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Activating Chattanooga's streets with live, local music.

Sidewalk Stages is a street performance initiative designed to activate Chattanooga public spaces with live local music.

“Sidewalk Stages provides opportunities for local musicians to earn income while also encouraging the Chattanooga community to more easily and more often interact with the local music community,” says SoundCorps Executive Director Stratton Tingle. “If you’re a musician who wants to make more money and expand your audience, you’ll want to be part of Sidewalk Stages.”

Sidewalk Stages engages 15 – 30 performers per weekend from April to October. Each performer receives a modest stipend of $50 for two hours of performance at a pre-determined time and location. Sidewalk Stages performers are allowed to receive tips/donations from the public while performing but they must act in accordance with all regulations governing street performance as well as rules established by Sidewalk Stages program managers.

Sidewalk Stages auditions take place in the Spring of each year in one of Chattanooga's local business districts. Sidewalk Stages performers who were part of regular programming the previous season do not need to re-audition. A panel of volunteer judges determines which performers are eligible to be part of the Sidewalk Stages lineup based upon musical ability, punctuality, and audience interaction.

Any musical performer with at least two hours of musical performance material who lives within 50 miles of Chattanooga is eligible for participation in Sidewalk Stages. At this time, the program is open to music-centric performances only.

Check out Sidewalk Stages online performances recorded during shelter-in-place orders during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

SoundCorps partnered with Morning Pointe Senior Living to bring Sidewalk Stages street performers to offer pandemic-proof musical performances at their three residential centers. Up to nine street performers, commonly known as buskers, are scheduled for socially responsible performances every weekend across three Morning Pointe facilities. 




Traveling Buskers
Interested in busking in Chattanooga, but not a resident? Great! We'd love to see you performing in public spaces in and around Chattanooga. Click here for Chattanooga Street Performance Guideilnes that should ensure you're in compliance with any laws related to buskers.

Note: some authorities consider a sign with the word "tips" or "donations" on it to be soliciting, which is not allowed in Chattanooga public spaces and parks. It's ok to accept tips and donations in an instrument case or a jar, but the case or jar should not have a sign asking people for money. Performers should never plug an amp or device into a public electrical outlet.