Capital of Culture coincides with crackdown on buskers

Groove Tube with Cian O’Connell

January 1 marked the start of a new decade and the beginning of Galway’s landmark year as European Capital of Culture. 2020 has been billed as a mammoth year for the city’s arts programme with a host of projects and events scheduled for the next twelve months – and with so much on the horizon, it is a time of celebration for Galway’s arts community.

One subsection of the city’s artists, however, are feeling significantly less optimistic about the next year and beyond.  Because January 1 also marked the introduction of Galway City Council’s Street Performance and Busking Bye-Laws.

In September of last year, council members voted in favour of the bye-laws at a final tally of twelve to six. The new rules prohibit the use of amplifiers or backing tracks and impose a total ban on drum-kits. They also include heavy restrictions on “circle acts”, i.e. groups that attract large crowds of pedestrians.

Amplifiers have been the subject of much debate on the topic – while the council initially intended to limit the volume of amplification, a decibel limit was eventually deemed unenforceable. As a result, the use of electronic amplifiers is banned before 6pm every day.

The impact of that restriction alone is enormous. Amplification is important for the vast majority of buskers and for many, it is essential.

Pianists, electric guitarists and bass players all rely on electronic amplifiers to play their instruments in any capacity. Asking vocalists to compete with the noises of a busy street means disadvantaging singers with quieter voices.

While not exclusively the case, this point could hurt female vocalists more than their male counterparts. Laura Corcoran is a member of the city’s most famous busking act, Galway Street Club, and she the effect of the bye-laws on their act.

“So many of the byelaws are restrictive to the performers here,” Laura notes.

“We’ll be most affected by the banning of amplification before 6pm and the ban on drumkits. Playing in a band with so many members means we need some instruments amplified to a certain level to be heard, like electric guitar and bass.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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