​Buskerfest Founders Bring O,ral Records to O, Miami

They’ve already been bringing music to public transit commuters for a few years and now Amy San Pedro and Justin Trieger, the co-founders of Buskerfest are showcasing stories from public transit riders in their latest venture O,ral Records.

As part of this month’s O, Miami Poetry Festival, the two have partnered with Miami-Dade Transit to give every day stories about the public transit system from the general public artistic treatment by local artists.

“We spent all of March gathering stories about the transit system from the riders and employees. Our favorite stories will then be selected for interpretation by local artists as new songs, comedic skits, mini-plays, poetry and more,” says San Pedro.

The project culminates in a public performance of the new creative works on April 26 at the YoungArts Campus as part of the Miami Zine Fair.

The seeds for O,ral Records were planted last year when the O, Miami organizers approached Amy and Justin about collaborating with them on a project. The inspiration had come to them during a Downtown Development Authority Quality of Life meeting.

“We wanted to provide a positive outlet for stories about downtown, and for the poetry aspect we drew inspiration from a project in another city where they partner everyday workers around the city with poets to help them tell their story in poetic form,” says San Pedro.

Having access to a lot of performance artists, they wanted to open this up to them and record the stories they hear from the transit riders and workers they’re paired with. The four or five commissioned pieces will be part of the performance on April 26 and will then be released as videos shortly after that date.

They’re hoping to hear plenty of positive accounts, but any kind of tales will be accepted. They hope the stories focus on the human side of what happens on the buses and the trolleys, and that they come from regular as well as first-time transit users.

The project is another way the duo are hoping to bring joy and beauty into people’s lives. And mainly, they say, “we, as many young Miamians, understand the need for active public spaces and this is a way of improving that space.”

There are two ways to submit either by phone or through the form on their Website http://buskerfestmiami.com/oral-records/. The Miami Zine Fair is April 26 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the YoungArts Campus, 2100 Biscayne Blvd.