Gabriel Royal talks about his path from busking subways to playing theaters

Royal, a cellist, for years played on subway platforms around New York, where he moved from his native Oklahoma. Like other strap hangers, he heard plenty of free music while waiting for trains that didn’t agree with him. Royal realized early on he needed to do something different than the average subway busker. The sound he found never tried to rise above the natural din of incoming and outgoing trains as they clacked along their rails. Instead he relied on his smooth and soulful vocals a