Musician George Goode plays along State Street on Friday. The city of Bristol, Tenn., has begun a new downtown program called Bristol's Busk Stop. The program will allow artists, or buskers, an opportunity to showcase their talent. The performers must obtain a permit and play in one of three marked spots. Performers will be allowed to accept donations in city allocated donation boxes. (Photo by Christopher Bradshaw|Special to the Hearld Courier)
*** Published Saturday, Sept. 5 in the Bristol (Va.) Herald Courier. ***
BRISTOL, Tenn. – The city has launched a program to encourage performers to display their talents at designated downtown spots billed as "busk stops."
Known as "Busk Stop Central," the program will allow performers – including jug musicians, avant-garde mimes, tap-dancers, orange jugglers, rubber-band pluckers, bongo players, Flamenco guitarists, spoken-verse poets, Austin Powers imitators, Renaissance Fair re-enactors and other artists – to legally do their thing at specified downtown locations and receive donations from passers-by.
"Busk" refers to an old English term for street performers, known as "buskers."
A performer must apply for a free city permit to perform at one of three designated areas, all on State Street. The busk stops are marked with medallions in the sidewalk.
For details, contact the Bristol Department of Community Relations at (423) 764-4171. Information also is available online at http://www.bristolorbusk.com.
