Sounds of Cork echo on our city streets: A name synonymous with busking Leeside

There is something about a bit of sun and knowing that you won’t be drowned in a downpour of rain when you leave your house that really does something for the soul. The moment the temperature reaches the mid-twenties and the rain coats are replaced with shorts and t-shirts, us Irish really get an added pep in our step. That certainly seemed to be the general consensus as I headed into Cork city centre on Friday last with the sun splitting the stones and a smile on my face.

Heading down along Sullivan’s Quay, I crossed the river onto Grand Parade and was met with an assortment of people from all walks of life out enjoying the sun. Couples gathered at the tables outside Three Fools Coffee to sit back and relax while a group of friends around 16 years of age performed tricks on their skateboards outside the library. Standing at the pedestrian crossing, heading towards the top of Oliver Plunkett Street, a group of Spanish tourists chatted animatedly in their native tongue. Pairing that with the heat and the bustling city around me, I truly felt I had woken up in Spain.

Oliver Plunkett Street was a hive of activity as usual, with punters sitting outside Barbarossa and The Fountain pub while a bunch of school kids chattered away as they queued for ice creams at Swoon.

As I continued, the juxtaposition between two Irish lads standing topless just metres from an American couple dressed head to toe in Patagonia rain gear made me laugh. 

Dodging the busy shoppers and mothers with kids in tow who were clearly looking for a way to entertain them for the last few weeks of the school holidays, I headed further down the long street. In need of a caffeine fix, I popped into Here’s Health for a coffee and perched myself at one of the tables outside in the sun. The sounds of the coffee machine and baristas calling out orders for customers bled out of the open coffee shop doors and mixed with the sound of people catching up with friends at the tables outside.

From my time covering Sounds of Cork, I have come to learn that Here’s Health and Dulce Bun House on the corner of Marlboro Street is the prime location for some of Cork’s best buskers, and today was no different. There is one name that is synonymous with busking in Cork, and that is Korey Power.

Farranree native Korey (30) has been honing his craft since he was 16 and three of his singles, Shadows, Street Lights, and Give Me A Reason, have hit number one on the iTunes charts. Having amassed over 30,000 followers on Instagram and over 430,000 on TikTok, Korey is a Cork busking success story.

With a multitude of viral videos and number one hits under his belt, and having even performed at Electric Picnic in the past, Korey has taken his love of music from the streets to the stages and now to the screens. 

At my spot outside the café, I sat and listened to the soothing raspy tones of Korey as he performed Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. 

Passers-by seemed drawn in by Korey’s gentle voice with many of them slowing to listen, grasping those extra few seconds of enjoyment as they continued about their day. Many stopped entirely and stood to listen, with Korey having a light-hearted chat with his audience between songs.

As I approached Korey, he was conversing with a woman who told us that she was visiting from Australia with her family and that she had a special request for the singer. Her daughter and her daughter’s partner had gone into one of the shops along the street, and the woman asked Korey if he could perform Can’t Help Falling in Love by Elvis to serenade the young lovebirds.

As we waited for the couple to appear, I caught up Korey about his journey.

He said: “To be honest, I’m 30 years old now, but I properly started busking when I was probably about my early 20s. I did however go out busking throughout the years with one of my friends, Dylan.”

Korey’s friend Dylan Brickley is another Cork music success story, who started by busking on the streets of the city.

Brickley, a native of Whitechurch, began posting YouTube covers aged 18, and soon began getting thousands of views. His next career move was busking, in Cork followed by Wales and England — when Dylan was at college in Swansea. Spells in Europe, Australia and further afield followed.

“I used to come out with Dylan when I couldn’t play the guitar. I used to go with him and just sing with him and then I started picking up the guitar myself. I picked up the guitar when I was about 22 or 23, so being honest, I was a little bit of a late bloomer on it.”

“Ever since then, I’ve just been living off of music, now for the last, I’d say, about 10 years. I did music in and out of pubs through my whole 20s as well. I just live for the music.”

Korey is turning the typical image of a busker with a guitar and just a hat or bag for some spare change on its head and is merging the 21st century with an artform that has been adding to the backdrop of cities like Cork for decades.

While chatting to Korey, I hadn’t even noticed that he had a camera set up and was livestreaming his performance not just to those within earshot, but across the globe via TikTok.

“At the moment, I just do busking, and I do TikTok live as well, so that helps me out a lot. Yeah, we’re live on TikTok right now. So, yeah, things have changed, obviously, through apps and stuff, as you see, with social media, there’s TikTok, I guess, Instagram, and, you know, through the years, it’s all changing. There are so many ways to share your music now.”

He told me of more of the changes that he has seen since he began busking in Cork and how musicians have moved with the times. 

“With busking, I remember years ago, it used to just be that people would throw you a bit of change, whatever they had in the pockets. But now people can tap on a card reader machine, or they tap or pay you through Revolut, or something like that. Yeah, it’s really changed that way as well. The joys of technology.”

Like many I have spoken to before him, the Farranree singer also noted the changing landscape for buskers in the city in the way of the newly introduced byelaws.

“With the bylaws and everything, it’s all kind of different that way too now.”

He pointed out a sign on the ground marking the spot as one allocated for buskers and the times it can be used. “As you see here, it says 10am until 12, 2pm to 4pm, and then 6pm to 8pm. So that is definitely something new to navigate.

While different, he told me that he agreed with the changes.

“The busker’s license is only, like, 50 euros for the year, so it’s actually not bad. I think, and I do agree with the laws, I do believe you should only get two hours, I believe that sometimes, you know, the shops, they deserve respect too, you know. Sometimes they hear the same songs on repeat. I think two hours is plenty for anybody, because I used to know some people who used to do it six or seven hours a day, and I don’t know how they got away with that. Even for your voice if you did it, it can’t be good for you to be playing that long.”

While he can often be found on stage, Korey admits that he will always have a love for busking on the streets. 

“I have done loads of gigs through the years. Busking is totally different to a gig, because you’re actually dealing with the public more on the streets than when you are inside a venue. Which would I prefer? I actually don’t mind a bit of both, to be honest but I’m not going to lie, I’m here doing busking more so, I think the busking’s winning.

I asked him what advice he had for up-and-coming musicians in Cork who may be tempted to try busking. “Have confidence in yourself, I say just go up there and do it. You know, you have one life, and, you know, even to the younger generation coming up, go out, and if you really enjoy it, pursue it. If you don’t, let it be, and then maybe try something. There are other ways you can do music. You can play gigs, as I said, or you can do weddings, there’s so many other options out there to do music.

“You don’t have to do street performing. So keep the faith, young brothers and sisters,” he advised.