Rochester Needs Busking

Earlier today, City Newspaper held its Best Busker Contest. And it can honestly make that claim, because the other 364 days 19 hours of the year, busking is illegal in the City of Rochester (unless you get a permit and jump through a million other hoops).

For those who don't know what busking is, it's generally street performing for money. If you've been to any city with any kind of culture you will experience buskers. It's allowed on Saturdays at the Public Market, but of course it's controlled both in quantity and quality.

We have the Eastman School of Music, Hochstein School of Music, School of the Arts and a lot of good, independent musicians. The fact that we don't allow them to hone their craft on our corners is a shame. The musicians we have in this City would blow away any other City's and it would definitely lend to the City's character and culture.

Our musicians should be allowed to just pick a corner and play.

I encourage local musicians I know to comment here to explain in more detail exactly why the anti-busking laws we have should be dumped. You can explain this much better than I can. But I will say this, when elected, I will work to get busking allowed on the streets of Rochester. More live music is a good thing!

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commented 2020-01-01 10:13:10 -0500 · Flag

playing in front of others , for me, is an entirely different experience than playing alone at home. I’d just like to be able to pick a corner and play— no money— no contest— just get used to performing

commented 2014-01-14 09:42:41 -0500 · Flag

Rochester’s anti busking laws are unconstitutional. In Rochester its ok to protest and reside in tents in a city park for almost a year but its not ok for me to play music on the steeet corner for a couple hours. The law needs to ne changed for all local musicians and for our right of free speach.