Leslie Buck has been a fixture on the Outer Banks music scene for more than 25 years. She started her lengthy music career with a bang, making headlines as a finalist in a national Mattel competition to find a real-life Rocker Barbie, and she worked with some music industry all-stars, like composer John Swihart, who may be best recognized for his “Napoleon Dynamite” soundtrack.
However, after a few years of being a rising star in her Massachusetts home, Buck eventually realized that the glittery but intrusive spotlight of fame wasn’t for her.
“I had that little bit of fame, but it’s just not for everybody,” she said. “You know that expression that everybody gets their 15 minutes? It’s more like 15 seconds. I had a lot of fun while it was happening, but I realized that I wanted to go a different route.”
Buck somewhat-accidentally moved to Hatteras Island in 1999. Her husband at the time had gotten an old van, and the couple was planning to take a road trip around the Atlantic and Gulf coastlines, eventually landing in Mexico.
But they didn’t make it past the Outer Banks.
“That was 26 years ago. We came here, and I never left,” she said.
Still deeply connected to her music when she first moved to the island, Buck scored her first local gig at Lisa’s Pizza in Rodanthe by walking in with a cassette tape and an old promotional picture.
More music gigs soon followed, and pretty soon, Buck was playing at bars and restaurants from Nags Head to Ocracoke Island, multiple times per week.
Her hectic routine continued for years until COVID-19 hit, and she took a hiatus that progressively turned into a semi-retirement.
This summer, however, inspired by the recent work of the new-in-2024 Buxton Civic Association (BCA), Buck is heading back onto the stage – or, more accurately, back onto the literal streets of Hatteras Island.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the term ‘busking,’ but it basically means standing outside on a corner or a sidewalk, and playing for the public for whatever change and money they can give,” said Buck. “Well, that’s what I’m going to do. Every Friday night, I’m going to be busking for Buxton.”
With this idea in mind, Buck approached Hunter Nutter, owner of Tower Circle Motel in Buxton, to see if she could use his expansive parking lot and grounds – just a shell’s throw away from N.C. Highway 12 – as a makeshift venue.
“It’s close to everything,” she said. “It’s a little off the beaten path, but it’s close to the Swell Motel and gallery, Cape Hatteras Motel, and quite a few stores and restaurants…
“I told Hunter ‘I will be playing there for free, if you’re fine with me setting up on your grass lawn once a week,’ and he said, ‘I’d be stupid not to take you up on your offer.’”
Buck is holding her first show on Friday, May 23, with the appropriate theme of a ‘Barbie Buxton’ 80s Dance Party.
Over the years, she has dabbled in virtually every style of music, so every week of her summertime concerts will have a new theme to correlate with a specific music genre.
“There will be catchy themes like Cinco de Mayo, except it will be Cinco de Junio, and instead of a St Patrick’s Day set, we’ll have a Saint Summer’s Day concert,” she said. “There will be something different every week, for the locals who want to take a break and come hear some music.”
There will be no charge for the free concerts, but Buck is hoping that folks will donate a little money for the show, with all proceeds going to the BCA’s initiatives, and specifically, the creation of a safe multi-use pathway through Buxton and Frisco villages.
Currently, Buxton and Frisco are the only two villages on Hatteras Island that do not have a village-wide pathway, and stakeholders are hoping to slowly and steadily fill in this gap within the next several years.
The pathway project is spearheaded by the Frisco-Buxton Pathway Committee and the Outer Banks National Scenic Byway Committee for Dare County, which was instrumental in creating similar pathways in the island’s five other villages: Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, and Hatteras.
The BCA Board is hoping that Buxton residents will also contribute to the project, so that there can be a united focus on the northern portion of the miles-long pathway, allowing all Frisco and Buxton pathway advocates to effectively meet in the middle.
“I jokingly call Buxton the capital of Hatteras Island, but it really is one of the busiest [villages] on the island, and one of the only communities that doesn’t have a sidewalk or pathway,” said Buck.
“When we’re young, we’re typically not into anything but ourselves, and I was focused on my music career,” she added. “But as you get older, you want to contribute to your home, and to your community, and Buxton is my home… Playing music and earning some extra funds for the pathway is the best way I can think of to give back.”
How to catch the show, and give back to Buxton…
A list of show dates and themes is below. The shows start at around 7:00 p.m. and will be held on the grounds of the Tower Circle Motel at 46239 on Old Lighthouse Rd. in Buxton. There is no charge, and folks are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and donations towards the BCA and the Frisco-Buxton pathway.
Buck has also launched a GoFundMe page for folks who can’t make the show but still want to contribute to the pathway project. To make a donation and learn more about the fundraiser, click here.
