Las Vegas, Nevada, USA

Escalators are not usually thought of as modes of mass transit, nor are they thought of as being outside. In Las Vegas, however, you don't always get what you expect. Along The Strip, escalators, elevators, and skywalks are used to keep people from crossing Las Vegas Boulevard at street level. [2019 and 2022]

St. Paul, Minnesota, USA

Kumi-daiko, or Japanese drums, has been part of Japanese culture for centuries, and now it is part of American culture, too. Like it or not, that is what North America does so well. It takes the best the world has to offer and owns it: cultural appropriation notwithstanding! [2021]

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Where are you: the Netherlands or the north of Thailand? They are 5,000 miles apart, but distance collapses when you start pumping up the arts. Good busking is good busking anywhere in the world. Listen to Amsterdam's straatmuzicant below, then listen to Chiang Mai's here. Think you'll see either one on American Idol this spring? [2014]

Chiang Mai, Thailand

It's mid-morning and he's got the plaza to himself. Can he really make music on that rag-tag collection of cans? Let's see. Or, rather, let's listen. As you scroll down, imagine what you are going to hear when he starts playing. [2011]