Gabriel Royal

Take off your headphones, New York. If you ride the L or G trains, namely through the Metropolitan Ave./Lorimer Street stop in Williamsburg, you need to hear Gabriel Royal— the handsome, cello-playing busker serenading surly straphangers during their daily commute. His voice is soft and sweet and proves the perfect antidote to screeching trains and squealing kids.

Just this Thursday, we witnessed Royal bring a holy hush to the 1st Avenue subway station in Manhattan during rush hour—an impressive feat.

You can check out videos of Royal’s performances on his website here. Hat-tip to ANIMAL sharing the particularly pretty video above, shot by Brett Paine Murphy. - Huffington Post

The first of a new series of videos from clothiers J.Lindeburg entitled New York Vignettes features a busker you will recognize if you ever frequent the Lorimer Street / Metropolitan Avenue subway stop in Williamsburg. Gabriel Royal, a solo singing cellist, has been busking in the station since 2010. - Viewing NYC

Regulars of the Bedford L stop in Williamsburg will recognize Royal as the cello-wielding busker whose sweet sound floats wistfully over the cavernous train station. His debut, self titled LP captures the live set's melange of quarter-note triplets and mellow tenor vocals. Opener “G Major Suite” finds Royal crooning manifesto couplets like, “Let's just make one thing this clear.” “Say It's Right” and “Past the Flowers” continue the dulcet pace with aplomb; only “Morning Baby” and “So Glad to See You” depart from the baroque-soul formula, marrying delicate balladry to angst-driven lyrics like “I'm about to lose my mind” and a dropping of the F-bomb. (Brian Chidester) - The Deli - emerging music from your local scene