Stop 1 – Washington D.C. - “Blind Busking” Live Stream Music Tour

Documenting a huge adventure in public.

Nov 13, 2020

Overview:

We didn’t end up leaving Spring lake until about 8 pm on Monday, November 2, 2020. Once we arrived in D.C. it was clear Election Day was the NEXT day! Windows of all the buildings downtown were boarded up over 10ft high. There was an eerie silence in the city that felt like you should be holding your breath.

It was just past midnight when we arrived at our hotel downtown. This was the first realization that we packed way too much stuff for this trip and playing Tetris on every stop would become a reality. The man from the hotel helped us bring our things upstairs and took the keys to valet the car for the evening. We were planning on taking Uber to the White House in the morning so we had all our things in the room with us.

The next morning I woke up early to get some work done before the day started. Our plan was to make it to the White House by 10 am to avoid the crazy election day crowds. Shortly after arriving at the first amendment activity area in front of The White House, it was obvious that we were NOT going to be the only people playing music. We were unsure where to set up at first because there was a huge speaker blasting pop music. We moved off to the side and made sure the top of the White House was still in the frame. An overwhelming rush as we were setting up the cameras and the equipment came over both Anthony and me. This was it. We were setting up to busk in front of the White house ON Election Day 2020!

45 minutes and $43 dollars later we were ready to pack up with the first live stream show of the tour completed. What a rush. Anthony and I began walking around the plaza and taking pictures with our GoPro. One of the activists came up to Anthony and explained how he was a wrestling coach and had seen Anthony’s documentary film before! It is a small world after all!

We made it back to the hotel and packed up our things. We hit the road with Asheville, NC as our next destination.

Highlights:

Nice clean hotel room to sleep on the first night
Pulling off our first Busking stop in front of the White House on Election Day!!
All the positive feedback we received from people walking by during Anthony’s playing