Street Musicians, ACLU Sue City of St. Louis Over Permit Law Requiring Fees, Auditions
When saxophonist Frederick Walker retired from his band "Mystic Voyage" after 21 years, he decided he didn't want to hang it up completely. He took his talents to the streets, specifically the 9th Street side of the Soulard Market, to try his hand at buskering. ![]()
Courtesy ACLU Frederick Walker
"I'm 70 years old and I thought it was time to give up jumping up and down on tables and chairs," he says. "I decided to slow down."
Walker says before long a city official approached him and told him he needed a permit. There was also a required audition (though Walker never actually had to complete one since, he figures, the city official saw him playing on the street).
"He saw me. He knows I can play," says Walker.
The fee, however, was another matter.
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