Busking Tonight

[hudsonhufham]

I successfully busked in my downtown area (Montgomery, AL) for the first time and I just wanted to thank y'all and share it with the community. It wasn't the best but like Kozmo said.. "Expect to suck at first, then get better."
It was very stormy and rainy but I was under a roofed area thankfully. The storms definitely hindered the amount of foot traffic and crowds. The workers in the area said that it was a slow night and to come again when it was good weather. I still ended up making $50 in 3 hours which isn't great but is better than nothing right? The experience was great also.
Basically the main way I got a crowd going was to start with kids (who loved Coins thru Table, Extreme Burn, and Messado Rings) then the adults realized what I was doing was amazing to them as well, and more people started to show up.

Thanks to everyone who helped and suggested things. Any advice is still welcomed!

 

[RickEverhart]

I do not busk but what you said is definitely true with most adults and magic. I perform a lot of strolling magic at various types of events. The parents typically kind of stand towards the back and don't want to seem excited and "into" it, especially in front of their peers. The minute they see that what you are doing is REALLY good material they will slowly partake. It typically starts with the kids and then the next thing you know the parents are right up there with them...open mouthed and wide eyed as well. Good job and keep at it. Experience at this point is more of a payoff then actual money. Perform perform perform.

 

[JButterfield]

"If you want to stop the world, stop a child," said Cellini in The Royal Touch.

A busking act that appeals to both young and old may be difficult to create, but will pay off in the end. While kids are a great audience that will build a good edge, they rarely have money with which to tip you.

 

[WyattSB]

"If you want to stop the world, stop a child," said Cellini in The Royal Touch.

A busking act that appeals to both young and old may be difficult to create, but will pay off in the end. While kids are a great audience that will build a good edge, they rarely have money with which to tip you.

While I've only ever briefly touched busking with magic, I have done it for a long time with contact juggling; and I quite disagree with that. Often yes, kids noticed first, which caused their parents to look, but I'd say that about the same amount of times a parent or adult would notice by themselves. Quite often a child would literally have to be dragged away from me by a parent who just wouldn't even notice I was there, I've seen a lot of people who just dont give a damn about what their kids are looking at; probably also about as frequently as this the parent would try and get their child to watch, and they child wouldn't, that is probably mostly just an intimidation/shyness thing though.

None of it really matters though, people are just the way they are, that becomes very evident when you start busking.

 

[hudsonhufham]

I got over 80% of my tips from parents who had children and were happy to see that their children were enjoying it.

 

[WyattSB]

I got over 80% of my tips from parents who had children and were happy to see that their children were enjoying it.

Well there you go, thats probably a little more than in my experience, but I'm sure thats because I was contact juggling and you were doing magic.