Our annual “So You Think You Can Busk” auditions took place on Wednesday, December 10 at TransLink’s head office in New Westminster and it was a day full of talented musicians!

In total, there were 32 musicians vying for one of seven available licenses to busk at one of six SkyTrain stations. They performed for a panel of three judges – TransLink’s own Colleen Brennan, VP of Communications and Customer Engagement;  Jacey Gibb, Editor-in-Chief of Discorder Magazine; and Lisa Christiansen, Traffic and Arts Reporter, CBC Radio One.

The judges were treated to a variety of performances from instrumentals, covers and original music to the acoustic guitar, the ukulele and harmonica. What about the handpan, Tibetan singing bowls and Caribbean steel pans? Yup, they heard those too! What are they? You’ll have to watch the audition footage to find out!

Check out our Instagram account for quick 15-second snippets of some of the performances. Judge and on-air personality Lisa Christiansen did a radio piece on the day (you’ll want to listen to the December 11, 2014 recording at around 32:25). We have posted all the auditions to the Buzzer blog YouTube channel too.

Thanks to all the musicians that came out to perform! The sights and sounds of musicians have been part of the transit culture in Metro Vancouver since 1986. Their music helps to create welcoming public spaces for customers and surrounding communities.

Watch all the auditions!

Photos

Author: Allen Tung