ENTERTAINMENT | HK group brings busking culture to Senado Square

A Hong Kong busking (street performance) group called Rhythm attracted a crowd last week in Senado Square.
The group sang famous pop songs by Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland singers, as well as several of their own original songs, one of which was dedicated to Macau.
While the Macau government has organized street performances from time to time, it is not often that performers from nearby regions play in the city’s streets on a voluntary basis.
Natalie Ho, one of the Hong Kong busking group’s two members, told the Times that they have performed in the streets of Macau five to six times since the beginning of this year.
She said that they were attracted to the city because of the cultural atmosphere here.
“The first time we came to Macau, we were merely here to travel. But we like the cultural atmosphere of the city. We also think Macau people share the music of Hong Kong, Taiwan and the mainland, as well. Since we can see that the busking culture in Hong Kong is more dynamic, we want to bring this feeling here to see if we can encourage more people [in Macau] to participate in busking,” said Natalie Ho.
When they travel to Macau to busk, the group members have to bring an amplifier, a guitar and their laptop. Ms Ho expressed that transportation is an issue for them.
“We have to bring a lot of things here. Sometimes it is [troublesome],” she said.
“When we come to and leave from here [Senado Square[, we have to take a taxi… You know about the traffic conditions of Macau, right? So it is difficult for us.”
Sometimes they are approached by police officers who ask them to turn down the volume. However, she thinks that this is a reasonable request.
Notwithstanding the difficulties in transportation, Natalie Ho is happy that they have been able to communicate with musicians in Macau during their time busking here.
“The happiest thing is to meet other musicians [in Macau]. They are very welcoming and [they] told us that we did not need to bring that much equipment because they could have lent some to us. We would also share the music that we usually play,” she said.
Due to financial constraints, Natalie Ho said that they could not visit the region as frequently as they have in the past. She revealed that her group is in talks with local bands regarding possible future collaborations.