Save Your Brum Buskers

Save Your Brum Buskers
Post Date January 28, 2022
Comments 0 Comments
Author
Category campaigns, PSPOs, Uncategorized
We’ve just received an email from Birmingham saying that are proposing to ban the use of amplification AND musical instruments from the main pitches along and adjoining New Street.
Clearly this would have a catastrophic effect on those busking in the city, and would also result in them being displaced to other locations that would likely be more residential and noise sensitive.
Please have a look at the published proposals and make your thoughts known.
What is very concerning about this consultation is the way it ‘leads’ the participant towards a particular response. The video itself is not representative of the normal activity in the proposed restricted area, and also has very little relevance to busking, which is what the order targets rather than noise nuisance from other sources. It requires fairly considerable effort and intelligence to actually fill it out in a way that expresses opposition to the imposition of the policy. Of course certain behaviour is not acceptable but it doesn’t follow that all busking needs to be controlled or that a PSPO is needed, or that it would be the most effective way of dealing with any problems that do arise.
Please also sign and share our petition against the measures here.
#SaveBrumBuskers
#SayNo2PSPO

Election time!!

Election time!!
Post Date November 05, 2019
Comments 0 Comments
Author
Category Uncategorized

As a politically independent non-profit we do not support any particular Party but what we do urge is that you question all your candidates on Public Spaces Protection Orders during the campaign.

Keep Streets Live opposes PSPO’s on principal as they impose blanket bans on behaviours regardless of whether or not any harm/loss is being caused. Clearly this is an ambitious target but we also believe that in the event that they are used:

– New PSPOs should be scrutinised independently to ensure they comply with Home Office guidance ( a FOI request discovered that the Home Office keep no record of PSPOs, meaning that there is no oversight to their implementation)

– Challenges/appeals against existing PSPOs should be free (they are currently too expensive for citizens) and those who have been fined as a result of them should be entitled to legal aid if they wish to appeal

– Private companies (such as Kingdom in Peterborough) should be barred from being contracted to issue fines

– Financial incentives (again, see Peterborough) to individual officers for issuing fines should be banned

Thank you London!!

Thank you London!!
Post Date August 31, 2019
Comments 4 Comments
Author
Category bards on boats, campaigns, events, Kensington, London, Uncategorized

After an amazing 3-day Buskers’ Pow-Wow on the canal we’d like to extend a massive thank you to everyone who attended, but especially Eric Ellman of Bards on Boats and the Union Tavern for hosting us. A big hand too for Sam Jordan from the Musicians’ Union who joined us for the Know Your Rights workshop, and Julia Gregory (Local Democracy Reporter) who joined us on Tuesday afternoon and wrote this article.

We set out to protest the Kensington & Chelsea busking bans but I feel here we now have the bones of a London-wide grassroots performers group, which will be able to take a more co-ordinated and holistic approach to busking across the capital rather than seeing pitches and issues in isolation. If this is something which you’d like to be part of please check out the Keep Streets Live in London Facebook group.

As you’ve all been so awesome we’d love to help you out so we’ve added a few of your tracks to our Spotify playlist and if you’ve got any photos/video from the event use the hashtags #KeepStreetsLive #SayNo2PSPO and #BuskersPowWow to make sure we can find them to like/share etc. Alternatively you can send by email to contact@keepstreetslive.com

We’re currently looking at the possibility of another canal-based London event later in the year, and certainly another full day of busking workshops in Manchester in early-November. If you’d like us to do something in your local area please let us know.

If you missed our workshops or would like to re-cap you can find the livestreams here:

Know Your Rights. Tech For Artists part 1. Tech For Artists part 2.

David Fisher being interviewed outside Harrods.
Tech For Artists workshop with GigRide, The Hat App and Charlotte Campbell.

Lauren Collins– Fresh on the London busking scene from New Zealand.
Cap’n Eric
Acoustic punk from the Leyton Cat Lady.
Hobo World Folk from Pandoras Diary– Sara and Maya
Busking debut for Street Music researcher Lizzie Bennett.
Melissa Otero treating us to some Latin grooves.
A special medal for street magician Nathan Earl for making all 3 days!
South London troubadour Patti Paige.
Know Your Rights!! Workshop with Keep Streets Live and the Musicians’ Union