Buskers are visible ambassadors of Asheville’s artistic community, and some downtown businesses say street performances create a convivial atmosphere. But for others who live and work downtown, amplified sound is a daily cacophony.

Buskers are visible ambassadors of Asheville’s artistic community, and some downtown businesses say street performances create a convivial atmosphere. But for others who live and work downtown, amplified sound is a daily cacophony.
For this year’s Taste of Asheville, Asheville Independent Restaurants will partner with the local busking collective to highlight the city’s street performers.
The city is seeking definition in its relationship with the busking community, and both buskers and businesses are speaking out about the issues that matter to them in hopes of fostering a healthy relationship in an area of the city where space is at a premium.
On Tuesday, Jan. 20, several members of the Asheville Buskers Collective met in the conference room above the French Broad Food Co-op for a post-holiday regroup, aiming to find consensus about what buskers do, who buskers are and whether (and how) enshrining their needs in city ordinances is a realistic possibility. Several weeks after a previous […]