Battle of the Boroughs – WNYC Radio

I had the good fortune to be amongst the 9 musicians and music groups from Queens who were chosen out of some 500 musicians to perform at the WNYC Radio’s ‘Battle of the Boroughs’. The concert took place last Friday at the ‘Green Space’ in Manhattan.
I played ‘Changes’ by Scott Munson, accompanied by Mary Bopp on piano.

The funnest part of the concert was meeting and mingling with all the other musicians back stage. All the musicians were not only talented but also so nice! I knew some of them before because they also play in the subway – Thalyss from Brazil who plays guitar (usually at Union Square, on the platform below the mezzanine where I play), and ‘Astoria Boulevard’ – a band of three guys who always dress alike. They told me that the winter cold scared them out of the subway, so I encouraged them to brave it and wear layers.
The fact that there were so many subway musicians amongst the musicians chosen by WNYC Radio to perform (a third of the acts!) proves how high the quality of musicianship of subway musicians is!

Here is a video of my live performance at the ‘Green Space’. Making the introduction is WNYC Radio personality Terrance McKnight. (Please turn off the player on the right hand side before playing the video):

I’m very grateful to another subway musician friend, Cathy Grier (a folk singer/songwriter also known as ‘NYC Subway Girl’) who came to support me at this gig.