Melburnian starts filming a talented busker who turns out to be Missy Higgins

A shopper in Melbourne was taken aback by a talented busker, not realising the singer was actually Missy Higgins.

A video, later uploaded to Reddit, showed the 37-year-old performing her song Ten Days outside a cafe on Degraves Street in the CBD on Saturday.

‘Was very baffled by how, what looked like a busker, had gotten permission to do such a set up there, and then continued to think about what a great cover this gal was doing, until it hit me and I had to sit down,’ the woman captioned the video. 

Missy Higgins performed her song Ten Days outside a cafe on Degraves Street in the CBD on Saturday

Higgins’ impromptu performance was part of an initiative established by City of Melbourne Council that will see up to 20 buskers a day perform across a number of locations

Higgins’ impromptu performance was part of an initiative established by City of Melbourne Council that will see up to 20 buskers a day perform across a number of locations.  

The ANZ City Vibes program is aimed to encourage locals back into the city to support our shops, restaurants and cafes decimated by the COVID-19 lockdown. 

‘Filling our streets with music is a great way to support local artists and attract people to boost our local economy,’ the council said.

‘More than 1000 performance spots for buskers and street artists are available, which is also part of the Let’s Melbourne Again initiative to bring life back to Melbourne’s streets.’

Higgins was nominated for five ARIA Music Awards in 2004 and won Best Pop Release for ‘Scar’

Busking locations include Hardware Lane, Bourke Street Mall, Flinders Lane, Southbank Promenade, Queen Victoria Market, and Melbourne Town Hall.

‘Encouraging people to come back into the city through activations and events is critical to support local businesses and their staff,’ Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp said. 

‘What better way to celebrate Melbourne’s re-opening than to catch our favourite buskers performing across the city. Melbourne is Australia’s cultural capital and we’re determined to come out of lockdown better than before.

‘We’re delighted the State Government, our iconic buskers and ANZ have jumped on board to help bring music back to Melbourne’s streets to support our busking community and local businesses that have been doing it tough.’  

Busking locations include Hardware Lane, Bourke Street Mall, Flinders Lane, Southbank Promenade, Queen Victoria Market, and Melbourne Town Hall