What would Toronto transit be without its diverse melange of buskers?

By Matthew Hanick

If the city operates like a living organism, then the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) functions as Toronto’s lifeblood, keeping the city’s pulse alive and its people moving. Within the vast urban framework, commuters pass through in all directions, charting a million paths. But there is one group of people you will likely come across that stands out from the buzz of activity: buskers.

Busking is the art of playing music in public spaces for voluntary donations. While buskers brighten our daily commutes and improve the overall transit experience, we often fail to give them the attention they deserve. But we should, since these devotees are immensely passionate about their craft.

On the TTC, commuters can expect to find a variety of performers who are dedicated to keeping this art form alive. In 1980, the TTC launched a pilot project featuring local street performers at eight stations. The TTC Underground Subway Musicians Program was launched soon after nearly three-quarters of TTC customers said they favour music in the system. 

“Toronto has a great, diverse talent pool when it comes to musicians,” says TTC spokesperson Stuart Green. “The program aims to improve the overall customer experience by brightening up the atmosphere in the subway with live music, and the TTC encourages buskers to play a role in shaping Toronto’s cultural identity.”

To perform in these stations, Toronto musicians and performers enter a competitive audition process. Every three years, the TTC holds auditions, where hundreds of applicants converge. Before the digital age, applicants would audition live, but now they submit audition tapes through YouTube. In the end, 89 of the highest-scoring musicians receive a license to perform at one of the current 29 dedicated spaces nestled in stations throughout the TTC. 

“I was accepted and got number two that year,” says Adam Solomon, a veteran TTC subway performer with the Underground Musicians Program. “It didn’t really matter what number you were; it was about being part of the system underground.” 

Solomon’s music is a vibrant fusion of jazz, Afro-pop, reggae and blues. His sound exudes warmth and soul, with intricate guitar melodies and rich rhythms. Busking provides the musician with ample opportunity to entertain and connect with diverse audiences throughout the city. 

Inspired by the talent of Toronto buskers, Adam Solomon first auditioned in 1994 during the Labour Day weekend at the Canadian National Exhibition. Since then, Solomon has served as an ambassador for the TTC, advocating for the importance of funding public transit. “I couldn’t imagine this great city without the subway system,” he says. 

A recent change to the program is the TTC’s notable partnership with Universal Music to set up a more professional-looking backdrop for the buskers, which Green says adds “a level of credibility” to the program.

Many commuters often succumb to their implicit biases and assume that buskers are unhoused individuals seeking spare change on the bustling streets, using music as a means to supplement their income. This stereotype ignores the simple truth that regardless of housing situation, buskers want to share their love for music across the city and enrich the soundscape of the TTC. 

“Most street musicians are just artists looking to perform, and they find it a good way to express themselves,” says Kyler Mackenzie, a Toronto-based musician and street performer. 

Mackenzie is known for his melding of contemporary folk, Celtic and Spanish-inspired music on classical guitar. His acoustic pieces are both delicate and dynamic, with melodies that resonate among listeners in Toronto’s busy streets.

Initially working as a smith finisher, he transitioned to busking during the pandemic. He began to enjoy livening the mood of passersby in areas like Kensington Market and Humber Bay Shores. 

While Toronto is his first love, music has since taken him worldwide. The art of street performance allows Mackenzie to find intimacy and connections in areas taken up by thousands of daily commuters. “Music is an international language,” he says. 

“When you play outside of your own country, to people who don’t speak your language, that really starts to shine.”

For Solomon, music is also a deeply spiritual and healing form of art, which he aims to share with everyday commuters. “When musicians perform in the subway stations, it brings calm,” he says. “It’s sweet, it brings memories.”

However, there are many practical challenges of being a subway performer. Solomon and Mackenzie often have to deal with difficult audience members. Solomon says he has encountered individuals with disturbing views, including racist ones.

Audiences can be difficult to hold onto in the street and buskers are responsible for managing a crowd like any other performer. 

During one show, an unsolicited man approached Mackenzie, drawing the crowd’s attention away from the music. To Mackenzie’s surprise, the man dropped a pair of Shamballa beads into his suitcase and then walked away, visibly emotional.

“You’re entering the unpredictable every time you go out there. I’ve had a lot of characters to deal with,” Solomon says. 

While it can be difficult to perform in the subway, the memories of connection keep buskers coming back. “People tell me how good I sound, and when I’m not around, they miss me. When I’m back, they’re very happy,” says Solomon.

Busking brings an energetic and raw form of musical expression to the forefront, offering artists a unique platform to entertain and connect with audiences. Yet, Mackenzie and Solomon’s contributions extend far beyond music, they work to add a sense of vitality to the otherwise mundane everyday commuters, inviting them to pause for a minute for the mutual appreciation of art. Mackenzie is optimistic about Toronto’s potential to cultivate a vibrant busking scene that could become a highlight of the city. 

“I think it really adds a lot of art to a city and there can be so much done to make it a focal point and something unique. Toronto definitely has it. There are so many talented musicians here.”