Former Boston street musician finds new audience performing on Atlanta's Beltline
Caleb Hensinger is not your normal street performer. When he's finished setting up his piano and speakers on the Beltline, he starts a one-of-a-kind show.
"I always wanted to be like an entertainer and like the one-man band, like kind of fashion. But I would never imagine it like this," Hensinger said.
Hensinger is known as the "Human DJ." During his performances, Hensinger sings, raps, beatboxes, plays the piano, and plays the trumpet. Often, all at once.
"I mean, it's incredible. When you pull it off, it's like, wow, we're doing this. And you get exhilarated and you're like, okay, what's the next one? What's the next one?" Hensinger said.
The Human DJ played a variety of songs spanning several decades. He learned all of his skills 10 years ago playing on the streets of Boston.
"I was in a subway playing for hours and it was doing that that I was like, you know what, I could make something of this," Hensinger said.
During his hours-long performances, Hensinger attracts a lot of new fans. One of them was Bernette Fondong. Fondong says she was walking home from work when she heard Hensinger performing. She stopped and listened to the entire performance.
"I'm married to the music, man. Like anytime I hear some good tunes, I'm staying. That's it. That's all. The end," said Fondong. "Honestly, I always say you never know what to expect when you come on the Belt Line. Like it's so full of surprises."
Hensinger moved to Atlanta to be a better artist, and he feels the move has paid off.
"I always say my ambition is to be my own favorite artist. And to me, what that means is that I can genuinely look at how I put myself out into the world and the product that I deliver and be proud of it," Hensinger said. "This is what I'm meant to do, and this is how I'm meant to do it."
