Wildflower Union band takes music to streets

Music group Wildflower Union plays on the streets of Bloomington on a mission to spread inspiration.

“I really want my music to remind people that we’re all human, and we all have similar struggles and that no one is alone,” lead musician Jake Braunecker said.

The group is a collaboration of Braunecker’s and Constance Marguerite’s music, which features instruments such as the mandolin, banjo, guitar and drums along with vocals. Braunecker said their music sound like “soul folk/grunge grass.”

Playing covers of bands like the Avett Brothers at their start gave them the confidence to play more originals, he said.

Onlooker Alec Mandla said he noticed Wildflower Union because they were playing a song he knew by the Avett Brothers.

“It takes some serious courage to sit on a cold street corner with a guitar, suitcase/kick pedal combo and a pie pan under a torn-up boot and play the music you love to play,” Mandla said.

Mandla said he purchased a Wildflower Union album that day.

Performing on the street for nine years, Braunecker said he prefers the street environment to the stage.

“I like the feeling of being literally on level ground with my audience, or even below in some cases,” he said. “It’s kind of humbling.”

Mandla said he has gotten mixed reactions from people walking by.

“Some people are deeply offended, call you lazy, tell you to get a real job, and a lot of people respond positively,” Braunecker said.

Despite people’s criticism, Braunecker had a steady job his entire working life up until eight months ago when he decided to be a street musician professionally.

Experiences with difficult people taught him how to control a crowd, he said.

“I know what people like more now than I did before,” Braunecker said. “It’s positivity. It’s up tempo. It’s positive energy.”

He also said people respond better to familiar sounds.

Although he didn’t start out playing on the street for money, he said people were more generous in the evenings than in the daytime. On a normal night, he would earn around $100, he said.

However, Braunecker just wanted to bring music to the bustle of the street, he said.
“I just played on the street just for the sake of bringing a light to the darkness,” he said.

Onlooker Logan Kuhn said he noticed Braunecker’s positivity.

“He was one of the most happy musicians I’ve ever seen,” Kuhn said. “He was smiling the whole time.”

Wildflower Union has an album out called “Blood On a Banjo” and is in the process of recording another.