London launches search for best underground buskers
For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, the London Underground is holding auditions to select the best buskers to perform across the city's transport network, which sees 3.5 million users daily. From a total of 450 musicians who applied, 280 made the shortlist for 10 days of auditions, with a wide variety of instruments and talents due to be showcased in the hope of receiving a license.
Transcript
00:00 [ambient street noise]
00:02 [ambient street noise]
00:04 [music]
00:30 When you say busker, people tend to think of, you know, a person with an acoustic guitar.
00:36 And as we've seen this morning, we've had a variety of people.
00:39 We've had somebody with an electronic cello.
00:42 We've had two people with saxophone.
00:45 We've had a couple vocalists.
00:47 So we've just had a mix of instruments, and that's one thing I really love about the scheme.
00:53 And I'm looking forward to some of the interesting instruments we're going to get.
00:56 [music]
00:58 [music]
01:00 [music]
01:07 [music]
01:14 [music]
01:20 We've got ten minutes to impress those judges and just try and secure a license.
01:27 We're looking for a really diverse range of musicians that represent the diverse city that London is.
01:32 And we had some great musicians this morning, from pianists to saxophonists and guitarists.
01:37 And it's been fantastic to see.
01:39 I love performing for people. I love showing people my voice.
01:43 And I love just sharing music around.
01:45 So that is definitely something that I am very excited about.
01:48 That's a really exciting aspect of this whole thing for me.
01:51 I personally think that quality is better than quantity.
01:56 And with London being quite a very, very diverse city, it has a lot to give and offer.
02:01 Hence why I think the underground system is trying to get a diversity of different acts and sounds.
02:10 And that's why here I am.
02:25 [music]
02:27 [music]
02:29 [music]
02:31 [music]
02:33 (upbeat music)
02:35 [BLANK_AUDIO]