Regarding being able to perform on the streets (well, in ruins and refugee camps, so far) - the scripted interactions between NPCs get paused while the bard plays their instrument. In my case it led to Aradin and Zevlor forgetting about their argument and Aradin's crew stopping to watch the show. I haven't tested it in the other contextually inappropriate areas on account of the game crashing on saving yet (like Waukeen's Rest, or the myconid grove, or the spot where Nere is being dug out), but there's, ironically, a bit of tone-deafness to it at the moment.
