Ezra Williams: 'In Cork, the community feels a lot more approachable'

The Wicklow-raised singer-songwriter has blossomed since moving to Cork to attend art college 

Ezra Williams. Picture: Colette Slater

When critically acclaimed musician Ezra Williams moved to Cork to attend art school, they didn’t know what to expect. Having grown up in Greystones, Co Wicklow, and spent their adolescence knocking around South Dublin suburban haunts such as Dundrum Shopping Centre, going off the range to study at Crawford College of Art and Design was a step into the unknown. So it came as a more than pleasant surprise to discover Cork had a nurturing experiential music scene, which has provided the inspiring backdrop to their atmospheric new EP, Socks.

“In Dublin, you have to be more in the know. In Cork, the community feels a lot more approachable,” says Williams, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns. “Every single gig I’ve been to, I recognise people from other gigs. There’s a big group of people who goes to everything, which I like.”