Ben Fisher is a University of Washington student majoring in Arabic who, in his time away from studying, moonlights as the city’s sunniest busker. For six years, beginning in his early teens, Fisher’s set up on sidewalks at farmers markets around town, opening his guitar case for spare dollars and belting songs so heartily that no other busker will perform within 20 feet of him. Crowds gather for his rousing renditions of tunes like Paul Simon’s “Graceland” and Bob Dylan’s “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go,” as well as a number of equally brisk and buoyant originals. In the past year, Fisher’s been booking a lot more shows at “real” venues, but at a recent Tractor Tavern performance, he stepped away from the microphone to bawl one of his songs without amplification, as if in homage to his street side gig. ERIN K. THOMPSON benfisher.bandcamp.com
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