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Street Music Week returns to downtown Spokane as buskers remember co-organizer: ‘We’re doing this for Jim’

Sisters Ivy Eyer, 12, left, and Neilia Eyer, 14, play and sing harmony at Street Music Week – the annual rally of musicians who spread out through the lunch hour to raise money for Second Harvest food bank – shown Monday on Main Avenue in downtown Spokane. The two have been performing at the annual gathering for almost 10 years, and their father, Cary Eyer, has stepped in to help organize the event after the passing of organizer Jim Lyons. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)
Sisters Ivy Eyer, 12, left, and Neilia Eyer, 14, play and sing harmony at Street Music Week – the annual rally of musicians who spread out through the lunch hour to raise money for Second Harvest food bank – shown Monday on Main Avenue in downtown Spokane. The two have been performing at the annual gathering for almost 10 years, and their father, Cary Eyer, has stepped in to help organize the event after the passing of organizer Jim Lyons. (Jesse Tinsley/THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW)Buy a print of this photo
By Ignacio Cowles The Spokesman-Review

The 21st annual Street Music Week started Monday morning as more than a dozen performers lined the sidewalks of Main Street in Downtown Spokane.

With the sun out and lunch hour nearing, many musicians got to it a half-hour ahead of schedule.

This year marks the second time the event has been held in the aftermath of the pandemic, and the first without one of the co-organizers, Jim Lyons, who died in November.

Jimmy Shores and Marlin Laffoon, a bluegrass guitar duo clad in classic attire, were a popular sight at the corner of Main and Wall, with many passing onlookers watching, recording and throwing some dollars into the event’s signature red bucket to collect money for Second Harvest food bank. They both knew Lyons very well and were deeply affected by his death.

“Jim was my best friend; I mean, our kids grew up together. I’m driving his car. I’m wearing his socks,” said Shores, who teared up at the mention of Lyons’ name.

“I brought these,” he said, holding his sunglasses. “If I need to cry I can.”

Laffoon felt the same way as he played Lyons’ parts in the music.

“In honor of him, because of his encouragement, I’m playing more than I ever have,” he said.

A microphone was set up next to the pair, with some of Lyons’ scarves wrapped decoratively around the stand and a small memorial below it.

“He’s right here, on his mic stand,” Shores said.

Carey Eyer, the new organizer of Street Music Week after taking the helm from founder Doug Clark this year, had similar words.

“When they were signing up, a lot of people said ‘We’re doing this for Jim.’ ”

While Lyons was on many longtime buskers’ minds, the event was anything but somber, with the sounds of guitar and other instruments replacing the normal city buzz. The weather, which on Monday last year had been rainy and gray, was perfect, giving musicians and bystanders alike a reason to celebrate.

The Eyer Family Band, a common sight at the event for more than a decade, were out in force, with Ivy, 12, and Neilia, 14, on the accordion and mandolin.

Curt Donner, an old-timer with 17 years of experience at Street Music Week, came out with his wife, Key, to perform their guitar, tambourine and vocal act in front of Bruchi’s.

They highlighted the importance of service and remarked on the event’s ongoing support for Second Harvest.

“We’re helping them help others,” Donner said. “There isn’t a better cause, is there?”

As of 2022, more than $315,000 has been raised for the food bank across the event’s 20-year history. Street Music Week will be on Main Street noon to 1 p.m. every day through Friday.