From the Evergreen State to the Emerald Isle

If Cordata residents were to visit the neighborhood Food Co-Op they may hear the sounds of 21-year-old David Loudon playing the works Rachmaninoff on his custom-made violin in hopes of earning enough tips to return to Dublin, Ireland.

Beginning in December 2011, Loudon spent 5 months backpacking through Dublin simply to see if his music would be enough to support his traveling. “I decided to go to Dublin specifically after I did some research online and found that Ireland has the most relaxed legislature with regards to busking or street performance,” he said.

A violinist since the age of 11, Loudon “busks” almost every day, especially at the Bellingham Co-Ops because “they’re the only ones who will let me,” he explained. “The trouble with playing in front of businesses is that it is only legal if you have the store's permission to play on their property.”

Although Loudon misses the friends he made while playing on Henry Street in Ireland, he still enjoys the people he sees in the Cordata neighborhood. “Since I began playing at the Cordata Co-op my favorite thing about it has been all the people that stop to talk to me that could hear me playing from the street,” he said. “I've had a lot of them thank me for playing where they live. It has been a real pleasure.”