Court Street Crooners

Strolling down Court Street on a weekend, the vibrancy of Athens life is on full display; college students having a little too much fun and neon lights bleeding onto the brick streets from crowded bars are hallmarks of the town. However, one of the most significant aspects of Athens’ most famous street is the abundance of buskers.

Buskers are people who perform on the street, usually for money or to promote an act. Athens is home to several different street performers, including some who specialize in reading poetry to passersby and some who play the saxophone to popular songs.

A plethora of musicians started as buskers. Janis Joplin, one of rock’s most iconic voices, started busking in the streets of Austin while attending the University of Texas at Austin before dropping out and hitchhiking to San Francisco, where her career took off. Riley B. King, a.k.a. B.B. King, taught himself guitar and performed on the street before becoming Beale Street royalty. Even modern artists like Ed Sheeran began their careers as street performers.