DUG Deep -- How this beloved folk duo went form spare change to the spotlight

Extra.ie​

2 days ago

A crowd once gathered on Grafton Street around two friends who looked more like students skipping lectures than future chart-toppers. Guitar cases open, harmonies tight, it was here that DUG first started turning heads.
Fast forward a few years and that same duo now finds themselves in polished studio sessions, signed to one of Ireland's most respected labels, and prepping their debut album.
Extra.ie sat down with DUG ahead of the release of their latest single, Livelong Days, with Jonny Pickett & Lorkin O'Reilly still as grounded as ever, as we talked about the grind of street performances and how they're refusing to do things by the book. A crowd once gathered on Grafton Street around two friends who looked more like students skipping lectures than future chart-toppers. Guitar cases open, harmonies tight, it was here that DUG first started turning heads.
' What's so hard is that to start a band, it just costs so much time and money,' the boys began. 'Like no one can designate time and money to something that isn't going anywhere immediately. We were both just unemployed and DUG was immediately a vessel for us to make a tiny bit of cash from busking.'
DUG are refreshingly honest about their early days, openly admitting that busking began as a necessity rather than a passion project.
There was no grand plan or dream of being discovered on the street, at the time, they simply needed to pay the bills. With rent looming and day jobs falling short, performing on busy corners became a lifeline. It wasn't about exposure or building a fanbase; it was about getting through the week. Fast forward a few years and that same duo now finds themselves in polished studio sessions, signed to one of Ireland's most respected labels, and prepping their debut album.
Describing what started as a last resort, but quickly turned into the first step of something much bigger, they continued: 'We didn't have savings or jobs… It was really utilitarian at that point to pay the rent.'
What began as a financial necessity quickly evolved into something deeper for DUG. As they spent more time performing together on the streets, their musical chemistry solidified and their bond as a group grew stronger.
The connection between them became undeniable, not just to each other, but to passersby who began to stop, listen, and return. A fan base started to form almost organically, drawn in by the rawness of their sound and the authenticity of their performances. View this post on Instagram
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What was once just a way to get by became the foundation of a growing community around their music.
'It's kind of like the busking happened and more and more people started being really kind and championing us pretty much.
'We were in a kebab shop and a guy was like, a guy who didn't have Instagram or any social media, he was like, he was like, Turkish, and he was like 'I saw you guys playing. I put it in my friend group chat' and there's like 40 people in this group chat,' they laughed. Extra.ie sat down with DUG ahead of the release of their latest single, Livelong Days, with Jonny Pickett & Lorkin O'Reilly still as grounded as ever, as we talked about the grind of street performances and how they're refusing to do things by the book.
' We'd sold out the first two gigs at Whelan's before there was any music out, and then that kind of created this weird thing where people were like, 'who the f*ck are these guys?''
'There was just kind of a bit mystery around it, I think, at the beginning.'
DUG's humble beginnings continue to shape their sound in meaningful ways. Having come from a place where every coin counted, they carry an unpolished honesty that cuts through their music—gritty, heartfelt, and grounded in real-life experience.
Rather than leaning into bitterness or cynicism, they channel those early struggles into songs that radiate resilience and optimism. There's a deliberate choice to bring a level of up-beat comedy into their lyricism.
' It's so lame to be positive right now. Like you're actually swimming completely upstream,' they mused.
' It's so much harder to be positive because there's so much to be that negative about, and it's completely fair to be completely negative. So I think, yeah, the goal from the beginning was to try and be a bit more positive than a lot of the music happening right now.
' Also we were in our thirties busking on Grafton Street, it was like we had to be positive to keep our own spirits up.'
'Livelong Day', the 5th track to be released from DUG's highly anticipated upcoming album, is out now via Claddagh Records.