Busking through Byron Bay

Young dumb and full of... Love, was what I was feeling at the time and for some reason probably the dumb part of my brain telling me to trust my friend when he told me that we could live off busking, hitch hike and the kindness of others if we travailed to Byron Bay Australia, a town known for being filled with travellers, hippies, lovers of beaches and good vibe seekers from across the world, saturated with Mary Jane, sun and good times “We wouldn't even need a bed! it is warm enough to sleep on the beaches” I was a leaf in the wind, the way I imagined everyone else to be like on their own spiritual quest in Byron Bay, we even changed our names to suit or new stance on life, Luke my friend became “Leaves Fires” and I was “Dandy Lion”

We set up our guitars in the main street and started singing our hearts out, it didn't take long for the police to arrive, a police officer walked up to us and said “You aren't allowed to busk in the main street at night” Our hearts broke as we realised our first mistake, we were stuck in a town without a way to make good money, we would be forced to busk through the day, and as buskers know you make way more money at night from drunks looking to have a good time and to hear their favourite songs
We busked through the day and made about $80 dollars between both of us each time we went out, not a bad days work doing what you love, tourist are happy to give a little change for brightening their day with a little music.

With the money we made we hit the local pub, the pubs always had good live bands playing every week, every day, the sound systems were exceptional for such small venues in Byron Bay and the bands that toured through weren't small bands but large internationals that came for the waves and experience of Byron Bay, we were even given VIP tickets to “Art vs Science” they saw us busk on the street and decided they wanted us at the show
On the last day we spent it on the beach, just soaking it all in and playing guitar to a ring of people as we drank our wine and hugged our new friends goodbye I realised that Byron Bay is not about the town itself but about the people who come to enjoy other like minded individuals and to experience this in a sunny environment, forget about the locals who grow to hate the large volume of tourists that pass through their town every day, as I left I changed my name back to “Andrew Jordan” and will return one day again soon for “Dandy Lion”