The Ebony Hillbillies (Image: Bob Knorpp)
Street musicians are a part of the culture of New York. From the parks to the sidewalks you can find music drifting everywhere in this city. But nowhere is the music more enchanting than in the subways.
This morning I was reminded what a tremendous gift it is to have these performance all around me each and every day. I was taking the crosstown shuttle to Grand Central Station, and as I emerged from the train I was greeted by the sounds of bluegrass. The station was filled with the thumping of a stand-up bass, banjo, fiddle and guitar, as the Ebony Hillbillies joyfully offered up a rockin’ country beat.
Then as I walked down the passage to the 6 Train, the strains of Chicago-style blues began to blend with the country beats behind me, until they took over and wrapped me in yearning electric guitar riffs.
So many times I’ve had experiences just like this. South American bamboo whistles blending with opera. Saxophone blending with a violin solo. String quartet blending with a cappella group. A walk through the subway tunnels from one train to the next becomes an experience of walking from one concert hall to the next.
What surprises me after hearing these performances over the last six months is how much they are taken for granted. Reaction to these musicians ranges from irritation to rapt joy, but there’s always a sense that it’s just a quaint oddity of the New York Subway system. But for me, this is something more. Because it’s my belief that these musicians have turned the subways into an essential venue of the performance community here.
Subway Blues Duo (Image: Bob Knorpp)
There is an impression that these musicians are out-of-work amateurs with a hat out for panhandling. But the level of these performance clearly tells me that this is not the case. Many of these musicians and singers are definitely at the level of concert hall and studio talent. The city is literally swimming in people such as this. Even karaoke nights are overwhelmed with professionals. So walking through the subways can be like walking from Lincoln Center to a Broadway theater to The Bitter End to a recording studio, all within feet of each other.
And we’ve only begun to explore the possibilities these underground venues can offer. One of the most interesting things I’ve heard in recent memory is what advertising agency, BBH, did to help promote the release of the latest album from UK band, Oasis. To help stir fan hype, they had a different subway performer learn each song from the new CD, then had these performers “debut” the song they’d been selected to play at a different stop on the New York Subway system each night for a couple weeks. Not only did it stir incredible buzz, pass-along videos and blog posts, some fans also candidly admitted that the street performers’ versions of the songs were better than the original artists’.
The subways are about speed. They are about facilitating the movement of great volumes of people from one location to another in New York City with minimal frills and little hassle. But if you live or visit here, I encourage you to schedule in at least one or two pauses in your day to experience a bit of the music there is to be had in these tunnels. They may just be the best performances you see on your entire trip.
Robert Knorpp is host of The BeanCast Marketing Podcast at thebeancast.com and is President of The Cool Beans Group, a marketing strategy consultancy based in New York City. He likes laughing even more than breathing. You can follow the madness on Twitter at twitter.com/BobKnorpp.
