New busker regulation­s up for Council’s considerat­ion at Oct. 25 meeting

On Tuesday, Oct. 25, Asheville City Council will consider new rules that would limit acoustic performances in two of the city’s most popular busking areas, the sidewalk on Haywood Street in front of Woolworth Walk and the Flat Iron at Battery Park Avenue and Wall Street. Also: a grant to support affordable housing development on Simpson Street and a change to the city’s signage ordinance.

Off the beaten track: Freight trains, freedom and the traveling culture

Americans love to celebrate the iconic “hobo” lifestyle, yet we’re often quick to stereotype or judge the modern-day iteration of the traveler. Despite the risk of legal repercussions and personal injury, contemporary traveling culture continues to attract people from all walks of life to the rails and the road in search of the next horizon.

Council members defer busking regulation­s at Public Safety Committee meeting

Asheville city staffers, downtown stakeholders and local buskers turned out in force for the city’s monthly Public Safety Committee meeting Wednesday afternoon to discuss a city proposal for a pilot program regulating downtown public space. The meeting, which was preceded by a community forum with downtown stakeholders, came amid tensions over pilot program, which would add regulations to several […]

Perennial buskers Midnight Snack to make their indoor debut at Foggy Mountain Brew Pub

It’s hard to say whether Midnight Snack’s infectious busking sets are more likely to add a bit of pep to the pedestrian pace or to halt it altogether. Either way, the self-described art rock quintet, which made the move from Boston to Asheville several months ago, has been steadily building a presence among downtown’s streetside stages.

Asheville Buskers Collective continues discussing downtown busking issues

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 […]