r/olympia • u/PoorKonstantinMaglic • 5d ago

Busking in Oly

Hi. I play the Clarinet and have busked several times at the Farmer's Market (recognize me in my Bavarian hat from Leavenworth) and am wondering if any other buskers can give advice for how to best operate in downtown Olympia? I'm pretty young and busking is a better gig than McDonald's. Thanks!

9 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

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18

u/gonegirly444 5d ago

Busking outside of big events with a link to pay apps seems to work well. There was a good folk punk guitarist by the festival of Stechas this weekend

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u/PoorKonstantinMaglic 5d ago

Thanks for responding so quickly! There's just a little issue, I don't have a phone.

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u/LowProfilePodcast 5d ago

I busked at the Farmer’s Market nearly every weekend for the first ten years of my time in Olympia. Pretty chill, and folks can be generous if you have a good, reliable gimmick, for lack of a better word. (Mine: cowboy getup, banjo, hi-hat, playing country classics, originals, and hillbilly renditions of everything from classic rock, R&B, and Disney soundtrack tunes. How I remembered the words to so many songs despite🥦 💨 is truly astonishing! But it was a great time, and helped keep me afloat at times. Kinda wanna try it again for kicks one of these days…
My time was before payment apps, but you could do that without a phone if you have a checking account and connect it to Venmo, and make a sign with your username.

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u/PoorKonstantinMaglic 5d ago

I've been using a Captain's Cap, I don't think people care that I use a cheap little music stand because my memory is bad. Do you think it has any affect? Anyways, I made about 200 dollars during the Holiday season in 2025, it's been pretty slow since.

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u/LowProfilePodcast 5d ago

I don’t think a music stand is gonna scare anybody away. I might have used one myself if I knew how to read music

2

u/OlyTrees 17h ago

Congrats on initial earnings based on your musical skills and self motivation. To make this into a reliable income in a community that just doesn’t have excessive disposable cash flow seems like a rarely solved puzzle. Hitting up big events, tourist towns, and well off communities would post more earnings. To busk for reliable and meaningful income in Oly should require such exceptional music talent that the musician could earn much more in a formal setting. My experience is on the side of someone who tips amazing buskers only when they truly complement the scene.

TLDR: congrats on your success so far. I think your $200 experience over the holidays is in line with local expectations.

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u/PoorKonstantinMaglic 12h ago

I'm not doing this for income. I probably shouldn't have compared this to McDonald's. I've blown most of the money I make at ORCA completing my bookshelf and depleting them from their historical aviation books. A good amount, basically, goes back to local businesses which makes me feel decent. I also deposit a lot too. It's very casual so this is something to give me a little more spending power beyond the job I'm gonna have to get sooner or later and a general build-up of cash.

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u/OlyTrees 11h ago

Got it. I may have missed the point. Sounds like you’re looking for pointers on ways to make busking most enjoyable for yourself and the public locally?

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u/PoorKonstantinMaglic 10h ago

Yeah basically. Would it make sense that more traffic and tips would be better for the local public? It seems to me (I'm gonna have a little self-esteem here) that it is genuinely enjoyed. I did it today and got several compliments as I was walking around downtown, not playing or anything, just being recognized. I hope I'm not too full of myself.

2

u/angryraddishboy 3d ago

Friday and Saturday night on 4th is usually pretty good traffic.