Music of busking still alive on St. Augustine streets

By Meoghan Swain

It’s seldom in this technological world that we hear music authentically, without the use of technology. People can listen through speakers outside a local business, headphones and on the road. In St. Augustine, passersby can scrap the digitals and hear live music by simply walking down the street. 

The sounds of accordions, guitars, saxophones and angelic voices echo off the walls of Spanish architecture, grabbing the attention of both tourists and locals.   

Busking, a form of street performing, is part of the lifestyle in St. Augustine. People with a variety of instruments and musical skills set up off the streets of St. George Street to perform for extra cash.

As laws prohibit the use of any kind of amplification, the sounds heard on St. George Street are as raw and authentic as they come. It’s an outlet where those who are struggling can make an income, but also a place where artists can be discovered. 

“It’s just you and your instrument. It’s absolutely the rawest form of music,” Joshua Worthy, a retired busker who previously lived on the street said.

Worthy, who is now a full-time musician, knew nothing about busking when he first came to St. Augustine. He saw that people were singing and playing for cash and decided to try it out for himself.

“To know that I was making an income by doing something I loved so dearly that I’d be playing anyway was amazing,” Worthy said.

Worthy stumbled onto busking out of necessity. Others, who live more stable lives, travel to St. Augustine to perform because of the freedom it gives them, and because everyone can use a little extra cash. 

An accordion player from Interlachen, Florida, known as Ben Busker travels to St. Augustine on weekends to perform downtown. He does not mind the one-hour drive as he believes, there are many perks to busking.

“I just like the freedom of it. I don’t like feeling like I’m obligated to be on somebody’s schedule or playlist,” Busker said. 

This freedom allows performers to play what they enjoy or to make things up on the spot. When musicians love what they play, their audiences can tell, which is why many pedestrians stop to listen. 

“I like the grimyness of it. That’s the best way I could put it. Street performing is just grimy,” Busker said.

And the tourists like it, too. People come from all over just to walk St. George Street and experience all its sights, sounds and smells. The buskers are all a part of that St. Augustine charm that makes people come back.

Busking has taken off in this town for many reasons. As St. Augustine has a large homeless population, busking is an option for the homeless in terms of making an income. 

Walking down St. George Street, there is a man in a yellow bucket hat named Brian Meharg. He never considered himself a musician until he decided to purchase a wooden xylophone set for $20.

“I sat on St. George Street and tried to learn the different tones and I made $60 just trying to learn. I said, ‘I like this idea,”’ Meharg said. 

Aside from the popularity within the homeless community, busking has also become popular due to the amplifications created by the buildings surrounding St. George Street. 

The tall buildings downtown create areas of natural amplification. This is great for buskers because their sounds can be heard in areas in which they are not playing. The prize spot to play due to the amplification is Treasury Street. 

“I would try to wake up early enough to get treasury. That was the goal, to get treasury,” Worthy said, reminiscing his time as a busker.

Because Treasury Street is such a sought-after spot, tension can often grow between performers. Over the years, it has become an unspoken rule not to stay in that area for too long.

“There would be little wars. In some of these cases it would be a matter of eating or finding a hotel room,” Worthy said. 

If Treasury is taken, all hope is not lost. Buskers can set up almost anywhere around St. George Street and make a decent amount of tips. One of the only laws is to be 50 feet away from St. George Street. 

“When I was a kid I used to skateboard a lot and I would just find all these different spots to practice until I got kicked out. It’s almost like busking is the adult version of that. Now, I’ll find different spots where I can busk. It’s just like finding the best skate spot,” Busker said. 

Busker never considers time playing music as a waste of time or a waste of a drive. He plays in St. Augustine to get feedback and to get in some extra practice.

“I don’t feel like I’m wasting my time. Even if it’s a slow day and I’m not really making any money, I at least feel like I’m advancing and getting better at what I do,” Busker said. 

Busking, more than anything, is a learning opportunity for musicians of all ages. Worthy, for example, had never played for an audience until he was living on the street. He was forced to play in order to make money, but it taught him how to become a performer.

“I was proving to myself that I could do this, that I was surviving. And what it did physically was teach me to sing with all I’ve got. I even sang so much and so loud that my voice gave out,” Worthy said. 

It’s the fear of performing that he had to get over in order to succeed. Now, as a professional musician, he tells young artists that, if they need somewhere to start, hit the streets. 

Every busker performs for different reasons. Some do it to get started as an artist. Others do it to make an income or simply just because they like to play. But a commonality between every busker is that they find joy in interacting with their audiences.

There’s a mutual appreciation between the performer and the audience. As much as passersby enjoy the music, buskers appreciate people’s genuine interest, gratuity, and conversation– a level of humanity we cannot experience digitally.

Music is something that brings communities together in a way that words and actions cannot. Songs, especially when heard live, hit audiences on a deeper level. 

“Music is therapeutic, its medicinal and its more than just a hobby,” Worthy said. 

Busking brings a liveliness to the streets of St. Augustine. Along with the great food, one-of-a-kind shops and gorgeous scenery, visitors can be assured to be charmed just by taking a moment to listen to the voices of St. Augustine. 

“When you’re singing and you’ve got a crowd of people and you see kids dancing, everything is right! It ain’t work,” Worthy said.