Shrewsbury’s free street music festival, The Big Busk, will return for its fifth year in 2017.
The event will take place on April Fool’s Day – Saturday 1 April 2017 – in and around Shrewsbury town centre.
And as well as the usual fun and frolics which have made the Big Busk one of Shropshire’s most popular festivals, there will also be the serious business of raising money for, and awareness of, Shrewsbury Ark, a drop-in centre for homeless and vulnerable people in the town.
This year’s event raised around £10,000 for the Ark after some record-breaking efforts from the likes of Guitar Cubed, who busked for 25 straight hours and Paul Henshaw, who played 24 gigs in 24 hours.
Next year’s Busk will include some new surprises along with popular favourites including instrument workshops, which will be held at Claremont Baptist Church and the amazing Big Sing, which sees musicians and visitors join in with a huge sing-a-long in Pride Hill.
The Big Busk is held in memory of Ben Bebbington, who was killed in 2012 in an unprovoked attack. It takes place on the weekend around Ben’s birthday.
The theme for this year’s event will focus on how mental wellbeing can be supported and enhanced though music and performance. Emotional support is central to the services provided by Shrewsbury Ark. Ben himself was a talented musician, poet and artist. He would regularly be found at The Ark finding solace through his music and poetry.
Ben’s sister Karen Higgins, one of the event’s founders, said: “It’s incredible to think that next year will be the fifth Big Busk. This is down to the wonderful musicians and acts who give their considerable talent for free, the wonderful venues which support us and our incredible army of volunteers who organise the event and help out on the day.”
Karen Paterson, a member of the Busk organising committee and counselling psychologist, added: “Many of the performers who have volunteered for the Busk over the past have shared with me that music is central to their own mental wellbeing – whether that’s gaining a sense of belonging when they joined a choir, the expression of thoughts and feelings through song writing, or those who have learnt how to manage feelings of anxiety through performance.
“Music can be incredibly powerful – I know for myself, there’s nothing like a blast of Stevie Wonder to raise my mood!”
Studies show that homelessness and poor mental health go hand-in-hand.
Karen Paterson said: “Research shows that suicide in disadvantaged men in their middle years is a social inequality issue, and that people from the poorest areas are more than twice as likely to go to their family doctors due to anxiety.
“Mental illness puts individuals at greater risk of homelessness, but also people can struggle to escape the street because mental health problems can make it harder for them to engage with homelessness services, which is why the outreach work of Shrewsbury Ark is so important.”
The idea behind the Big Busk is that all entertainment is free, with people only
donating what they can afford. All profits from the event go directly to Shrewsbury Ark, which relies almost entirely on charitable donations for its upkeep. It costs more than £120,000-a- year to keep the Ark running.
Karen Higgins said: “The volunteers who give up their time for the Big Busk really do make the event what it is. If anyone would like to join us, whether it be musicians who want to play, or anyone who would like to help with our bucket collections, please visit our website at www.thebigbusk.co.uk for more information.”
Shropshire Live is regulated by