The Victorian government and City of Melbourne council want to hear from musicians of all styles, genres and sounds to be part of a new program.
On The Road Again is the name of the Victorian government’s live music initiative, which aims to bring live performances back to the state amid the devastating effect COVID-19 restrictions continue to have on the industry and its artists.
One of the little-regarded but keenly felt casualties of restrictions have been Melbourne’s rich busking culture, with the city’s much-loved performers sidelined as city crowds plummet.
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On The Road Again is aiming to bring buskers back to the city en-masse, with the plan to bring up to 720 performances to Melbourne CBD streets over four weeks from February 17.
All buskers will be paid out of program funding, with the aim of not only attracting visitors back to the city, but supporting local talent across Melbourne to return to playing live – even if it’s just outdoors for now.
Artists can be solo, duo or group acts and you’ll be paid for a two-hour busking set with breaks included. You’ll be able to perform at least two sets during the four-week program.
Over the past few weeks we’ve seen the likes of Tones and I and Tash Sultana take to Melbourne streets for impromptu mini-busking sets as part of the broader program.
City of Melbourne has also made busking permits free for a limited time to lure performers back to the streets.
Any performers in Victoria are welcome to submit an expression of interest to City of Melbourne by 5pm Thursday February 10. You can find the form here.