Chattanooga’s buskers take musical art everywhere
Chattanooga is in full bloom right now in the realms of art and entertainment. As the city continues to grow towards its transition into the new Silicon Valley, its gravitational pull is drawing in people from all over the world, and each day the Scenic City is experiencing a constant influx of tourists, visitors from the business and tech worlds, and new residents.
As the popularity of the city continues to grow, the many talented artists spread throughout the area have gained a new platform to showcase their art for their masses. While the local music and arts scene has always been on the map due to the endless talented humans who have been rocking Chattanooga for years, the lionhearted street performers, also known as buskers, are out there getting the most exposure, and making a difference in the world by spreading love through music and the art of performance.
With the diversity of people coming to Chattanooga, a wider range of interests and cultures is converging here, giving artists a larger playing field and more opportunities to stimulate a crowd. There are no limitations on age, race, or gender for street performers. Men, women, children, and people of all ages are all out there doing various forms of street performance.
Busking is a worldwide tradition that has been around for centuries and dates back at least to medieval Europe. Then, buskers would get invited to various storefronts, markets, or events because the street performers would draw in a large crowd, which would help with sales at booths and storefronts.
In America, our busking roots can be traced back to a time when carnivals were highly celebrated from coast to coast. One the craze started to fade out, many of the performing artists were without work, so they changed up their acts and started performing on street corners and in towns. Over time, street performers have become a huge part of American culture. Every day people all over the country flock to bustling downtown areas to shine their light, hoping to razzle-dazzle the audience, or at least brighten somebody’s day.
Historically, busking has included acrobatics, animal tricks, balloon twisting, caricatures, clowning, comedy, contortions, escapology, dance, singing, fire skills, flea circus, fortune-telling, juggling, magic, mime, living statue, musical performance, puppeteering, snake charming, storytelling or reciting poetry or prose, street art such as sketching and painting, street theatre, sword swallowing, and ventriloquism.
Different street performers have different reasons for busking. Some do it for necessity; they do not want to beg people for money, so they do things like write songs for people, juggle, bang on buckets like a drum, play guitar, tell jokes, dance, or dress up in funny clothes and freeze in place for hours at a time. They often have a clever or flashy tip jar and spend most of their free time perfecting their craft(s) and doing their best to earn some money.
This particular type of street performer knows that there is an art to approaching people. While performing in front of an audience, successful buskers know that connecting with the crowd is critical for success. Watching seasoned buskers in the zone is something truly remarkable. They have it down to an exact science and sometimes can make decent wages in the process.
Some street performers are simply passionate about certain artforms and have spent multiple hours practicing. They want to see how they will stand up in the public eye before attempting to play at public venues or to see if they are ready to take their skills to a professional level. These street performers rely less on working the crowd and focus more on doing their thing. Where they still do have a tip jar, and appreciate any monetary love shown by the passers-by, that is not the point of their street-performing journey.
The purest form of busking is when lesser-known-by-appearance artists who often perform at some of the finest symphony halls and stages in the land take time out to bless the general public with an extraordinary sound. This happens frequently, and there is footage of people just whizzing past them, paying them no mind whatsoever, while later that day they will be performing for an elite audience that pays hefty ticket prices for admittance.
It always spills out after the fact, presumably to help guide humanity to stop and smell the roses, or in this case, stop to listen to the music. Sometimes it may be just a person named Chad who has been practicing for years and feels like playing for the public; other times it may be a living legend breaking down barriers so regular people can enjoy the sounds of the symphony. Either way, there is beauty in it as long as people slow down long enough to soak it in.
It seems as if street performing as a star has been trending over the last couple of decades. Famous people have been increasingly doing street performances both in broad daylight as well as incognito. Some top-tier celebrities have been exposed for doing surprise public performances while hiding their identity. The magic of Google will guide to anybody to videos of celebrities busking in disguise. Christina Aguilera, Miley Cyrus, and Maroon 5 are the top searches that pop up, but there are countless examples of it.
Some street performers have maximized their potential and become a master of their trade. Many of them use busking as a platform to be noticed and to perhaps move up the ladder towards the mighty music industry. Not that busking was the sole factor in any of their professional success, but famous former street performers include Rod Stewart, Tracy Chapman, Robin Williams, Eddie Izzard, B.B. King, Pierce Brosnan, Bernie Mac, Jewel, Ed Sheeran, Passenger, Steve Martin, Beck, and George Michael.
Chattanooga’s local artists are doing a great job of getting out there and blessing the streets with music and other forms of entertainment. While buskers are doing a bit of everything, street performers playing music are the dominating force around the city. Random magical music moments can, have, and will continue to power the energy of the streets of Chattanooga. Street musicians range from unnamed local artists to some of Chattanooga’s well-known performers like Swayyvo and Rick Rushing, Jr. Regardless of stature, Chattanooga-based street performers can steal the hearts of the surrounding audience with powerful, captivating vocals and instrumental skills.
A local 501c(3) nonprofit organization, SoundCorps is helping to put local street performers to work through their Sidewalk Stages program. According to their official webpage, Sidewalk Stages is geared to “activate Chattanooga’s streets with live, local performances.” SoundCorps works in cooperation with the City of Chattanooga, Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Folk School of Chattanooga and other community partners to develop the program, which incentivizes 25–35 buskers every weekend around Chattanooga.
SoundCorps Sidewalk Stages should be a huge motivation for all of the bedroom performing artists. Sometimes just getting up and getting out to perform on the street can be a bit intimidating for people without some guidance, especially for the newbies. The unaware artists who are not tapping into this fierce local entity should reach out them immediately for guidance. With a mission far wider than just Sidewalk Stages, SoundCorps aims to “re-establish Chattanooga as a music mecca with a healthily growing cultural economy. Success for us means Chattanooga has more music venues, sound recording studios, record labels, record stores, retail outlets, music industry professional services firms and more.” To find out more about their programs, visit soundcorps.org
For the people out there who have never taken part in busking (myself included), let’s take a moment and imagine hauling an instrument to a busy area like the walking bridge, setting up in a specific area, and jamming on it in front of everybody, for all to see. Just the thought of it is a little bit nerve-racking. Kudos to those who can focus and present their art publicly.
Busker should be spelled c-o-u-r-a-g-e because that is what it takes for a person to post up in high traffic areas to display their specific art form(s) for the often scrutinizing public eye. It takes guts for people to put themselves out there and perform art on the street.
It is easy to get caught up in everyday life and swiftly walk past the artists who fill the streets of Chattanooga with arts, harmony, love, and light; but it is just as easy to stop and watch a person doing what they love. It is amazing to watch the street artists tap into their flow state and get in the zone. Instant connections are formed and people get filled up with warmth as they listen, watch, and engage with the buskers.
Slow down from time to time, Chattanooga, and show the street performers some love. They are not very hard to find. Just telling them they are doing a great job could be enough to keep them coming back. To all of you bold humans out there who busk for fun, necessity, love, or a living, thank you very much for all that you do. You are making a difference individually and collectively.