Cities Battle To Limit Street Musicians

By Steve Goldstein
Published: Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 4:10pm
Updated: Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 4:49pm
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(Photo zoetnet- CC BY 2.0)
Guitar busking outside the Pompideau Centre in Paris.

To a lot of people hearing varieties of music on a street corner is one of the highlights of a community — a unique part of the character and feel, but a number of cities across the country and around the world have put limits on who can play and where they can play.

Tempe currently has restrictions on street music — or busking. Buskers may have a hat or bowl for collecting donations, but they don’t aggressively ask for money.

Tempe Councilman Joel Navarro spoke about changes he’d like to see, and Jonny Walker of the London-based “Keep Streets Live” spoke of battles over busking in the United Kingdom.

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