Brad Woodside sings Blackbird to Fredericton visitors

Brad Woodside set aside his chain of office and pulled upa piano bench in front of City Hall and serenaded passersby with a few bars of the Beatles's classic Blackbird.

The Fredericton mayorwas enjoying some sunshine on Thursday as well as the piano box that is set up in downtown Fredericton so music enthusiasts can come and play, or listento, music.

Sitting next to pianist Christopher Diotte, Woodsidegrabbed a microphone and sang the classic hit for about a minute, before encouraging more people to use the downtown piano.

"Just drop by and play some music," Woodside said.

"I'm sure some people will be exceptional, others like myself not very good, but the thing is have fun, enjoy and entertain."

For his part, Diotte said he intends to be hanging out by the piano a lot over the summer.

The colourful piano box was painted by local artist Kris LeBlanc.

The idea came from Woodside, who saw a similar project in another city.

When he first saw a public piano, Woodside said he sat down and listened to a stranger play the piano. He said he wanted the same thing to happen in Fredericton.

Moncton has six public pianos around the city.