Carl is a street musician who regularly performs around New York City with his band. One chilly day in November 2014, he and his band were playing in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village.
As Carl sang “Ooo Baby Baby” by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, a crowd grew around him. The song is from the point-of-view of a man who’s apologizing to a woman. And so, Carl decided to pull in an audience member to sing to.
Carl ended up choosing a woman named Abbe Rivers. Little did he know, she was a professional singer too!
Carl started singing the song while Abbe enthusiastically danced and swayed next to him. Then, Abbe started singing along with him! The pair’s voices worked well together, and they ended up creating some beautiful harmonies.
As the song continued, Carl and Abbe started doing more improvising. Carl sang, “I can’t stop crying,” and Abbe quickly responded with her own, “No, I can’t stop crying.”
Abbe and Carl both smiled as they sang, excited to be sharing this moment with each other.
At the end of the song, Abbe and Carl both did some amazing riffs! Then, the pair high-fived and hugged.
Carl asked for Abbe’s name, and he told the crowd to give it up for her. Abbe quickly followed suit.
“Give it up for Carl!” Abbe shouted. “And the guy on the guitar over there.”
One of the audience members, Thor Torrens, posted a video of the spontaneous duet on YouTube, and it quickly went viral. Everyone loved seeing how well the pair sang together.
“I’ve paid good money for concerts that lacked even one performance this awesome,” one commenter said.
A few years after Thor posted the video, Abbe herself came across it and commented on it.
“Thanks luv – I’ve been performing in and around NYC for years – Used sing & Play guitar under that arch to make money when I was in college! Can’t help but join in sometimes!” Abbe wrote.
Thor has also posted lots of other great videos of street musicians performing around New York City.
One video shows an amazing drummer and singer named Mr. Reed performing at a subway station. The commuters at the station all stopped to watch him playing.
Another video shows two performers named Coyote & Crow playing banjo and singing in Union Square. These two put all their heart and soul into their song.
These street performers—and audience members—are all incredibly talented! If you’d like to see the video of Carl and Abbe harmonizing, check it out below.
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