Before Dalton Armstrong came to Ohio University, he was a quiet high school student who typically kept to himself and never made much noise. Now, sitting behind an open guitar case, he is the center of attention under the Alumni Gateway on weekend nights — playing guitar for anyone who wants to listen.
“By the time I got adjusted to college life, I kind of just wanted to change who I was,” the freshman studying pharmacy said. “I was the person nobody ever talked to, but I also never talked to anyone. I was just a guy on the corner. Now, I’m just a guy on the corner who plays guitar for everyone.”
Armstrong is one of many street performers in Athens, the soundtrack of the bustling Court Street. But he didn’t plan on taking on that role and hadn’t considered it until someone heard him playing outside his South Green dorm and recommended he migrate to Court Street.
“At first, I thought it was going to be really terrifying to come out here (to Court Street) and play,” Armstrong, who has been playing guitar for nine years, said.
He soon warmed up to the idea of playing in front of people and the attention it brought.
“Honestly, I like the feedback people give me,” he said. “I’ve been really negative pretty much my entire life — really beating down on myself. I come out here and play, and I’m just flooded with compliments.”
Sam Kukor, one of Armstrong’s floormates in True House, said he has seen positive changes in Armstrong since he began street performing.
“He’s definitely more outgoing,” the freshman studying marine and freshwater biology said. “He’s more upbeat about things.”
Another floormate and friend, Cathy Shambaugh, a sophomore studying chemical engineering, said the once quiet and reserved Armstrong has been coming into the dorm’s common area more often to play music.
“I’m kind of jealous of those people that have that kind of confidence,” Shambaugh said.
When Armstrong is on Court Street, those passing by typically have something to offer — whether that is a few kind words, some loose change or, at one point during the night of Sept. 12, a stick of gum.
“I don’t have money. This is what I have,” the donor said.
Others, short on cash after a night at the bars, offered their appreciation solely through words.
Armstrong doesn’t quite have a setlist. He generally plays whatever comes to mind. His performances ranged from “Slide” by the Goo Goo Dolls, to “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin or “Greensleeves,” an English folk tune.
Wanting college to be a transformative experience, Armstrong put himself in situations that would normally make him uncomfortable. Aside from performing on Court Street, he participates in stand up comedy for The Blue Pencil Comedy student group.
“(Improv) kind of got me out of my comfort zone, but it also felt good to make people laugh,” he said.
Armstrong was able to read music by the age of 5 and taught himself guitar after watching his father play. He searched online to learn the technical aspects.
Farther down Court Street, more performers can be found — some with an additional visual element.
Bar crawlers have probably noticed Karinna Sortland at least once, swinging her illuminated poi, a weighted ball on a cord, to the sounds of drums. She chose to perform in Athens because she believes it has the best atmosphere for street performing for tips, known as busking.
Sortland’s 3-year-old daughter makes occasional appearances, as well, dancing along with her mother with a hula hoop. Poi, a performance art that originated in New Zealand, is a relatively new concept to Sortland.
“When I was a kid, I had this ugly purse that I used to spin around in the backyard,” she said. “I didn’t even know what I was doing, I just thought it was fun. It kind of reminds me of those days. I just started like two months ago.”
Her performances on Court Street serve as an educational experience, aside from entertainment, she said.
“I’m learning,” Sortland said. “Sometimes I’ll be doing really well, then out of the blue I’ll just whack myself in the head. It happens.”
Armstrong said the tips he makes depend entirely on the audience. Some nights he could make an average of $20, but others he could make $5 or less. Armstrong said he had made just enough in one night to purchase a new capo, which is used to raise the pitch of a fretted instrument.
Sortland said events such as Parents Weekend have the potential to bring in some extra cash because of the influx of people.
A rainy day tends to get him even more tips, Armstrong said, because donors will feel more sympathetic.
Some students, however, are somewhat indifferent about the performers.
“I don’t really have an issue with it,” Matt Lackritz, a sophomore studying journalism, said. “I don’t think it really affects (the atmosphere of Athens). It’s just part of what happens.”
Lackritz said street performers aren’t necessarily anything new to him because he is from the Cleveland area where he sees street performers downtown regularly.
Under the eyes of the law, there is no difference between street performing and panhandling, Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said.
“There’s no legal definition because panhandling is not against the law,” Pyle said. “It’s basically a person who asks for money.”
There are no legal repercussions for asking for money, and law enforcement will only get involved if the panhandler or street performer is “blocking traffic, placing themselves in danger, impeding the sidewalk,” Pyle said. Also, if the panhandler physically grabs a passerby and demands payment, police would have grounds to charge the panhandler with a robbery violation.
In the past six months, Pyle said the Athens Police Department has received complaints of aggressive panhandling tactics, mostly involving panhandlers running toward stopped cars.
“We haven’t charged anybody with it yet,” he said.
Lying about the real reason money is needed could also result in sanctions, Pyle said.
“Some jurisdictions will charge people that have collected exorbitant amounts of money when they claim, ‘I need this for cancer treatment’ or a disabled vet, and it turns out they’re not a disabled vet, they don’t need cancer treatment,” he said.
For some students, the nightlife is synonymous with the performances on Court Street.
“It definitely helps with the atmosphere,” Kukor said.
Mark Reddin, a junior studying field ecology, said he has noticed a decrease in street performers since he began attending OU.
“This year has been less of a street performing year than previous,” Reddin said. “I feel like when I was a freshman, like every group of people needed to have their band of two guitars and a small drum.”
Reddin said street performers are a positive addition to Court Street and Athens.
“I think it adds to the culture in general of Athens,” he said. “I like it because it’s not something you’d find in my hometown (of Bowling Green).”
— Julia Fair contributed to this report.
@seanthomaswolfe
