Buskers' Festival 2010: Busking by the beach

Head to the beach between the 5th and 8th of August and you might find yourself shimmying home much later than you planned. For four days, the Buskers’ Festival will be taking over the streets of Barceloneta, with musicians from home and abroad setting up at ten different points along Passeig Joan de Borbó and Passeig Marítim. All of them will be determined to get those feet of yours moving anywhere but home.

Now in its sixth year, Barcelona’s Buskers’ Festival is a multicultural affair and the focus is squarely on family fun and audience participation is to be expected. Don’t be surprised if you get swept off your feet for a tango by a light-footed pensioner. You have been warned.

Showcasing street music from around the world, there’s everything from a German one-man band (Bernard M. Snyder) to a Swiss hip-hop brass outfit (Pullup Orchestra). Grab a partner for Acoustic Guiri Explosion’s French-infused swing or get up close and personal with the infectious cumbian rhythms of Los Vecinos, who come all the way from the Ecuadorian streets of Quito.

Kids will love the clown/ukelele combo of El Gary y sus Pensivos or the cheery, trumpety brass of Italians Brassvolé. From Barcelona there’s jazz fusion from Dinatatak, reggae from Microguagua and the big samba mash-up of Brincadeira.

Performances take place between 7pm and midnight and although the event is free, you should bring plenty of loose change so you can dig deep for your favourites when the hat gets passed round. With more than 30 acts, you’re sure to find something that gets your feet a-tapping. Who says nothing happens in August?

For more information check the website: www.buskersfestivalbarcelona.org