Busking through Malaysia was a genuinely amazing experience.
Though most days we found it tough to earn any real profit playing on the streets. Playing music for accommodation and eating cheap we managed to travel all over the country for months breaking even on costs. We faced a few barriers being foreign buskers but locals gave us nothing but support on our journey offering busking spots, gigs, beds, and smiles. Beginning in Singapore we busked our way through Johor Bahru, Malacca, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Langkawi always playing tunes for a spot to sleep. We opened the case and played anywhere possible on the side to earn cash including hostel rooftops, open mics, paid gigs, markets, parties, and of course the streets. We found Penang to be the most lucrative in terms of no restrictions for foreigners, busy streets, markets, and live music venues. We’ll continue adding information below including ‘play to stay’ hostels and hopefully this guide helps you start a musical journey though Malaysia full of crazy experiences and busking opportunities we never would have dreamt of.
Permit Info
The only area we ran into trouble with busking restrictions was the heart of Kuala Lumpur. After busking only one song at busy Central Market in Chinatown we were stopped and told to acquire a busking permit to continue , impossible being foreigners. We still hit some nearby streets around Chinatown Market, Bukit Bintang, and opened the case at a few open mics but we found it hard to find a rhythm. While in KL we ended up focusing on our weekend gigs at ‘Birdnest’ hostel in Chinatown, turning them into massive acoustic jam nights inviting backpackers and couchsurfers from all over town; which ended up being much more rewarding then slogging it on the streets in monsoon season anyway. The rest of Malaysia including Malacca, Johor Bahru, Penang, we ran into no problems and played all over town.Kuala Lumpur
Play to Stay
Birdnest Guesthouse
http://birdnestghouse.com/
This guesthouse become our second home in Malaysia, we stayed here for a couple of months playing music on the rooftop every weekend to guests. Definitely one of the biggest highlights of our trip was running weekly events with beerpong, slackline, darts, open mics, and partying with backpackers from all over the world. Willie the owner is and absolute legend email - [email protected] if you can help out the hostel for a bed.
Busking
Bukit Bintang the entertainment and shopping district of Kuala Lumpur has the heaviest foot traffic and preferred busking positions. When told to move on from the Pavilion Shopping Centre for not having a permit we played on the corner of 'Jalan Sultan and Jalan Berangan' during some of our days. During the night you want to find yourself a spot on 'Changkat Bukit Bintang' and play to the hundreds of tourists moving between bars.

Weekly Jam at Birdnest Rooftop
Uptown Puchong Night Bazaar
Buskers are welcome to open the case at Puchong Night Bazaar which runs 7pm - 3am everyday.
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Uptownpuchong
[email protected]
Facebook Pages
Kuala Lumpur Musicians
https://www.facebook.com/kl.musicians
Musicians and their venues
https://www.facebook.com/CharlJoe54?fref=ts
Musicians Available
https://www.facebook.com/groups/musiciansavailable/
Jam Sessions - Various Venues
https://www.facebook.com/jamsessions54cjoe/timeline
Malaysian Busking Club
https://www.facebook.com/malaysianbuskersclub/
Cheap Food
Vinni Jeyaa Banana Leaf Curry House
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Restoren-Vinnie-Jeya
80, Jalan Hang Kasturi, 50000 Kuala Lumpur
We ate here everyday while living in Kuala Lumpur, if you stick to the vegetable buffet you can fill a plate for around 5 ringgit. So cheap and bloody delicious! Located on the same street as our hostel Birdnest.
Shield Stallion
https://www.facebook.com/shieldstallion/
Shield Stallion located in The Strand, Demansara hosts a variety of live music events and were very kind supporting our travels and inviting us to play. They rent out jamming studios and have a really cute kitten!

Penang
Busking
Occupy Beach Street
https://www.facebook.com/occupybeachstreet
This market takes over Beach Street every Sunday and is a must for buskers passing through town. Make sure to contact the organisers and book yourself a spot.
Armenian Street
https://www.facebook.com/armeniansgt
Armenian street is a great place to busk containing cafes, eateries, and Penang's most famous mural. The street is a venue for a weekly Armenian street fair every Saturday.

Busking Occupy Beach Street
Play to Stay
Seawind Beach Cafe
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seawind-Beach-Cafe
Try to get in contact with Sunny at Seawind. We played a few sets over new years in return for accommodation, food, and beer.
Ryokan Muntri Boutique Hostel
https://www.facebook.com/RyokanMuntriSt/?fref=ts
Subject to availability but we stayed at the Ryokan for a few nights in return for playing to the guests. Great clean place with a good buffet breakfast!
Email: [email protected]
Kim Haus
https://www.facebook.com/kimhausopenmic
For would be singer-songwriters, musicians and the like, join them for their weekly open mic night, every Saturday from 9pm onwards!
Malacca

Buskers at 'Stadthuys' or The Red Square in Malacca
Play to Stay
Ringo's Foyer
http://www.ringosfoyer.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ringosfoyer
Howard the owner at Ringo’s Foyer is one of the nicest guys we met traveling Malaysia. He showed us busking spots, gave guests bicycle tours of town, and introduced us to cafes in town leading to more music opportunities.
Busking
Cnr Jalan Merdeka / Jalan Hang Jebat
The Red Square pictured above is a great spot to open the case with lots of tourist traffic. There are regular buskers performing in the area, but we found no problem talking to them and swapping around.
Jonker Street Night Market
Friday - Sunday nights traffic is closed and Jonker Street is turned into a massive market chockas full locals, tourists, and culture. It can difficult to find a busking spot as stalls take up most of the street, the statue of 'Dr Gan Boon Leong' in a little garden midway through Jonker is the best spot.
Calanthe Art Cafe
https://www.facebook.com/calanthe.melaka
Owners at this cafe let us busk on their outside deck during the night markets, we became friends and busked here regularly before leaving Malacca. Great Laksa!
Cheap Food
Selma Banana Leaf Restaurant
https://www.facebook.com/selvamrestaurant/?fref=ts
No 2 Jalan Temenggong, 75000 Melaka
Cheap authentic south Indian food. Life with curry is life without worry.
Johor Bahru

Playing at Magums Sports Cafe
Busking
Kilang Bateri
http://www.tourism.johor.my/tours/kilang-bateri/
Once an actual operating battery factory it has been opened to a plethora of food and clothing outlets. Running daily 12:00pm 12:00am. Talk to owner of 'Full Tank’ Bard, great spot to play music!
Live Music Venues
Magnums Sports Cafe
https://www.facebook.com/magnumsportscafe
Puteri Harbour, Johor Bahru
We ended up playing at Magnums Sports Cafe for two weekends in a row, the cash paid for travels north and staff took care of us with drinks/food. For gigs like this the Roland BA-330 really helped with sound.
Sea & Saw
https://www.facebook.com/seaandsaw/?fref=ts
We ran out of time in Johor Bahru to play here but we'd recommend emailing the venue and let us know how it goes!
Play 2 Stay
Roof Talk
http://www.rooftalkhostel.com.my/
https://www.facebook.com/rooftalkhostel
Really nice clean hostel and the owners were legends. They have a big rooftop which we played music on to guests in return for some accommodation.
Things to Do
JB Arts Festival (September - October)
http://jbartsfest.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jbartsfestival
If you have any useful information for other traveling buskers please email us [email protected] and we can add it to the website!