Aspiring Subway Performers Audition for the MTA

By Tara Kyle

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MIDTOWN — Love it or hate it, the subway system will always be one part concert venue, and Tuesday the MTA offered would-be subway idols a chance to try out for prime performance space.

Folk rockers, Brazilians guitarists, a harp player and Afro beat jazz artists were among those in the mix at the annual Music Under New York (MUNY) auditions, held at Grand Central Terminal.

Roughly 70 singers and groups — winnowed from an applicant pool of 250 — duked it for approximately 20 new spaces within the subway system.

Applicants were judged on audibility, family-friendliness and overall spark and charisma.

More than 100 acts are already a part of MUNY, divvying up around 150 weekly performances slots at 25 transit sites across New York.

The MTA plans to announce its selections in about two weeks.

The "Lost Wandering Blues and Jazz Band" performs during the MTA's tryouts Tuesday

DNAinfo/Tara Kyle