Open Call for Buskers

Thank you for your interest in performing at Busker Tour!

Applications for Busker Tour 2026 are now open. Before filling up the form, please read the text below.

I explain here:

• My booking philosophy as the artistic director
• Who can apply
• What we look for
• The application process
• Tips on writing your application

Dates:

22-26 August, 2026 (festival check-in 21 Aug, check out 27 Aug)

Please note that we do not respond to or consider offers sent via email or social media. Every year, around February-March, we announce an Open Call and check only applications submitted via our online form.

About Busker Tour

Busker Tour is a travelling street festival and a series of events featuring performing arts and contemporary circus with buskers from all over the world. It takes place in various towns across Poland.

Busker Tour brings together performers from all over the world who boldly draw from well-known and surprising dance, circus, music, theatre and interdisciplinary arts and techniques.

The line-up in returning towns changes every year. For some festivals under the Busker Tour brand, we book mainly performers we have already worked with. For some festival legs, we also announce an open call once a year and choose from the buskers who apply.

A personal note and booking philosophy

I don’t promote the open call much. If you are reading this, you probably heard about it from friends and colleagues you trust, my social media and websites.

I have learned over the years that instead of measuring the festival’s popularity by a high volume of applications, I enjoy checking the ones from buskers who understand what I’m looking for and what they can expect.

I got passionate about street art in Nov 2010. I remember the exact date because it was when James Riley stayed at my place in Athens and showed me what busking was about. A lyric by Twinsanity “this is dedicated to the city they call Athens” should be on posters of every event I organise. 

Nowadays, I bring performers from all over the world to big and small towns. I appreciate that I can share my love for street artists and be able to do it professionally. 

Programming the festivals is my favourite part (next to watching shows live, of course!).

I discover new songs by musicians who are also songwriters (I’m listening to www_SUNSET_www by DeanisHome while writing this paragraph). It makes me smile when I think of how happy I can make someone with their first-ever invitation to a street festival. I watch performances by people who have been in all parts of the world and have been mastering their skills for years. 

There are many different reasons why I decide to accept someone. If you ask me about every specific show, I will always know the answer to why I included it in a lineup. 

As a festival curator, I want to introduce an audience to new things they don’t know yet, as much as meet the people’s expectations based on what they already like.  

Whenever I check a new show, I think about why I want to see it, why I want to introduce it to an audience, and how it combines with other things in a programme for a specific year. 

It’s not only about technical skills, story, narrative and contact with a crowd. The street festival is about art and people.

Sometimes I accept a performer because I know that the festival can help them develop their show or they will inspire others.

And speaking of inspiration. Since 2017 I have been working with a graphic designer, Aga Kopera. She created a visual identity as a school project and sent it to me for fun. I loved it, and now every year she works on new posters that make up the series. While browsing the applications, I look not only for the shows to fill our streets, but also for ideas for our new characters representing new art genres and disciplines. 

Let’s not forget the personal feelings about the performers themselves. Simply put, some people seem to be more likeable than others. I look for the ones with the busker spirit that everyone who has seen Sam Goodburn performing in the rain can understand. People who like Richard Filby are always ready to visit small towns. Buskers who I will admire and find their stories so exciting and inspiring that I will interview them for my blog.

Everything you can read on my website about me and the events I organise is my story and goals based on my experience and the feedback I receive from the performers, partners and audience. 

If you find similar descriptions on the websites of other festivals, it’s usually not because we think alike. Probably, they liked my words so much that they used them as a definition of busking and street festivals.

Busker Tour 2026 will happen on different dates. I will reunite with some performers in new towns and bring new shows to regular places on our festival map.

Applications for Busker Tour 2026 are now open. Before filling up the form, please read the text below.

Who can apply?

Buskers! You must be one, which means that you perform in the street, you have a street show, you are used to building and controlling your crowd, adapting to any situation, and having a hat as your salary. We seek buskers rather than artists who want to perform at street festivals.

If you are a returning artist, we will consider you only if you apply with a different show than one you presented in the past in the town where we book performers.

We don’t require a CV full of festivals but we are looking for unique, polished and exciting shows. We invite experienced and emerging artists, graduates of circus schools and self-taught performers.

It doesn’t matter if you have performed all around the world or if you are new to the festival scene. We understand that everyone needs to start somewhere. What matters is your show and attitude! You should, however, have busking experience, even if it’s only in your hometown.

We promote buskers as talented people, and we want to ensure that you work hard and provide an audience with top-notch, high-level performance, no matter how many people come to see you.

Info for street musicians

Our mission is to promote musicians who are also songwriters or who perform original songs written for them. We don’t mind covers as part of your performance (do you really have to play them?), but we will consider only musicians who want to share their original music.

If you don’t believe that your art can resonate with a new public, Busker Tour is not for you.

It is an interdisciplinary festival, so you will “compete” for attention with circus acts, but we believe in you and your original music.

If you feel more confident playing covers, many other festivals will be a better option for you.

Info for street dancers, theatres and circus performers

Fancy promos are needed when the time comes to promote your show on our social media channels. However, during the application process, we care more about your show structure, a unique and engaging story, and how you build a crowd and interact with an audience. 

As most of the promo videos we receive don’t represent shows well (for example, due to fast editing, no original audio), we ask you to provide your promo and recording from your street show (even if it’s recorded in low quality, as it’s for us, not for an audience). We want to get to know the buskers, not the skills of a videographer.

Don’t worry if a video was recorded when you performed for ten people in the rain, not a big crowd at a popular festival. We may even appreciate you more.

Is Busker Tour for you?

Busker Tour may not be about the ‘biggest hats’, so your attitude matters. We organise it because we love street shows. Many people have given me feedback that it is fun and provides networking opportunities, time for making friends, jamming with other performers, and exchanging experiences. There is plenty of time to get to know everyone’s name, hang out and watch the shows. It’s up to you how you use your time.

Not sure if this festival is for you? Check my website and social media, and read through an open call. Do your research, make a pros and cons list, prioritise your goals, and if you decide that you want to perform here, apply!

I look forward to learning more about your busking story and hope to include you in my lineup.

Still not convinced and think that other festivals sound better for you? That’s fine, but please, do not apply. You will be unhappy, and you will make us unhappy. Don’t take the spot of a performer who would appreciate it.

How to write your festival application

I do read all applications submitted via the form. And yes, I do read them before clicking any links. Please make sure that you check the explanations of each field. Giving me unrelated answers, generic show descriptions are the most common reasons I go for other shows.

AI-generated descriptions are not something I enjoy either. I have seen lines like “It was only translated by AI but written by me” so many times that it now makes me doubt this statement. Do you consider yourself an artist? Use your own words to describe your art.

I prefer your imperfect English to any impersonal and what you might think of as ‘expected’ phrases!

If you use an online translator, please include the original text.

Saying “no” to you is as difficult for me (unless you are a musician and applied with your Hallelujah cover) as for you to be rejected. I cannot promise you, I will accept you, but I do appreciate everyone who takes the time to apply and shows a bit of effort.

Not sure how to write festival applications? Would you like to know what we expect? Check my tips and tricks:

How to write your show promo text and artist bio

How to make a promo video that will get you more festival bookings

How to introduce yourself as an artist with a promo photo

As I represent not only myself but also the festival partners and co-organisers, I will continue writing as “we”.

Open Call for Buskers – 2026

Busker Tour 2026 Festival Application Process

1. In 2026, the open call is for Busker Tour Festival in Krotoszyn and Zielona Góra.
   22–23 August 2026: Krotoszyn, Poland
   25–26 August 2026: Zielona Góra, Poland.
   Festival check-in: 21 August, check out: 27 August
2. We invite performers who want to join us for the entire tour.
3. We will select approximately 13 acts from the applications.
4. Please refer to articles available on www.busker.pl to learn:
   • Busker Tour artistic director booking philosophy
   • who can apply
   • who we are looking for
   • what we expect to see in your application.
   • tips on writing your bio and promo text
   • tips on videos we like (and dislike)
5. We accept applications only via our official online form.
6. Select ‘Send me a copy of my response’ at the bottom of the form to receive a confirmation of submission and be able to update it if necessary.
7. If you want us to consider more than one show, please submit them as separate applications.
8. All performers are invited under the same conditions. Busker Tour in towns from this Open Call is hat-based. We offer: travel reimbursement, food, accommodation from the day before to the day after the festival, transport between the festival cities and additionally from Wrocław to Krotoszyn and Zielona Góra to Wrocław. Please refer to the application form for more details.
9. We will consider only complete applications. Please ensure you answer all questions and provide all required links to videos for your application to be valid. Irrelevant and blurry answers are usually the reason why we book other performers. Do not include links instead of answers. Make sure all videos do not require a password or an access request.
10. The application deadline is 21 March 2026.
11. We will only consider artists who have completed the form within this timeframe.
12. We do read all applications, often as they come in. Take your time to reflect on our tips and record the video we need if you do not have it yet, but do not wait until the last minute.
13. We will start booking in early April. However, if we fall in love with your show, we might reach out much sooner to ask you to save the dates!
14. To ensure a variety of performing arts and nationalities (so we do not end up with ten acrobatic shows, for example), we book performers in stages.
15. If you are not selected, you will be informed once we have reached our maximum number of confirmed acts. This may be several weeks after the open call closes. If you have not received an answer yet, it means we do not have one for you at the moment.
16. Invited artists must complete a confirmation form within a specific timeframe to secure their place. Completing this form is a binding agreement. Additionally, a written contract will be signed on your arrival for archiving purposes.
17. We will ask you for promo photos in the confirmation form if you are invited. By submitting them, you confirm that you have the rights and grant us, free of charge, the rights to use any content you provide in our promo materials.
18. We reserve the right to ask other festivals and performers for references and feedback on working with you and your show.
19. We will not consider applications from:
    • Returning performers, if they apply with shows already presented in the past in Krotoszyn or Zielona Góra.
    • Performers who have cancelled on us in the past, or if we have had other bad experiences with them.
    • Acts with animals. Busker Tour is an animal-free festival.
    • Underage performers.
    • Musicians who do not play original music.
    • Performers who are not self-sufficient (remember, it is a festival for buskers!).
    • Applications with additional people listed (technical team, +1, etc). We invite only performing artists.
    • Performers who are blacklisted by other festivals, if we know about it and agree with this reason, particularly due to cancellations.
    • Have we mentioned “Hallelujah” covers already?
20. If we invite you, you confirm your participation and then cancel, we reserve the right to share this information publicly.
21. In the event of a cancellation, we will contact performers whose applications we liked but could not initially invite due to the limited number of spots.
22. By applying, you confirm that you have understood and accepted the conditions of participation.

During the Festival (Schedule and Pitches)

1. Check-in: You can meet us in the first festival town or in Wrocław and travel with us by bus that we usually book for 4:30 p.m.
2. The festival starts with our tradition of creating your unique Busker Tour poster featuring your stage name. During the festival, you can attach these to a festival sign.
3. There are four days of performances, and every act will perform on each of them.
4. There are no performances scheduled on travel days, but we may organise press conferences, charity events, workshops or a cabaret for anyone who is up to it.
5. In Krotoszyn, performers usually have 30-minute slots and perform back-to-back, once per day. Depending on the time of day, there are usually between one and four acts performing simultaneously in Zielona Góra. Each artist performs four to five times in total over the two days in Zielona Góra. The final schedule will be prepared based on the information provided in applications by invited performers, especially regarding the duration of their show, and the number of shows can change
6. Buskers work in rotation, which includes both pitches and the time of shows.
7. To make the rotation of pitches and times as fair as possible, there is no drawing of slots or “first come, first served”. The official performance schedule is prepared by the artistic director. The exact timetable will be available at the latest by the morning of the performance day (usually before the festival, but it can change due to unforeseen situations).
8. The official performance schedule is considered obligatory, and any changes require prior confirmation with the organiser. A “no-show” will be considered a breach of contract.
9. However, we understand—and we also explain to the audience—that street shows are partly based on interaction with the audience, and sometimes you will also need to adapt to the weather; therefore, the schedule of the festival can occasionally change.
10. Please do not treat other buskers as competition. If you work together regarding timing, volume levels, and setups, you will all have a better show. It is okay if you wait a few minutes to let the other busker finish first, but do not go over the time of another busker if they have not confirmed that it is fine.
11. Is it raining? No one expects you to put on a full show if it is impossible, but please do not hide in the hotel if the audience is still there waiting for you. Come along, say “hi”, and give them a high five. They came for you, so please show them some appreciation. Can you perform in any weather conditions? If so, you will receive priority when we select performers.
12. Most of the audience in Krotoszyn and Zielona Góra is there specifically for the festival, but, just as you would on a regular street, you may still need to build your own crowd.
13. We do not provide technical support. Your equipment must be battery-powered because pitches are typically without electricity. Although we usually bring some equipment, you must be ready to be self-sufficient. and manage your own technical needs.
14. If you use any structures, they must be entirely freestanding, and you must be self-contained. Drilling into the ground is strictly prohibited on all pitches. If you need help with a setup, you can request it from our team, but please keep in mind that we we do not have enough people to dedicate specifically to that.
15. We are a small team, multitasking to make Busker Tour happen. You will not be assigned a personal assistant. On the contrary, we may even ask you to help us out!
16. You should be as mobile as possible, as artists perform in a rotation system. If you require the same spot (e.g. if you have a trapeze or other equipment that takes time to set up), please provide the details in the comments section of the application form. Note that we usually do not invite more than two acts that cannot work in rotation.
17. If you have any special requirements (e.g. regarding performance times), please include them in the application form. We plan the lineup based solely on the information provided in the application form. Requirements sent at a later date may not be taken into consideration. While selecting shows, we give priority to buskers who can perform at any time.
18. Busker Tour is hat-based. Please do not use recorded audio messages to ask for money. From our observations and feedback from the audience, they have the opposite effect. We will help you to learn some Polish if you are up for it.
19. Pitches: The festival is held on the market squares (in Polish: Rynek) in Krotoszyn, and on the pedestrian street (deptak) in Zielona Góra.
20. Floor: mostly with granite cobblestones. Please check the photos on our social media or use Google Maps to make sure they are suitable for your shows!
21. There is a 1,000 PLN fine for playing “Hallelujah” that will be deducted from the travel reimbursement of any performer who breaks the ban. The artistic director will spend it on music albums that will, hopefully, help her recover from this disappointing experience.

Please remember: we do not respond to or consider offers sent via email or social media.

Can’t wait to meet you! 

Margarita

P.S. This post soundtrack: DeanisHome, Twinsanity and Geordie Little. Check them out!

Footage from the past edition of Busker Tour in Zielona Góra and Krotoszyn