PORTLAND, Ore. -- With the warm weather arriving in force over the next week, Portland's streets, as they do each summer, are teeming with buskers.
The best street musicians and performers have already staked out coveted hot spots, where the traffic is good and tips keep flowing.
City ordinances prevent them from playing in the parks but corners across from those gathering spots are fair game. And while no permits are required, players can be shut down for violating Portland's noise ordinance.
I hit the sunny and bustling streets of Portland today to check out the hot spots around Pioneer Courthouse Square. Buskers occupied each corner. One of them was Reginald Conyers, who played at the entry of Nordstrom's, on Southwest Broadway.
Conyers, originally from Washington, D.C., was in town testing the Portland market to see if he could find a financially viable market for for his classical music. He has a following in San Francisco, New York, Chicago and D.C., where he easily makes $400-800 in tips a day. One day in New York, he made $1,300.
Conyers makes between $200 and $400 per day in Portland.
I headed to another nearby corner and found Tony Street Rose, a jazz sax player from Atlanta. He discovered Portland five years ago and now hits town each summer. He also heads to coastal hot spots like Seaside, where he says he does very well. During the winter, he plays on the streets of New Orleans, and loves the balance of his two home cities.
Street had just arrived in town when I found him in the Park Blocks by the Farmers Market, surrounded by fans that were so glad to have him back. While I was there, he played and sang "Amazing Grace" to his loyal fan Grace Growing Medicine for her 75th birthday. The performance drew a loud cheer.
As his bucket filled up with crisp $1 bills, Street told me he averages about $200 in playing about 90 minutes in different downtown locations.
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