WINTER PARK, Fla. – Alex Hayes, 20, spends most of his evenings on the weekends playing his guitar on the various corners of Park Avenue.

Hayes, a tall young man with fiery red hair, takes song requests from onlookers who stop to admire his talent, leave a tip and sometimes sing along to the music.

“He’s out here almost every weekend,” said Johnny French. “He’s really talented.”

“I’ve never seen him out here before, but he’s great,” said Anthony Marino, before adding that he’ll likely come back another time to watch.

That seemed to be a sentiment shared by quite a few people as many stopped to listen and shout out song requests. 

"Freebird," a passing teenager shouted from across the street, a request that Hayes immediately played, eliciting a few cheers from his listeners.

Hayes, who many of the listeners that he calls “regulars” refer to as carrot top, played music by bands such as the Goo Goo Dolls, Coldplay and Matchbox 20.

“I’ve been playing the guitar since I was about 9,” said Hayes of his musical background. “It’s something that I love to do, but I don’t think that I would do it as a job. I’m afraid that I wouldn’t appreciate it the same.”

Hayes lives nearby with his family while he’s taking time off from college, and he just likes to come out to Park Avenue to play when his weekend is “slow.”

“I just like to play,” Paris said. “I love music, and I like to play it at home, so I figured why not do it out here?”