Getting a Pitch

YOU DO NOT NEED A LICENSE TO BUSK IN BATH

In most of Bath, getting a pitch is quite straightforward: you just turn up, and if the space is free you can play there. Busking in the Abbey Churchyard is by rota (see below).

Buskers who play in the main shopping streets - Union Street and Stall Street - tend to make informal arrangements among themselves.

You need to bear in mind the Council's Code of Practice, which states that you should not play within 50 metres of another performer. This is common sense.

If someone is busking where you want to play, just ask them what time they plan to finish, and if you can take over from them. The chances are they will be glad of the oportunity to take a break. Don't just set up right next to them and start playing in the hope that they will go away. You are more likely to really annoy them and everybody else who has to listen to the resulting chaos.

Bath is a small place, and the regular buskers tend to get to know each other. In our experience what goes around comes around, and if you treat other buskers with respect and consideration, you'll generally get it returned. The opposite is also true.

Busking in the Abbey Churchyard

This is a bit more formal. There is a daily rota which is decided at a buskers meeting at 10 o'clock each morning in the Abbey Churchyard. This is open to anyone who wants to busk in the churchyard. Each pitch lasts for an hour. There is no audition but you will be expected to follow the council's Code of practice.

If you play in the Abbey Churchyard on a summer evening you can expect the Bizzare Bath comedy tour to show up at around 9.30pm. It's customary for the buskers to stop playing until they have finished (which takes about 10 minutes).

There is also a guide to busking in Bath which you can download here.