by Brandon Summers | August 1, 2025
Disclaimer: I don’t have the time or attention span to fully lay out my thoughts about the state of busking in Las Vegas at this moment; so this post will serve as a placeholder (I won’t even bother to proofread, ha!). Without further ado, here we go. For the last several years, I enjoyed busking in Las Vegas from a bird’s eye view— meaning I only busked when I felt like it and when I could make time. However, my life circumstances have changed and I went back to busking on The Strip at the end of July as means of income/survival. And boy does it feel different now.
As mentioned, it isn’t possible for me to make a detailed entry; but I’m leaving a note that it is SLOW on Las Vegas Boulevard (which probably means the same for Fremont Street). There are still tourists and convention-goers making there way to Sin City. It is also worth noting that Las Vegas recently hosted the NBA Summer League again and it was obvious that many visitors were here for basketball. However, the frequency and volume of tips has decreased. Both the news media and LVCVA says that visitation and room occupancy is down by a significant margin; and that there have been layoffs in certain sectors of hospitality. Ebbs and flows are a natural phenomenon for Vegas and for any economy. But this time, it feels different and possibly somewhat permanent.
The current presidential administration (which I am admittedly not a fan of) has put a target on “illegals” (undocumented residents + visa overstays), international university students, political dissent, journalism, China and government aid to both citizens of the US and many abroad. While the orange man, his inner circle of sycophants, and Republicans MAGA (vb.), they have not adequately addressed inflation— the same inflation that started in 2020 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the tariff war with China may actively be throwing fuel on an economic fire that already has many Americans struggling to afford food and housing. It is safe the assume that as citizens/residents of the United States find it harder to survive each month, people are tightening their belts. And for those who are traveling from beyond the borders of the US, they may be now be apprehensive to travel since there’s a chance they could be detained by the Department of Homeland Security. In short, this is all bad news for this little city in the desert—- a city that relies on travelers from all walks of life to visit, party, dine, gamble and leave part of their hard-earned money behind year after year.
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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.
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