How busking has shaped the careers of your favourite Irish artists.
One of the centrefolds of pursuing music is accessibility. Once you have gone and bought the guitars and amps, a lot of people can feel stuck on how to get their first gig or how to pursue beyond writing and recording. Sometimes it feels impossible trying to either book your own gigs or begging around to try and find someone who will take you on as a support slot, however, a gig that everyone has access to is the gig of the streets. You have a built-in audience in busy places that will always be there, and that's why so many people build themselves a consistent audience through busking. Walking through Belfast city centre, there are a few hot-spots you’ll always find music at, and more likely than not those artists are out consistently building an audience that will compliment them at their live shows too.
Some of my first experiences with some of my favourite current local artists were discovered unintentionally, walking down the high streets shopping. One that always stands out to me is Dea Matrona. Walking into the front entrance to Victoria Square, outside the old Argos was always their spot and I remember, as a young teen, sometimes going into town just on the off chance I would spot them. The three girls were dressed like rockstars, and I remember having such a sense of awe that these girls were getting up and dedicating their weekends to being able to showcase their talents. Along with some original content, the band were always covering songs that I had grown up loving. They were seamlessly covering Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Well’ or ‘Go your own way’ in the freezing cold times of Christmas shopping season, rocking out and making the streets their own stage while people walked past or stood in admiration. It was what made me discover Dea Matrona as a band, and I have a vivid memory of begging friends to go early to 2021’s Belsonic with Gerry Cinnamon headlining, just to see them on stage as support. The band has done exceedingly well, but a part of me will always look back fondly on the times of them performing summer through winter in the city’s core.
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Belfast has its own busking culture, with hundreds of acts rotating spots throughout the city centre. Don't get me wrong, there's definitely been a laugh or two shared over the infamous acts such as Jelvis but that doesn't take away from the fact that there is a level of admiration that should be shared to get up and do what he does daily. Getting up on stage and sharing your music or renditions of others is one of the bravest but simultaneously daunting things that a person can do, never mind doing it in public. You never know who could stumble across your music and being exposed to not only the elements but also to the general public is something worth applauding.
Some of Belfast’s biggest up and coming bands have shared their time on the street’s stage, one of those being Esmeralda road. I remember receiving a late night phone call from my mother in 2022, to be surprised by the recognisable faces of the now re-named ‘Moonboot’. It was a cold November night but outside of Bootleggers in Belfast city centre, there was a sweat dripping from every member of the crowd that stumbled upon the scene. It was my first time I had come across their new sound that had been curated and was one of the first instances that threw me forward into being an avid listener of them. Although I had the pleasure of having seen them before, it makes me wonder what an audience they curated from doing busking like that. In a time where the world had only regained consciousness after Covid, the music-scene had taken an unfortunate fallback in terms of the accessibility of gigs and live events in general. Getting on the street and performing to whoever, whenever seems like a perfect combat to these issues.
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Even now, as difficult as it is sometimes to pursue music, busking can propel you from being someone singing in the streets to singing on stages large and wide. A perfect and well known example of this has to be Allie Sherlock. As renowned as she was previously, during 2017 a video of her singing Ed Sheeran’s ‘supermarket flowers’ went viral, propelling her into fame. Although continuously busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street, she has now played with artists like Olly Murs, OneRepublic, Picture This and Gavin James. She has toured worldwide, and even is touring Belfast’s own Empire Music Hall this year. Her story is inspirational for numerous reasons but the majority of them being how she started by singing on her own in the streets. Not only does this prove the power of social media, but also the power of drive and commitment. Weekly she dawned the streets and patiently waited for her break and after years her talent and dedication greatly paid off.
Busking can be held close to many musicians, as it is a great starting point for anyone wanting to delve into the world of live performance. It can bring you from singing on the streets to touring with globally renowned bands, so if you're looking to take that first step into becoming something larger then why not give it a go?
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