In its quest to attract attention and riders, RTA came up with an idea: have local musicians playing at transit stops — a sort of institutionalization of the time-honored idea of busking in the subway. RTA pays the musicians so they don’t have to rely on the largess of sympathetic passengers.
The program, just completing its first year, is called Transit Tracks, and it puts musicians in different parts of the system every third Thursday. It close applications for next year in early November so expect a list of performers for 2014 soon.
Vernon Jones & the Blues Cartel were selected by a passenger vote as the favorite band of 2013, winning the opportunity to come back for an encore gig. So during the busy rush hour (3-6pm) of the busy holiday season, they’ll be playing at Tower City by the RTA red/green line gate, attempting to de-stress riders with some good old blues riffs.
Jones, Robert Lockwood’s drummer for a couple of decades, now leads his own six-member ensemble fronted by vocalist Hope Moore. He’s also an active church musician.
It’s free, of course. Just take the time to pause and listen.
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