Festival of music in the city centre
If you’re out in Stirling this weekend, you may notice a bit more noise than usual.
That’s because the UK’s first National Busking Festival is taking place in the city, bringing the cream of the nation’s vibrant street music busking scene to the area.
The festival, the brainchild of Loving Food, Scotland’s pioneering street food movement, and Stirling Fringe, will kick off on this evening (Friday) with a gala opening at Cowane’s Hospital, followed by a full day of busking around the city centre tomorrow (Saturday).
The busking competition takes place from 1pm to 4pm in Port Street and the festival will close with an awards show, hosted by comedian Ro Campbell at Cowane’s Hospital. A secret speakeasy after-show party will also allow the event attendees to relax and jam with each other.
Creators of the National Busking Festival and Awards, Barry McDonald of Stirling Fringe and Stewart Pleace of Loving Food are paving the way for the start of what they hope will become a must-see city centre festival that will grow and re-locate each year to another host city within the UK. Busking festivals have proved popular in the US and Australia
Organiser Stewart said: “We wanted to create a city centre festival experience that makes people smile.
“Something different, unexpected and a bit exciting. We’re hugely excited about the launch and we’ll be promoting it across all media for buskers to get themselves involved.”
For more information on events, and to see how to sign up to play at the event, visit nationalbuskingfestival.com