After bidding adeiu to the man in yellow tights in Metropolis, we drove east towards Nashville, Tennessee. We arrived early enough in the night to take a driving tour of the city, get a hotel, and go out on the town for a few hours before calling it a night. We decided to walk around the main area of downtown Nashville, camera in hand. We weren't sure what or who we'd encounter, but we were prepared nonetheless. We were happy to have been prepared when we came across two street performers. We asked them about their stories, their passions, and life as a street performer. They were happy to oblige and we walked away with a spontaneous and insightful interview. We were satisfied with our one interview, but the road had other plans for us. Just a few feet up the road from the two street performers we interviewed was a man named Darby, another street performer who was busy strumming away at his guitar. As we walked by, he started to tell us about his ambitions to be a street performer and his passion for music. We all exchanged glances as he spoke - what he was saying was perfect interview material. Sarah jumped at the opportunity and asked Darby's permission to film him. He agreed and what followed was a valuable addition to our collection of interviews. He told us about how he had started playing in the clubs of downtown Nashville and how we was working his way towards stardom. His drive was evident and all three of us heard his passion as he shared one of his songs with us.
Darby (on left) and his friend, also a street performer
We left Darby to his music after we finished up his interview and continued to wander around the downtown area until we found ourselves inside B.B. Kings Blues Club.
A live band played inside and, at the end of their set, the musicians came out into the audience! Sarah getting serenaded by one of the musicians:
It never hurts to be reminded of this:
What's more Nashville/country music than Dolly Parton?!
We returned to our hotel that night (after stopping for McFlurries, of course) feeling satisfied. We had met people who were doing what they loved - playing music. Even if it wasn't paying an incredible amount, all of the street performers we interviewed had a crucial ingredient of success: hope. Maybe we aren't all doing exactly what we are passionate about as a career at the moment, but our visit to Nashville served as a reminder that remaining hopeful and working hard at whatever it is that we love can lead to the fulfillment of dreams.
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