Jukebox the Ghost Play Public Pianos

Photo by Chad McFarlin

It’s no secret that we here at Paste have something of a tiny band-crush on Philadelphia piano-pop group Jukebox the Ghost. Ever since they brought their infectious tunes to our offices not long ago, we were hooked. Since then, the trio has managed to find ways to keep us intrigued and entertained.

Recently, the group let its creativity shine in New York, playing around with a very cool piece of artwork by Luke Jerram called “Play Me, I’m Yours.” According to the piece’s website, “Street pianos are appearing in cities across the world. Located in parks, squares, bus shelters and train stations, outside galleries, markets and on bridges and ferries, the pianos are for any member of the public to enjoy and claim ownership of.  So far, Jerram has installed 167 pianos in 8 different cities worldwide.”

The ivory-keyed instruments have been set up in cities around the globe including Sydney, London, Barcelona and Bath. The latest installment of the artwork includes a scattering of pianos in New York’s boroughs. The boys of Jukebox the Ghost, in a stroke of street music genius, decided to give a total of five impromptu performances around them, which they announced via their Facebook and Twitter accounts. Unfortunately, due to some voice issues, they only made it to four, but they took lots of video, which will hopefully find its way into the public viewing sphere soon. Until then, catch them on one of their few remaining summer tour dates, below.

July
11 — Louisville, Ky. @ Forecastle Festival
13 — New York, N.Y. @ 92Y Tribeca
24 — Leesburg, Va. @ FLO FEST

August
6 — Chicago, Ill. @ Lollapalooza

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