by Brandon Summers | April 4, 2026
It’s April 2026 and I’ve done a little busking this year; AND I’m long overdue for a post (the last post was September 2025). This will be more of a stream of consciousness than a fully fleshed out story. If it’s not your speed, feel free to skip. Otherwise, let’s get on with it.
I didn’t take my violin out onto Las Boulevard this year until mid-March and that had a lot to do with my day job (education). School went on break on the 14th and that’s when I decided to head out to The Strip for a few hours. The weather was damn-near perfect and there was reasonable foot traffic. The only drawback was how long it took to get out there via the bus. But that gave me time to just sit with myself, my thoughts, and some boredom (nothing wrong with that in an age of endless scrolling). The challenge I gave myself was to make it there and back without spending (wasting) any money. So no spending on parking, food, or snacks. Back in the day, it used to be the cost of doing business, but casinos have gotten greedy while the cost of EVERYTHING has dramatically inflated… I used to get two cold bottles of water for $1 from the ABC Store. But fast forward to now, the fucking [$1] Dollar Tree is now the $1.50 Tree.
Anyway, I was successful in not parting ways with the money in my pocket and came home with some instead. I managed to do this twice before March was over and I enjoyed both nights. I hope to give it a go again this first weekend of April. It’s always nice to get some fresh air and knock the dust off of an instrument I’ve spent most of my life mastering. And it’s always a blessing when I can do this without being bothered by security or the police.
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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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