Perth Buskers

I spend quite a bit of time in the city, and I have to say we are experiencing a good run when it comes to buskers and street performers. From the violin/​loop station guy captivating teenage girls and hipsters alike, to the break dancing spaceman with Elton John sunglasses in Murray st mall, Perth has something for almost everyone. my personal favorite is definitely the bass playing dinosaur mask guy: the dude can really play! For those of you heading out for drinks or waiting for a train outside the Murray st station, there’s a fairly new semi-​professional group on drums/​guitar on Friday nights that always draws a crowd (although in that part of the city it’s not always a friendly one!) If you have spare coins in your pocket, why not show your appreciation to these talented girls and guys who help brighten up our city with music free of charge :-)

Perth’s troop of talented street performers are definitely worth a few snap shots. You’ll find them scattered throughout Murray Street Mall and Hay Street Mall, playing a variety of instruments, waving fans, singing the blues, serenading young girls with indie-​rock tunes, or decorating the pavement with their art work. Compared to other tourist hot spots, Perth’s buskers seem to be a bit more multi-​cultural and diverse. Maybe it’s just me, but the hipster with an acoustic guitar look is a little bit cliché. Meh.
My favourite? Has to be the Geisha girl. I’m not sure if her dance requires much talent but she’s quite graceful and proves to be a nice reprieve from Wolfmother covers.

There is some real musical talent in Perth in fact not just musical, all sorts of creative talent. Perth Buskers make the likes of Hay Street and Murray Street a lot more exciting to walk down. They create a really nice vibe.
There is one busker in particular that stood out to me as I was walking down Murray Street. Normally I only stop for a few minutes to see the buskers or even just slowly walk past. But this guy Sam Perry stopped me in my tracks. I stayed and watched his whole set.
I dont know how he does it but he makes entire songs just using his mouth and a loop station. It was amazing to watch and the rest of the crowd must have thought so too. I bought his CD and it is amazing, it is really clever. It is people like him that showcase what Perth has to offer. It was really different and I am now a big fan going to his shows around Perth.
I just want to say RIP to the amazing piano man, I don’t know his name although I wish I did, but he used to play on Murray St almost everyday, your music is greatly missed.

With most cities, buskers are a common sight — people who ply their ability to perform, in some way, in exchange for your spare change. Perth has its share of buskers, who generally hang around the ever-​bustling Murray Street Mall, although how many there are depends on the time of day. The buskers at Perth are generally sedate, when compared to the buskers at Fremantle, which has a much stronger busking culture and less paperwork for buskers.
While you’ll get the buskers with a guitar singing bad renditions of popular songs, there are also some creative buskers. Some are visual artists who create their art while sitting on the pavement. There is also an interesting Japanese group who play a variety of instruments [each member of the group seem to be multi-​instrumentalists], and combine a tribal beat with latin and indigenous Australian influences. They are well worth the watch.
Busking in Perth would be much more colourful if the Perth City Council adopted the same relaxed attitude as Fremantle.

Perth can kick it with the best of them.
While Perth may not have the artistic accolades that some other capital cities do, but this just makes the performers shine brighter, on their own merits. There is an absolute mixed-​bag of entertainers colectively representing the cultural diversity of Perth. Luckily for us, they have taken it to the streets, with some lucrative, and coincidentally popular busking spots including Freo, Subiaco and the renound «Hay Street Mall.» Hay Street is the busking boulevard and it is quite a competative stomping ground so entertainers, old and new reserve their profitable places.
As you mosey on through the mall it is not unusual to pass through didge and rythm musicians, a crystal ball wheeler, a dancing girl with double jointed everything!
(I have been left dumb founded on several occassions, both fascinated and horrified by her «I can kick myself in my own head» flexibility) and the dude outside the ANZ bank who regularly makes an appearance around noon with his ghetto blaster and cross dressing razzle dazzle show– he’s having an absolute riot, I’m not sure how much he’s making but I say– cough up your coins and keep the good times rolling!
My personal favourite has to go to the most iconic busker in the mall– he is a perormer of few tricks– one trick to be precise, but it is a pearler and he’s sure to get you at least once, twice if you throw him some coin!. . I am referring to a rather cheeky statue of a man doing a hand stand with a hat out the front– that’s the kind of tom foolery that every busking tribute statue should strive for!
Hats off to you sir!