Tones And I’s surprise busking set to shocked Melbourne shoppers

Christmas shoppers did a double-take when Dance Monkey singer Tones And I made a surprise public appearance.

Tones and I has returned to her busking roots in Melbourne. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Record-breaking Melbourne musician Tones and I has returned to her busking roots at her old stomping ground – the Bourke Street Mall.

Tones made a surprise appearance in the Mall today as part of the City of Melbourne’s Music in the City pop-up busking program which has seen Missy Higgins, The Pierce Brothers, Vika and Linda and Daryl Braithwaite performing unannounced for passers-by.

Tones and I, aka Toni Watson, used to work in the former Jetty Surf and Surf Dive N Ski stores in the Bourke Street Mall and would watch Tash Sultana and the Pierce Brothers busk outside the store, inspiring her to do the same.

Watson gave fans a 30 minute heads-up on her Instagram before taking it to the streets and playing to shocked Christmas shoppers queuing near the Myer windows or getting off the tram stop near H&M and hearing her sing.

Tones and I performs at the Bourke St Mall during a pop up busking show. Picture: Tim Carrafa

“I have honestly had the best time ever,” Watson said after playing Forever Young, Never Seen the Rain, Fly Away and Dance Monkey.

“This is the best Christmas present after such a shit year for musicians.”

The chart topper, who performed barefoot, rallied fans for a selfie to remember the moment.

Watson last busked in the Mall “two Boxing Days ago, but it was too busy, everyone was in a mad rush” before she had released any music but was selling demo CDs.

Her permit to busk in the Mall came through when she was on the way to Byron Bay where she’d write the song that would change her life, Dance Monkey.

The song is now the longest-running No. 1 in ARIA history and is on the way to selling one million units here. It has spent 80 weeks in the ARIA Top 50 since its release last year.

It has been streamed over seven billion times globally and the video has been viewed over 1.5 billion times on You Tube. 

“I remember busking outside General Pants in the Bourke Street Mall, I sold my first ever CD demo to a German couple,” Watson told News Corp last year.

“It was so exciting.”

Tones and I used to busk in the Mall before Dance Monkey. Picture: Tim Carrafa

She had been planning her busking return to the Bourke Street Mall for two years, and had to postpone the release of her album, and all 2020 global touring, due to the pandemic.

Her next show is in Darwin on New Year’s Eve, with a hometown show at the Forum due to take place in April.

“I don’t want to stop busking,” Watson told News Corp. “I don’t want to show people that when you do well you turn into someone else. There’s already enough artists in the world doing that. If I changed it would make me horribly sad.”

Tones’ latest single, Fly Away, is currently No. 13 in Australia, while her debut album is expected to be released early next year.

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