In San Francisco Sunday, the sounds of the city came with a new tune as a pair of musicians played outside along Market Street.
“Whiskerman is the name of the band we both play in,” said musician Graham Patzner.
Patzner and fellow musician Jeremy Lyon were part of a launch of what’s called “Busk It!” on the sidewalks of Market Street.
“'Busk It!' celebrates bringing professional musicians to the sidewalks to get local businesses in Market Street to create joy and music for passersby and folks going to the café, the theater,” said Fernando Pujals of the Mid-Market Foundation.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
The event caught some attention in the neighborhood looking to try something new.
“'Busk it!' is part of Market Street Arts, a vision for the mid-Market neighborhood that really leads into the wonderful, creative infrastructure we have,” Pujals said. “And what I mean by that is, on three blocks, 17,000 live performance seats of fabric of community cultural organizations.”
The new effort to revitalize the area kicked off at eight different locations Saturday.
Local
“Between Fifth and Eighth streets on Market Street in San Francisco. We will have about 20 to 25 musicians playing throughout the day and then following today, you can enjoy 40 more weeks of live music on Market Street,” Pujals said.
The city has already made investments to help transform the area around UN Plaza, which faced challenges with homelessness and drugs.
A few blocks away, people said they were enjoying the activation.
“I think it’s great that the city is investing in artists and bringing people out to enjoy the main spaces. And I happen to be fans of these bands,” one San Francisco resident said.
