Love That Album Episode 186 - Interview with Cary Baker about the book "Down On The Corner: Adventures In Busking And Street Music"

Love That Album Episode 186 - Interview with Cary Baker about the book "Down On The Corner: Adventures In Busking And Street Music"

From Love That Album by Maurice Bursztynski

June 29, 2025 · 1h 11m · Episode 186

About this episode

Cary Baker discusses his book on busking and street music, sharing stories from his experiences and the musicians he has encountered.

It's been said that the mark of a great city is how it promotes the arts. Thinking specifically about busking or street performing, some cities actively encourage musicians to perform in parks, streets, and other outdoor surrounds. THAT is a town devoted to the arts. Welcome to episode 186 of Love that Album. Cary Baker is a native of Chicago who has had a great career in music publicity and has worked with some of the most well known bands in the US during his stint at IRS and Capitol records. However, his passion has always been with those musicians who performed on street corners or at markets. He's written a great new book called Down On The Corner: Adventures in Busking and Street Music. He tells a bit about his own origins with buskers and how that led to much of the work that followed. Many famous artists started out as buskers before gaining popularity in the more conventional spheres of the music loving world. The vast majority of busking musicians, however, continue to perform for years on city streets, with that being the means to an end. Cary's book is American-centric with a little bit of a look “across the pond” as Americans call it, but it's still a fascinating…

People in this episode

Host: Maurice Bursztynski

Guest: Cary Baker

Topics covered

  • busking
  • street music
  • music publicity
  • Cary Baker
  • Chicago music scene
  • musician stories

Keywords

  • busking
  • street performing
  • Cary Baker
  • music publicity
  • Chicago
  • musicians
  • Maxwell Street Market

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Down On The Corner: Adventures In Busking And Street Music

Places: Chicago, Maxwell Street Market

More episodes of Love That Album

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Love That Album podcast page.