Highlights
- Melbourne's iconic buskers are helping bring back crowds into the Melbourne CBD after COVID-19 restrictions have been relaxed.
- Buskers are required to adhere to COVID-safe measures, including crowd limits and physical distancing.
- The City of Melbourne has rolled out contactless digital QR payments for the buskers.
George Kamikawa fuses his Japanese background with a passion for blues music, creating his own style of old-time blues that he has been performing on the streets of Melbourne for nearly two decades.
Busking three-four days every week before the coronavirus pandemic, streets of Melbourne were like a second home to him.
But for almost months, George, who is also known as 'Japanese Blues Cowboy', could not even set foot in Melbourne CBD which is considered a mecca for buskers, due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
This meant an abrupt disappearance of means of income and performance opportunities for him, like many in the entertainment and arts industry.
George spent some time discussing with other artists who found themselves in a similar situation and decided that the only thing he could do at the time was to create and release new music online.
"However, the longer the lockdown stretched, there was a sense of despair, even giving up," he says.
He used this time to work on his new single, Far Lights and even went further by doing the audio mixing on his own.
“Usually, my mixing is done professionally, but as I was unable to leave my home, I decided to learn it and did it on my own. It was a very productive time."
George's self produced single - Far Lights Source: George Kamikawa
After the restrictions were lifted in November and businesses slowly started to re-open in the Melbourne CBD, City of Melbourne asked George and other iconic buskers of Melbourne to help bring life back to the city streets and boost economic activity.
The program has 20 buskers perform across 20 Melbourne CBD locations every day until the end of the year.
While George is happy to be back in the city, it is not quite a happy ending for the buskers, not just yet.
Busking in the city is subject to strict COVID-19 restrictions. A maximum of ten people can gather around a busker at any given time, and the performance must stop if the number exceeds this limit.
George says he has been located in Southbank and Docklands, away from his usual spot in Bourke Street and Swanston Street. There are also restrictions on the type of instruments he can play.
"I was shocked when I found out that the use of harmonica is completely banned. That's one of my main instruments," he tells SBS Japanese.
Despite these constraints, George says he is grateful that the City of Melbourne was quick in designating locations to buskers.
"The last thing I want is to be responsible for a (COVID-19) cluster."
The Melbourne City Council has also rolled out contactless QR code payments for performers.
"We were moving towards cashless society even before the pandemic, and I was beginning to be worried, but this is a great initiative," he says.
He had his first street performance last weekend, after almost eight months.
"There were no people to start with, so that was very sad, but the traffic began to increase gradually, and I managed to sell a few CDs. So it was a good start."
George says he was surprised that people adhered to the 10 person crowd rule themselves, without him having to stop the music.
People gathered for George Kamikawa's performance in Melbourne CBD before COVID-19 pandemic. Source: George Kamikawa
"I guess we are all getting used to this Covid-normal lifestyle."
The buskers will be integrated with upcoming events, such as the Melbourne Christmas Festival, Melbourne Fashion Week and Melbourne Music Week Extended, to provide entertainment across the city.
George, who won the Tamworth Country Music Busking Championships in 2003, would attract large crowds before the coronavirus pandemic. He says it's only a matter of time before people are back in the city in the same numbers and can enjoy his music in the same way as before the pandemic.
Click play on the top image to listen to George Kamikawa's interview in Japanese.
LISTEN TO
豪バスカー歴20年のミュージシャン 上川ジョージさん
SBS Japanese
09/12/202011:49
