PTSD?

by Brandon Summers | May 2, 2025

Though street performing is mostly something I did versus something I do, I’ve managed to compartmentalize the negative experiences had on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip. But this week I had a nightmare– a dream so intense and vivid that I could not discern the experience as fiction. And as I slept, I really thought that I was being pulled over by the police for a routine traffic stop gone bad. The traffic stop was actually the execution of a warrant for a gun-related charge; but the police had the wrong Brandon Summers. “If he makes one wrong move, shoot him” is what I overheard on the police officer’s radio.

About an hour into this dream, I woke up thankfully. In a daze, it still took a moment to process what had just happened. I checked my phone for the time— 4AM. Fortunately, I didn’t have any more of these intense dreams as the days went on. But as the fifth anniversary of the George Floyd murder and protests approaches, maybe this an opportunity to address what might be latent PTSD. Personally, I didn’t simply struggle with getting arrested (and honestly, that was the least damaging of injustices I experienced). I had a hard time with constant uncertainty— the uncertainty of when I might have a negative interaction with police, where I can perform without being bothered, how my income would be impacted, and the fleeting hope of legal intervention. Though legal intervention came later in my time as a street performer, it wasn’t a constant force throughout the years.

Truthfully, it felt like I was on my own while other performers operated in silos (despite having shared experiences). Due to the transient nature of performers, some would move on to perform on Fremont Street or Venice Beach, California if there was too much heat from 5-0. So when I stood up, I stood alone. When I had my violin and cell phone impounded, I had to hustle for months to get my stuff back. It truly would have been wonderful if someone in Las Vegas’s small sphere of political influence helped me early on, but that wasn’t the case for months. And now, when people reach out to me to vent or ask for help/legal advice, it’s typically transactional— rarely resulting in community building. All of this cumulatively has been draining.

Regardless, I am proud of myself for getting my thoughts out in the open; and for having the fortitude to fight long and hard. BuskLV continues to be a labor of love that has both chronicled this truly unique experience and stood as a resource for performers (outside the walled-garden of big tech-owned social media platforms). I just hope it’s been worth all the trouble.

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Brandon Summers is a Las Vegas native, violinist, street performer, and advocate for spontaneous, unlicensed performance in public spaces. Summers has been busking for over ten years and has performed for Ciroc, Hudson Jeans, Netflix, JBL-Harman and many more. He is a graduate of Fort Valley State University where he majored in mathematics and holds BA in liberal studies.