What to know
- The story follows Charmie Deller, who turned TTC busking into a full-time career (and even performed with Nelly Furtado), Alice Li, who busks to raise money for charities, and Alex Shaw, a multidisciplinary artist blending music with puppetry.
- From making a living to supporting causes like SickKids and Kids Help Phone, TTC busking is shown as both a livelihood and a platform for community impact.
- Despite the chaos of Toronto’s transit system, the TTC becomes a space for connection, creativity, and opportunity—where everyday commuters turn into audiences.
You’ve likely walked past them many times – a guitar case open on the platform or a voice echoing through the tunnel. Perhaps you’ve dropped in a toonie, or maybe you haven’t. But have you ever paused to consider who these TTC buskers are?
Now Toronto spoke with three of Toronto’s TTC buskers: a full-time performer who took the stage with Nelly Furtado, a military officer and Miss Earth Canada 2021 singing for charity, and a musician who blends sculpting with music. Together, their stories reveal what life is like when the subway becomes a stage.
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Charmie Deller
Thirty-year-old Charmie Deller is a TTC busker and singer whose journey began unexpectedly—first performing to pay her brother’s parking ticket—and eventually led her to the big stage with Canadian singer-songwriter Nelly Furtado.
At the age of 15, Charmie first performed in Montreal to pay off her brother’s parking ticket. “He just put me in a corner and was like ‘play here…’ I was super happy to be performing,” she explained.
From that point, she started busking regularly. She performed without a license for about five years. She joked, “Every time security would stop me, I would just act dumb and ask them, ‘What’s the process?’ I never got a fine.”
Now, the artist has a license. She performs songs that reflect her “lover girl” personality. “Music is a beautiful thing where you can just write to write.” She said her birthplace, Haiti, and her life experience shape her music. She roots her music in storytelling in English, French, and Creole.
Busking at the TTC is Deller’s 9-5 job. “I have never actually had a boss. I’m my own boss… I made music my whole life, it’s what I love to do,” she said.
Some opportunities the TTC has given her include headlining the Cavalcade of Lights in 2017 and meeting jazz pianist Bill King.
Her biggest TTC opportunity came when a music manager heard her play. He invited her to a birthday party where she met Nelly Furtado. “I sang on the balcony and she was like, ‘Oh, you should come write for me sometime…” And then she literally texted me, like 2 a.m. the first time we linked up. She said, ‘Hey, are you awake? Can you come to the studio?’ And I was like, ‘Hell Yeah.’” Deller went from Hamilton to Toronto to write with Furtado soon after.
Deller was in awe at the opportunity to perform with Furtado. “It was super awesome, like she’s a Canadian icon, sweetheart, talented. It was amazing to just be in the studio with her and watch someone who’s done so much in her career be herself… It was dope,” she said.
Despite reaching headlines performing with Furtado, who’s now inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, Deller still loves to perform in TTC stations.
During her performances, Deller sometimes has a group of little ladies who set up chairs and watch her, creating a mini-concert of her own.
But her favourite moment is seeing puppies. “I’m not above just stopping right in the middle of a song and asking you if I can pet your dog. I don’t care how many people are watching. There’s a cute puppy,” she joked.
Deller’s favourite: Queen Sheba, who often runs up to her.
Coming up for Deller is a song called “Revolution.” It’s inspired by taking a leap into your life, love life or dreams. “It’s like a love song, but also a self-love song,” she described. She’s also releasing trilingual songs about “home and how you’ll do anything to get back to it.”
Alice Li
Musician Alice Li took a different path. She performs for charity. “I thought it could be a great platform to raise awareness and donations towards different social causes around the city,” she said.
Many groups she helps involve kids, including SickKids, Kids Help Phone, Children’s Wish Canada, and SOS Children’s Villages Canada. “I wish I could help everyone and every cause out there. For me, it’s just trying to make a difference one day at a time, one show at a time,” she shared.
By day, Alice Li is an army officer with the Canadian Armed Forces. She also earned the title Miss Earth Canada 2021. These commitments give her a challenging schedule. “It’s basically volunteering time for me. I have to take time out of all my other commitments and my work. Usually, I forgo weekends or time off. I never take a vacation,” she said. When she has free time, she heads “straight into the subway, no questions asked.”
Despite her busy schedule, busking at the TTC is meaningful to her, and she continues to prioritize it. “Being able to transform public spaces such as the TTC into something so positive and develop a sense of community, I think that’s magical. I think that is worth losing weekends, losing vacations and losing sleep over,” she shared.
Li’s busking journey started in 2018 in front of the Eaton Centre, and with the TTC later in the year.
The TTC might be known for its hustle and bustle with all the loud noises and chaos, but Li shared that for her, it’s a place where people can come together through music, even during Christmas. “What made it so special is how cheerful everyone was. Everyone who walked by just had smiles on their faces; people were holding presents as they walked by. I loved seeing that people were wearing Santa hats… People were wishing each other Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays as they walked by. The spirit that was in the air,” she explained.
For Christmas, she’ll sing Christmas carols, but Li tailors her music to the environment. “I try to cover every single style. We live in one of the most diverse cities in the entire world, and I think that’s something that I love, so I really try to cater towards being as diverse as possible in the music,” she said.
She plays classical, throwbacks, and new releases. She even performs in French, Spanish, and Mandarin.
Li brings her Miss Earth Canada experience into her TTC busking. She uses digital screens for her music rather than printing on paper. She reuses one QR code sheet for people to scan and she often re-wears her outfits. “I still have things from my high school closet that I pull out… and you can still rock it,” she joked.
Even with her busy schedule, she joined Sleep Country for a commercial shoot. She was cast through a TTC recommendation.
“I would really encourage everyone to chase after whatever their heart is passionate about, and if that is busking, then the world is your stage, and the world has been waiting for you,” Li shared.
Alex Shaw
Have you seen lumberjack puppets boxing near Dundas or Bloor-Yonge station? If so, you might have seen TTC busker Alex Shaw.
Shaw plays guitar and sings. He also draws on his sculpture background from OCAD University to create puppets for TTC performances. He usually plays jazz or gospel tunes.
But his multidisciplinary artistry didn’t originally inspire him to busk; he actually did it “on a whim.”
From his first performance, he liked “grabbing [his] case and stuff and going to play for hours.” He decided to keep at it.
Shaw jokes he wasn’t a great musician but improved by playing the subway. After his first performance, he learned he loved busking. Now, he does it full-time in winter and as a hobby in summer while running a pool company.
Shaw’s most memorable experience was being able to teach it forward. Some TTC-goers have asked him for help with the guitar, including Isaak Bonk, who now uses his skills in a jazz band.
He also recalls waking up early to “beat the other buskers to the good spots.” Sometimes Shaw would play from 5:30 a.m. till 2 a.m. on New Year’s Eve. Since then, the TTC introduced shifts so everyone has a chance.
Shaw is very content as a TTC busker. “I’ve already made it… I have people, I have a bunch of friends – and there’s always this thing that needs to get bigger and better, and you’re going towards your goals. And I’m like, I support myself and pay my rent with music that’s winning. That’s one per cent of musicians in the world,” he shared.
“I reached the top of the mountain. I get to perform for people, and I get to pay my rent part of the year doing it. If that isn’t a win, I don’t know what is,” Shaw said.
