No permit, no performance – City of Sydney blocks Myles Smith’s Pitt St pop-up ‘busk’

British singer Myles Smith is performing to sold out shows across the country — but when he wanted to open his guitar case in Pitt St, council red tape got in the way. See the video.

The City of Sydney Council tried to force a famous singer-songwriter playing sold out shows across Australia to apply for a busking licence in order to perform an impromptu acoustic gig for his 1.4 million Instagram followers.

The Saturday Telegraph can reveal that the Stargazing singer Myles Smith wanted to perform an “impromptu busk” in Pitt Street Mall on Thursday night but was knocked back by Clover Moore’s fun police.

Smith, whose Friday night performance at Hordern Pavilion sold out, had wanted to perform a pop-up gig with two acoustic guitars in Sydney, and post the video to Instagram.

It would have been a repeat of a performance in Melbourne’s Federation Square last week.

However, when Smith’s management asked the City of Sydney about the performance, they were told it would be impossible without jumping through bureaucratic hoops.

“The artist would need to apply for a busking licence,” a council staff member replied.

She said Smith would first need to go to the council’s “service centre,” provide identification, and “log an application”.

Musician Myles Smith performing an impromptu acoustic set on the Opera House forecourt - not Pitt St. Picture: Instagram

This free publicity for Sydney almost didn’t happen due to council red tape. Picture: Instagram

“This is the only way buskers can perform in our LGA.”

She also said Smith, named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of 2025, would also need to line up with other buskers at 7am to secure a spot to perform.

“It is a very fair system,” she said.

Smith ended up playing his acoustic gig on the Opera House steps, after the NSW government got involved — later posting a video showing off the stunning Sydney icon to his 1.4 million Instagram followers.

The City of Sydney’s red tape stands in stark contrast to authorities in Melbourne, which are understood to have granted Smith’s request to play in Federation Square in 15 minutes.

Mr Graham slammed Ms Moore’s council for a lack of “commonsense”.

Musician Myles Smith playing to a thrilled audience outside the Opera House. Picture: Instagram

Melbourne supported a similar gig by the artist last week. Picture: Instagram

“It’s appropriate to have some rules around street performers in a place as busy as the middle of Sydney, but commonsense has gone floating down the gutter when you ask a musician whose latest song got a billion streams to line up in a council office for a busking permit,” Mr Graham said.

Labor City of Sydney Councillor Olly Arkins said it was “lucky” the NSW government stepped in so one of the “world’s hottest artists” could “showcase Sydney to an international audience of more than 1.3 million”.

A City of Sydney spokeswoman said the council was “delighted” Smith could perform at the Opera House.

She said the council later suggested to Smith’s management that they could use Martin Place.

“The City and NSW government work collaboratively to support cultural life in Sydney, and this impromptu concert demonstrates the range of options available for international performers coming to our city,” she said.

Originally published as No permit, no performance – City of Sydney blocks Myles Smith’s Pitt St pop-up ‘busk’