Performance-based artists of all genres, ages and ethnicities battled it out for a coveted spot on the subway platform at the MTA's 28th annual Music Under New York auditions. A crowd watched as approximately 70 acts competed in front of a panel of judges on Tuesday at Grand Central Terminal's Vanderbilt Hall.
"We have an opportunity to capture the moment," said auditionee Marc Mueller, who goes by the name Street Mule. "Playing some music -- even connecting to somebody for 30 seconds -- is a spontaneous moment of now," he said, "which is so important for the human soul."
The performers hope to join a roster of more than 350 acts that delight commuters in over 7,500 performances a year. Those that make the cut will have their choice of more than 30 locations where performers are officially sanctioned within the NYC transit system.
These auditions are part of a months-long process that takes place each year, with the MTA Arts for Transit hoping to add new talent to the highly competitive program. New York City's diversity was represented in the large variety of musical genres that competed, including Aboriginal didgeridoo, French cabaret, Brazilian guitar, Celtic folk, Chinese monochord, Mexican electronic dance, Afro-Caribbean steel pan, and Latin cumbia.
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