Christie still hits the pavement on a regular basis, playing with her open guitar case for bustling commuters. She considers it a part-time job of sorts, but these days she plays the New York tunnels instead.
“It’s actually easier to play in New York, because you don’t get hassled at all,” she says. “I played in Philly a month ago, made $10 on one song, but then a cop told me I needed a permit. Oh, Philly.”
Anna Christie first appeared in the these pages back in 2006, when she was among the frequent street performers in Suburban Station.
At the time, she was simply commenting on the art of playing for tips. But since then she’s surfaced on WXPN and at New York’s CMJ music festival, strumming and singing with her two sisters Cassandra and Beatrice in their aptly named band, the Sisters 3.
Now 24, Anna Christie — yes, her parents named her after the Eugene O’Neil play — already has a full-length album under her belt. “Star Spangled” was released on the tiny Canadian label Vibewrangler and features 13 of Christie’s songs.
“Since then my sisters and I started writing songs together, which is pretty awesome,” she says. “My older sister is a classically trained pianist, so sometimes she’ll compose something on the piano, and my younger sister has a natural ear. But we’re all just singers, I guess.”
The Sisters 3
Saturday, 8 p.m.
Johnny Brenda’s
1201 Frankford Ave.
$10, 215-739-9684
www.johnnybrendas.com