It’s easy for guitarists to pick up their instruments and play wherever they want.
But what if you’re a pianist who wants to take the beloved instrument outside and play on it? Colin Huggins has got the perfect answer. No matter how heavy the piano might be, he still wheels it around the city to tackle the ivories wherever the inspiration strikes him. If that’s not the definition of putting in real effort, we don’t know what is.
Colin Huggins, a 42-year-old American classical pianist, and busker bought the now-famous Steinway B grand piano thanks to crowdfunding.
People from Manhattan know Huggins as the piano man, the musician who travels around with his 800-pound piano. Four times a week, Huggins puts the piano on wheels and takes it on a half a mile journey to Washington Square Park.
You’ll mostly find him at the iconic Greenwich Village gathering spot, where he brings free music to everyone who cares to listen.
The piano man started playing guitar at an early age, then switched to piano and then quit music in 1998 and worked on several different jobs. In 2003, Huggins moved to New York to work as an accompanist for ballet dancers at the Joffrey Ballet. Finally, in 2007, he began busking.
At first, he played on the upright piano, then launched two successful crowdfunding campaigns.
The first was in 2016 when he bought a Yamaha C5. The second one took place in 2018, and the rest is history. After hearing him play, we completely understand why the crowd would want to finance Colin’s piano purchase, the man is an awesome pianist. “Everyone deserves to have a positive, powerful, emotional musical experience,” says Huggins. That’s why he plays in the snow, in the rain, the man is devoted to bringing art to people.
At the beginning of the video, you’ll see the piano man pushing his instrument down the street.
In the background, Huggins explains how he became a piano busker. Some important lines from his biography appear at the bottom of the screen, and it helps us understand better the man who says that he “was always looking for a more fulfilling artistic experience.”
He’s shown packing up the piano, and you’ll be amazed by the strategy Colin uses.
A little bit of brute force, a certain amount of leverage and voila!
The most hilarious moment is when Huggins comments that he’s experienced one funny thing hundreds of times, and that’s when someone comes up to him and says “I bet you wish that you played the flute.”
Others offer to help, but Colin has everything worked out.
Piano man has got an audience that surely appreciates what he does.
There is always a huge crowd of people when he plays, everyone is smiling.
Two ladies climbed up on the piano to sing, and others started dancing around.
Whatever Colin does, it works, his playing makes people happy.
Not to mention, that he’s a phenomenal musician. “I try my best to hear and see all of the emotions of people around me,” explains Colin.
It shows, and we’re happy to see such a selfless act of love and humanity.
When he first started busking, police ticketed musicians who performed near monuments and park benches. One time, Colin was fined over $6,000. Luckily, the policy has since been revoked and it has never stopped him from coming again and again!
Over five million people have seen the video since it was uploaded on YouTube in 2018.
Everyone agrees on one thing: examples like this restore faith in life and humanity!
Watch his inspiring performance in the link below:
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