Musician paddles on tour down the Erie Canal

image and italicized text below from NY Times

Musician Christopher Bell has been traveling along the Erie Canal by canoe and playing shows at small venues along the way. Spending only $80 dollars in his first week. He may have found a new means of touring in New York State. The NY Times profile him in this article.

Mr. Bell, 22, of Frewsburg, near Jamestown, is on a summer tour across New York State. He started his tour from Buffalo on July 20, and plans to canoe 550 miles to New York City in time for a performance at a coffee shop in Manhattan on Sept. 4. Along the way, he is performing in small towns like Brockport, as well as in larger cities such as Rochester, Albany and Poughkeepsie.

Though he calls it his “great adventure,” it is also something of a necessity. Mr. Bell typically tours via his 1997 Toyota Corolla, traveling 40,000 miles over a seven- or eight-month period.

He earns anywhere from $20 to $200 a show, making him barely able to eke out a living even when gas prices were $1 per gallon cheaper. “I just get so angry about it,” he said....