My Life with The 502s: A Cork birthday party paid for our Irish music tour

The 502s who are set to perform at Vicar Street on Thursday, January, 29

Unlike many other viral musical feats which start their lives online, The 502s’ Irish story began in a Cork living room.

Our feel-good anthem Just A Little While had unexpectedly sent waves across Ireland. This was during a time when a pandemic had all but scuppered our chances of performing in front of a live audience. We were beginning to wonder if we would ever tour again, at least in the traditional sense.

It was just after the lockdown that a Cork dad slid into our Instagram DMs with a bold question “Will you lads play a 21st birthday party?” What might have been a quirky footnote became the spark that launched an entire Irish touring legacy. We said yes.

The birthday party fee paid for our flights. And when an NYC manager suggested we try a club show in Dublin, we didn’t hesitate. Whelan’s sold out in four minutes.

Another show at Opium was subsequently added which sold out as well.

For so long, we had been confined to playing in our living rooms. The idea of performing in another part of the world was hugely exciting to us.

Six months later, our Florida folk band was selling out Vicar Street, Cyprus Avenue, Dolans, Róisín Dubh, and Belfast, cementing Ireland as the unlikely catalyst for our international touring success.

Now, after releasing our new album, Easy Street, my bandmates and I are preparing to return to the country that made our first leap of faith possible.
Our upcoming Vicar Street show is a full-circle homecoming of sorts, but the memories of that 21st have carved themselves into our hearts indefinitely.

A number of years have passed since our first Irish tour, but we will never forgot the gig that made it all possible.

It was a typical Irish day. After arriving in Cork we piled into the birthday boy’s father’s car, unaware of what was waiting for us. I remember thinking that, even outside of the music, this was a really cool experience. Here we were sitting in this little house in Cork, having dinner with a family we had only ever communicated with online. This was a man who had reached out to us from thousands of miles across the world.

I remember thinking about how special and surreal this moment was. For me, it reiterated the importance of going above and beyond for the people you love.

Not only had this family wanted us here with them that much, they had also made our whole Irish tour possible.

The family had rustled up a mixture for dinner: a home cooked meal and some KFC — they figured as Americans we would love this. Needless to say, we devoured it all.

An hour passed and people began streaming in for the party. The living room was thronged with around 30 or 40 people. Out of all the stages we had played, this had to be one of my favorite venues. The birthday boy and his family even got up to perform a song with us.

By the end of it all we felt like part of the family. Birthday parties in Ireland differ wildly to American parties. I’m not the most extroverted person, but here you are made to feel like you belong and are accepted.

The rest of our tour was just as memorable. It’s not like in the US where people stop you for a selfie and immediately move on with their lives. In Ireland it’s different and more like making a friend than meeting a fan. Pubs in Ireland were worlds apart from the images I had conjured up. I had only ever known the commercial Irish pubs back home. In reality, they don’t come close to the warmth you experience with the real deal. You can instantly sense that a lot of conversations, a lot of late nights and a lot of good times happened in the very spot you are standing in.

Not only that, but the Guinness definitely tastes better than in America. It’s much foamier.

There is always more beer flowing in Ireland than in American pubs. Everywhere you go has the kind of party energy that I’ve always been drawn to.

While our love affair with Ireland began with a 21st birthday, I celebrated my very own special milestone after marrying my wife during Halloween in Belfast in 2023. We finished the party in Dublin where we celebrated with a concert at Vicar Street in full costume-the perfect end to a perfect, albeit unconventional, wedding.

• The 502s are an American indie folk band from Orlando, Florida. The band will perform at Vicar Street this Thursday, January 29, 2026, to conclude their overseas tour.