Take the S Train: Manhattan’s Most Musical Subway

The S train, buried in the heart of Manhattan, is a one-stop shuttle between Grand Central and Times Square. It’s the city’s shortest and oldest subway line, and it’s a gathering point for buskers who come in search of business and business cards. Popular for its location and advantageous acoustics, the S train draws violinists, vocalists, guitarists, and pianists who perform micro-shows for locals and tourists alike. The ride lasts three minutes. “It’s prime real estate,” according to the thirty-five-year-old beatboxing guitarist Akil Dasan Baker, known to some of his fellow-performers as the King of the S. Baker prefers the more humble epithet of Ambassador. The Philadelphia-born father and Columbia University graduate pioneered the on-train shuttle concert more than ten years ago and continues to play both original songs and covers for “the rich, the poor and everyone in between.” While Baker considers himself a public servant in the business of making people happy, the question of how much money he actually makes always seems to arise. “I make exactly enough so that you don’t hate me and exactly enough so that you won’t call me a bum,” Baker says.