I was walking down Buchanan Street in Glasgow on Saturday, one of the main commercial sections of the city, and found lots of people busking along the street. For nearly the whole walk up and back down the street, I was either in sight or earshot of a street performer.
A violinist / fiddler playing reels and jigs.
A group of 10 percussionists with various sizes and shapes, drumming and swaying together.
A man making the best balloon sculptures I’ve ever seen (Sarah… ever considered busking with balloons?).
An accordion and a violin playing Salley Gardens.
A guy playing guitar and singing.
And, the best of all, two bagpipers and a drummer, in full Scottish regalia, simultaneously playing and doing the motions to the Hokey Pokey.
Impressive. It made me want to learn an instrument that is a little easier to take on the streets than the piano… because all those performers almost had me dancing down the street. And if you watched people walk, many times their steps would change to fit the beat of the music, unintentionally but unavoidably. Music is like that. It gets into you when you’re not looking and connects you to people you’d never even noticed before.
StarPilgrim Studio 