August 2012 – Busk Break

Anna Trevor performs the first movement of Sonata in G minor by Henry Eccles

New Hampshire-based cellist Anna Trevor gave me a wry smile before putting the bow to the strings of her cello. I was trying to convince her to perform an original tune, but although she assured me that she had written several songs on guitar, she hadn’t worked them all out on the cello. So I switched gears, and asked her if there was a song she simply loved to play on the cello. That’s where the smile came from.

“There’s definitely a very sad classical tune that I really enjoy playing,” she said. Continue reading Anna Trevor performs the first movement of Sonata in G minor by Henry Eccles

Doc may have strained his voice, but not his harmonica

At first listen you might not think much of this ditty by the Walhalla, SC,-based busker known simply as Doc. It’s certainly a well-performed tune, and clearly there’s passion behind this original composition, but something is obviously missing. That something is lyrics, and to appreciate the song in context, it helps to realize that Doc was bone tired from performing, and had completely strained his voice the previous day. He could barely talk, in fact, and was nursing herbal tea between songs in an attempt to soothe his vocal chords. Continue reading

Knoxville’s Bill Page sings about trading places

For quite some time, Bill Page was one of a very small number of busking musicians on the streets of Knoxville, TN. It’s not a town that has traditionally been known as a busking hotspot, but over the last few years this has been changing, and Page is at least part of the reason why. Some of it is his music, to be sure, but just as importantly, it’s because of his defiance of anti-busking policies by the Knoxville police.

Back in the summer of 2010, Page was issued a citation for obstructing a 10-foot sidewalk with his performance. According to Page, the initial interaction with the police was more them telling him to move along, and him refusing to because busking isn’t illegal in Knoxville. The police said it was, and when it turns out they were wrong, Page says they “went fishing” for something to cite him with. Continue reading Knoxville’s Bill Page sings about trading places

Erin Brown performs “Killer Bee”

Asheville’s Bele Chere festival is a swarming, sprawling mass of sights and sounds, and it’s easy for busking musicians to get drowned out in the chaos. But that didn’t stop Durham-based singer-songwriter Erin Brown from giving it her best.

Here, she performs her original tune “Killer Bee” at the corner of College St. and Lexington Ave. to a small crowd of festival goers. Continue reading Erin Brown performs “Killer Bee”

Jackson Porter improvs on the ukulele

Sitting alone in front of the BB&T Building near Pack Square, his large backpack casually flopped to one side, Jackson Porter was quietly playing to himself when I met him. He wasn’t exactly busking, as he didn’t have a hat out or anything, but he wasn’t no-busking either. He told me he was taking some time off from school, and had been backpacking and hiking around, doing sections of the Appalachian Trail among other adventures. He’d only been playing the ukulele for a short time, but found that his guitar experience transferred pretty well.

Here, Porter improvs a little ditty, which he called “Living on the Streets.” Continue reading Jackson Porter improvs on the ukulele

SolStar performs “Reaching Forward” at Bele Chere 2012

What can you say about Atlanta’s genre-crossing band SolStar? How many bands can you think of that feature an electric violin and African dancing as key elements to the performance? Having only encountered the band by accident before, and having only a cellphone camera to capture the performance, it was a great turn of luck to run into them again.

Here, the five-piece version of the group performs to a packed crowd in front of the Woolworth Walk in Asheville, NC, during the 2012 Bele Chere street festival. Continue reading SolStar performs “Reaching Forward” at Bele Chere 2012

The Gypsy Swingers perform “Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me”

In most other cities, you’d never see musicians like clarinet player Wendi Loomis and guitarists Mario Piccolo and Sean Mabe busking for tips. You’d only see them performing in night clubs and upscale bars as the evening’s featured entertainment. And, as the Gypsy Swingers (or, in a slightly different arrangement as the Red Hot Sugar Babies), that’s generally how you’d encounter them as well. But the lure of playing for tips in the height of Asheville’s tourist season brings even the professionals out for a piece of the busking action.

Here, the trio performs “Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me,” a jazzy, bluesy classic written nearly a century ago. Continue reading The Gypsy Swingers perform “Blues My Naughty Sweetie Gives To Me”