City of Lowell Street Performer Guidelines

PLEASE NOTE THAT USE OF FIRE IN A PUBLIC ASSEMBLY (STREET PERFORMING) IS NOT ALLOWED IN LOWELL.

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Street Performers / Buskers

Street performers, a.k.a Buskers, can enhance the character of a city and the City of Lowell wishes to encourage such performances to the extent that they do not interfere with the reasonable expectations of residents to the enjoyment of peace and quiet in their homes or to the ability of businesses to conduct their businesses uninterrupted. These guidelines seek to balance the interests of the performers with those of the residents and businesses of the City.

• Definitions
  
  1. "Perform" includes, but is not limited to, the following activities: acting, singing, playing musical instruments, pantomime, juggling, magic, dancing, reading, puppetry, the creation of art, and reciting.
  
  2. “Perform” shall not include the production of items for sale.
  
  3. "Busker Stop" means any location where a Busker sign is displayed.
• B. Permitted Performances
  1. Performances may take place only in front of Busker Stop designated areas. 
  
  2. Performances may take place between 12 p.m.and 10 p.m.
  
  3. Performances cannot take place during other downtown festivals except with the express permission of the event organizer. Busker Stops will be closed for the duration of the Lowell Folk Festival.
  
  4. a. No performer or group of performers may generate excessive noise that would interfere with the abilities of nearby establishments to conduct their business.
  
  b. NO amplification will be allowed at Busker Stops.
  
  c. Upon a complaint by a resident, the performer or group of performers causing an excessive sound level shall turn down the music so as to reduce the sound level. Refusal to do so, or multiple complaints against a busker, will bar a performer from future busking.
  
  5. A performer may not create an undue interference with the passage of the public through a public area. If a performer attracts a crowd sufficient to obstruct the public way, a police officer may disperse the portion of the crowd that is creating the obstruction. The police officer shall not cause the performer to leave the location unless efforts to move the crowd fail to adequately protect the public safety or order. A police officer shall not ask the performer to leave the location unless all other means of restoring the public safety or order have been exhausted.
  
  6. No performer or group of performers may perform less than fifty feet from another performer or group of performers.
  
  7. A performer may request contributions or money or property at a performance. Contributions may be received in any receptacle, such as an open musical instrument case, box, or hat. Performers may offer for sale recordings of their own work, in the form of records, cassettes, videotapes, or compact discs. On sidewalks, displays must not obstruct handicap ramps, doorways, or windows (i.e., performers shall not tape or post signs or posters on windows or lean displays against windows so as to obstruct a clear view through the window.) 
  
  C. Waiver of Liability
  
  Buskers participate at their own risk and are subject to all rules and regulations as described in these guidelines. Buskers expressly agree that The City of Lowell will not be responsible for any loss or damage or injury to Busker’s vehicle, merchandise and /or displays caused by fire, flood, theft, weather, or any other elements of nature or man. Buskers also agree to institute no legal proceeding for personal injuries, or property damage arising from an accident causing injury to the Busker, Busker’s merchandise and/or Busker’s display. By performing at a designated Busker Stop, Busker acknowledges and agrees that the City has no liability for the actions of the Busker while performing.