Pike Place Market wouldn’t be the same without its array of eclectic street performers. On any given day you can see and hear just about anything. Five-string banjo prodigies.
Sidewalk piano players. Folks in cat masks ripping on the accordion. It’s all a part of what makes the Market so unique.
This year a new festival seeks to highlight the best local talent that the Market has to offer: Buskarama , which kicks off 10 a.m. Saturday, June 15.
With 15 designated locations throughout the Market, along with a showcase at The Rabbit Box theater beginning at 7:30 p.m., there are ample chances all day long to catch exciting live performances from local musicians playing a variety of folk, rock and soul tunes.
“There’s a magic opportunity here for everyone to come together and to do something that can build on what happened in the past,” event organizer and Staxx Brothers guitarist and singer Davin Michael Stedman said. “I’m standing on the shoulders of giants.” One of those giants is Jim Page, a legendary Seattle figure and veteran street singer and guitarist who’s back at the Market for the evening Buskarama showcase at The Rabbit Box theater along with Artis the Spoonman and cellist/composer Christine Gunn.
It’s been about a decade since Page last performed here, but already he likes what he sees. “The vibe is all different now. It’s way better,” he said.
“It was good before, but now it’s like, ‘What town am I in?’” Page is a longtime advocate.