The island of Ireland punches well above its weight when it comes to producing incredible musicians. In recent years, young artist Allie Sherlock has sought to become the latest act to make it big from busking in the country’s major cities

What you should know about Allie Sherlock.
With over 5 million subscribers on YouTube, 2.3 million followers on Instagram, close to a million followers on TikTok, and tens of millions of views across all streaming platforms, Allie Sherlock has rapidly emerged as one of Ireland’s most exciting emerging artists - with the numbers to back up these claims.

The singer-songwriter, who is still just 18 years old, comes from Cork City, in the southern part of Ireland.
She started her music career at a very young age by busking on the streets of her native city and travelling to Dublin, where she performed on the famous Grafton Street. In doing so, she followed in the footsteps of major Irish and international artists like Bono, Ed Sheeran, Hozier, and Damien Rice - all of whom have considered busking on Grafton Street as a rite of passage for success in their careers.

But Allie’s musical ambitions took on an international dimension when she was featured on The Ellen Show back in June 2018, when she was just 12 years old. Her performance on the show went instantly viral and Allie found herself being talked about as one of the most promising artists in the world.

Since then, she has risen to the occasion. Allie has headlined her own shows in Ireland, as well as opened for major names. She has travelled throughout Europe to support artists like One Republic, Picture This, Freya Ridings and Gavin James

What marks Allie Sherlock out as such a unique artist is how she manages to blend her innate busking abilities with an excellent online persona. Allie can frequently command crowds when she performs on the street - but she is also very adept at making short, impactful videos for her social media channels, which regularly go viral. With her open online personality, she gives fans regular insights into her life, as well as her creative process. This partly explains why she has achieved such a dedicated following over the years.

In terms of her sound and music style, perhaps Allie’s greatest characteristic is her show-stopping voice, which is deep and rich in tone. Some of her most popular tracks include covers of songs like Gloria Gaynor’s ‘I Will Survive’, Avril Lavigne’s ‘Complicated’, and Ed Sheeran’s ‘Perfect’. She released her debut album, ALLIE, in early 2023. The album received a warm reception and meant that she quickly developed a powerful presence on streaming sites, as well as being a busker and popular social media figure.

What else you should know about Allie Sherlock streetmusic

In the past few months, Allie Sherlock has continued to travel, busk, perform, and record. Still very much a teen, fans can expect to see a lot more of her in the near future.