available, and it always pleases me to see an artist rewarded for their talents and hard work.

Just my two cents,
Nathan

Diane in Chicago - Posted - 09/06/2010:  06:09:36

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I have a college friend who is a very accomplished violinist. She has a Chicago busking license and played downtown around the Art Institute all this summer and did very well. She had a sign in her case asking for help paying for music college. She noted the contributions increased a great deal once she added the sign. Folks want to help out!

coelhoe - Posted - 09/06/2010:  08:57:43

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OTJ: The fellow was / is quirky, to say the least, and I never quite understood his reasoning. I told him to take the coupon and give it to his church or the homeless shelter or other such places.

Dr. Nathan: Let me give you another business model for playing music. Ten years ago, I met a fellow at our local Barnes and Noble on a Saturday afternoon. He was playing hammered and lap dulcimers, mostly the former, in the coffee shop area of the store. B&N let him set up because of the audience he drew. He used a small but sophisticated PA system. He had rack of CD's he had produced at home on his computer, six or seven different titles, such as "The Hammered Dulcimer at Christmas," "HD songs for autumn," and so forth. You get the idea. The albums sold for $20. He asked people to sign his log book with comments and email addresses. In the course of the afternoon, he did three 30 minute sets.

He played somewhere within 150 miles of his house, near Boulder, Colorado, every weekend, and that year he had grossed over $125,000 between email sales and sales at his performances. Over the decade he has expanded quite a bit and now travels to smaller festivals. During the time he was building his audience list, he was a part-time youth minister.

Let me give you another example. You may not have heard of Chris LeDeux, who made a rodeo career and a CW career at the same time. He died a few years ago. But his music career started when he was in high school. His father, an insurance professional, would go to Nashville each year, starting in the seventies and hire a studio and professional musicians. Chris' songs were mostly about ranch life and rodeo. But here's the important part: For many years, he only sold his product in one outlet: Western Horseman magazine, a small ad in the classifieds. With this he gradually built a major career, but on his own terms and time frame.

It seems to me the thing to keep in mind when you mention the music business is that the larger of those two words is "business" and not "music."

There used to be a very useful publication titled "Making Money Making Music." This book covered many of things you mention, such as lessons, performance, etc. It is possible to make a lifetime plan for a kid to be able to "do" music as whole life as a career and have a decent income. Please don't take this wrong, but from my experience in and around the music business since 1965 (which has some validity, I think), it is naive to put all of your eggs in such a basket for your child at this point. Some people are just in the right place at the right time. Others have that timing success only to find that their skills are really not in the same league. Others can play just fine but are psychologically not equipped for constant performance. Others have all of those talents and get seduced away into other careers that have a steady paycheck, and just lay down their music forever.

Others find a rewarding musical life in gospel music, either constantly touring, or working in production for mega-churches.

I can give you true examples of all of these, off line, if you would like.

For most people, the sacrifices of a music career are just too hard, which is one reason why you find a lot of great musicians as music educators (also why a lot of wonderful artists are art teachers).

The musical success story I think I love the best was a young man, a high school student of mine, who played violin starting with the elementary group, joined the Irish and OT group in Jr. High, and played in the high school orchestra for four years. But personally, he got interested in other, shall we say, "lifestyles," goth bands, way out music, tatts and t-shirts that his parents could not understand or accept. It was a very difficult time for everyone. He went college on a music scholarship and upon graduation, auditioned on violin with a well known goth band touring group that plays Europe several times a year. His family have come to accept the costumes and the stage make-up and they proudly travel great distances now to hear him. But those were earlier difficult years and not at all what the family expected when they encourage a musical career.

Be careful what you wish for.

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Edited by - coelhoe on 09/06/2010 09:01:09

drnathan747 - Posted - 09/06/2010:  10:50:12

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Diane in Chicago-- Thanks for your notre. That is a valuable tip, and I have been thinking about having a sign and what should go on it. Nice to hear about your friend's experience.

Nathan

OTJunky - Posted - 09/06/2010:  10:57:00

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quote:

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Originally posted by coelhoe

But personally, he got interested in other, shall we say, "lifestyles," goth bands, way out music, tatts and t-shirts that his parents could not understand or accept. It was a very difficult time for everyone. He went college on a music scholarship and upon graduation, auditioned on violin with a well known goth band touring group that plays Europe several times a year. His family have come to accept the costumes and the stage make-up and they proudly travel great distances now to hear him. But those were earlier difficult years and not at all what the family expected when they encourage a musical career.

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This is the problem with children - eventually they develop a mind of their own and often head in an unanticipated direction.

The only safe thing to do is raise them until about age 12, then put them up for adoption...

Glad to hear this eventually turned out well for both the family and their son..

--OTJ

drnathan747 - Posted - 09/06/2010:  11:03:07

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coelhoe-- Thank you for your post. I appreciate your taking your time to share from the wealth of your experience. I appreciate your sharing examples from y our experience.

I have to agree with you, about not putting all your eggs in one basket. My son may indeed end up going along a different path, and hopefully that will be fulfilling for him whatever that may be. He is young, and capable, and so probably could be successful at many different endeavors.. At this point he still seems to be drawn to the musical field, so I am trying to support his interest along those lines.

Again thanks for your comments and examples, found them to be very interesting,
Nathan

Diane in Chicago - Posted - 09/06/2010:  11:10:54

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It also gave her performing practice -- different from the kind of practice she'd get at home in her studio. Playing a 4 hour "show" several times a week is a good workout.

quote:

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Originally posted by drnathan747

Diane in Chicago-- Thanks for your notre. That is a valuable tip, and I have been thinking about having a sign and what should go on it. Nice to hear about your friend's experience.

Nathan

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fiddlepogo - Posted - 09/06/2010:  12:04:47

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quote:

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Originally posted by OTJunky

Well, the other common venue is playing in retirement homes and other facilities for the elderly.

These venues often need some kind of "inexpensive" entertainment, often prefer acoustic music to electric, and many members of the population there can be very appreciative of OT music. And, IMO, playing these venues makes the world a slightly better place...

There's a member here - fiddlepogo - who does this a lot and I think makes more money at this than at busking. I think you need to do some singing though and probably enhance the repertoire to include some well-known "favorites" - in the vein of "Golden Slippers", "Red Wing", etc.

Probably, he'll chime in. If not, send him private email about it.

--OTJ

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drnathan already asked about retirement homes in another thread, and I think I gave it my best shot there
(probably around last May).

I don't think singing is absolutely necessary in such facilities.

Aside from just playing well, the important thing is that the tune or song be something stashed in the residents long term memory banks. I started with the premise that almost anything I'll remember from my childhood in the 50's and early '60's will also be remembered by the next older generation that I'm performing for.
After that, I pay attention, and watch for positive reactions: smiles, happy tears, lips moving as people sing the words they remember. If I get that, I know it's HOT.
Red River Valley, You Are My Sunshine, Tennessee Waltz, and King of the Road are the lodestones for this reaction. It's not unusual to have half to most of the people in the activity room singing along!!!
With Tennessee Waltz, they'll start singing while I'm playing the melody on the fiddle, before I even sing it myself.
And occasionally I learn a song that's requested- usually what I do is FINISH learning a song that I myself half-remember from my childhood or teenage years. If you get more than one request for the same tune,
it's usually an indication that it was a hit back when, and will be a hit now.

To really do this well, you kind of have to become a student of a generation's taste in music.
What you are really doing is musical time travel, because by pressing the right memory buttons,
it takes people BACK to another place.
It's easiest with your own generation of course, but with your own generation there's no guarantee that YOU won't be the one in the wheelchair needing entertainment. So your parent's generation is a good place to start. And the likely suspect is anything that was a blockbuster hit that year. Or a particular well-known singer's BEST song (or two). Television themes and advertising jingles are also good for a laugh.
(I often sing a few when I'm setting up)

If I'm still able to perform, I'm thinking that in 5 to 10 years, I might have to transition forward to mostly 50's and 60's material.... actually maybe I'd better start now!!!!

As far as Old Time
Arkansas Traveler
Golden Slippers
Eighth of January
Turkey in the Straw
Chicken Reel
Sailor's Hornpipe (the Popeye connection!)
Listen To the Mockingbird
Redwing
Buffalo Gals.
are the core of what I do...
plus a couple of jigs, maybe Westphalia Waltz and Mockingbird Hill.
I usually start with the oldest material, and then go forward to the newest and most modern.

Other songs that can be played Old Time style with drones and shuffles, and sound good that way:
Old Dan Tucker
Yellow Rose of Texas (standard song tune, not the Tommy Jarrell version)
She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain
Old McDonald Had a Farm.
(Yes, it's a kid's song, but most seniors were parents of small children once, and may have fond memories of their kids singing it).

Busking at Farmer's Markets and senior performing actually fit well together-
at least if the Farmer's Market is Saturday morning like ours is.
Most senior facilities have minimal activities staff on weekends (they are the ones that actually get the people to your performance if they are "mobility challenged), and most visits from family take place on Saturday and Sunday. So most facilities want to schedule performances for their residences during the week.
I'm much more likely to be at a jam session Saturday than in a senior facility performing, although there are exceptions.

I've actually made more on my highest busking take than I do at senior facilities, but the senior facilities are more reliable- you can do them year round, rain or shine- unless you have the flu (then they don't want you coming in!!!) And if there are enough senior care facilities locally, you could conceivably schedule a gig nearly every day.

Another good gig is private parties, but those aren't reliable.
I've gotten contacts for gigs by busking, and Saturday I got a gig by hosting a jam,
and one of the cafe patrons was looking for music for an event next weekend.
But to get them, you have to be "out there" in the public eye, and both senior gigs and busking WILL do that... along with public jams.

The one venue I haven't done much with is playing in cafes (besides jamming in two of them).
In fact, I've only done one cafe gig. It went well, but somehow I'm not really thrilled about performing solo in cafes... I could see doing it as a duo with the right partner.
Part of the issue is age (I'm 58). To seniors, I'm still young, for cafe audiences, I'm ANCIENT!
And part of performing is stage patter. Jokes, little stories, introductions to songs.
I've developed a style of patter that works well for seniors, but cafes aren't the same.
I'd rather perform as a duo partly for the harmonies, the opportunity to just relax and play backup, and to let someone else come up with clever things to say. Also, I've found I can't do two solo gigs as a performer in one day without being totally wiped out the next day. Doing a solo gig at a cafe after I've done one at a senior facility in the afternoon wouldn't work for me at this point.

One issue in all kinds of performing is your ability to draw.
I've been told I'm pretty good at drawing seniors out of their rooms!!!
In cafes, what the management wants is performers that can draw people to their cafe, that can be part of the competitive difference that causes people to prefer them over Cafe X.

The ability to draw can actually be a problem at a Farmer's Market- if too many people are listening to you and not circulating, the veggie vendors are NOT gonna be happy!!!! A local jug band caused problems that way.

So perhaps you could see that busking is kind of a test run for a performer... it tests not only your playing ability, but your ability to draw... and if you're too successful to the point of blocking traffic (foot or otherwise),
then you can and should graduate to another venue!!!

drnathan747 - Posted - 09/06/2010:  12:54:52

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fiddlepogo-- Thank you for your post. I am always amazed by the wealth of knowledge that the FHO community has, and the members willingness to share that knowledge.

Yes, I did have a post on senior centers a while back, and got many fine responses, which I credit for a successful outting. It was a big help in terms of selecting appropriate tunes/songs, as well as understanding the nature of the venue itself.

This thread, on "Busking at Farmer's Markets...", has once again been a big help, and although the information cann't possibly cover every situation we might run into, I know it will help us to be better prepared, not just musically but also professionally.

fiddlepogo, thanks again, I really appreciate your post,
Nathan.

frogeyes - Posted - 09/06/2010:  13:31:48

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I go busking with a harpist friend of mine at our local farmers market .They don't pay us we get what people place in our hat. (Otherwise it wouldn't be busking) Somedays we will get $50 bucks other times a couple hundred. But almost certainly 9 times out of 10 we get a wedding out of it which makes busking very lucritive for us. If anything its good practise and it gets your name out there for gigs that pay. Ienjoy the gigs we do for free it reminds you to keep humble. Check with the organiser of your market I don't know about over there but here in New Zealand you need a permit to busk so you may want to check that out too.