Cory Young doesn’t carry himself like a musician who’s shared stages with the Coral Reefer Band. He doesn’t boast about the fact that 10-time CMA Musician of the Year Mac McAnally has graced his recordings. He doesn’t even brag about the fact that he’s kicked cancer’s … well, a word we can’t print here.
On the contrary, he’s more than happy to pull up a chair after one of his sets and strike up a conversation with anyone about anything from ChatGPT to the history of absinthe – no, really, take it from us. And although he’s cemented himself as one of the most talented entertainers in the Keys, he doesn’t charge a dime for his music.
The winding story that brought the tunesmith from Hawaii to Michigan to Nashville (twice) and around the country on a national tour in between two stints in Boot Key Harbor could fill this page on its own. Now on his second stay in the Keys, beginning right before the 2020 pandemic, he “(doesn’t) really have any desire to leave.”
“I don’t want to be Kenny Chesney. I don’t want to be Jimmy Buffett,” he said, still respectfully acknowledging his major influences while enjoying the shade at Grassy Key’s Bongos Cafe before his nightly gig. “If I had a lot of money, I’d be a dick. I just know that about myself. Not by normal standards, but I wouldn’t make the same decisions that I do now.
“The vibe I’ve got is like the working man’s broke Buffett. … (Jimmy) is the root of creating this whole lifestyle, but when he left and was on big mega yachts and flying on jets, now you’ve lost the authenticity that to me is the most important thing in life.”
The concept of authenticity, especially in a world invaded more and more each day by deepfake and A.I. technologies, continually resurfaced over the course of Keys Weekly’s interview with Young that lasted nearly an hour. For him, the ability to continually pen and release songs that draw from the true essence of the lifestyle that he lives to this day – rather than hopping on a plane and writing a song in Nashville after a week’s vacation in the Keys – drives his artistic focus.
And even with record deals and opportunities to share major stages around the country over the decades, Young said his happiness comes from living “humbly and simply” – as he pointed to his 2013 Kia “with metal straps holding the fender on.”
Where some would tire of bar gigs with repetitive setlists, Young tests himself each night with wildly varied combinations of songs – infusing his core trop-rock sets with anything from Snoop Dogg’s “Gin and Juice” to Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” – and creates differing acoustic tapestries woven from the same basic tune. For him, the beauty of his musical career today lies in the energy from his crowds each night, most of whom “work all year to spend one week where I wake up every day.”
“Places like Porky’s (Bayside Restaurant) – that restaurant will turn over four times in my three-hour gig, and I get an entire room of people to tell stories and talk to,” he said. “I don’t have to go out into crowds and pretend to be somebody I’m not, and I don’t ever have to put on a show face. And I don’t sell anything – I make my money playing live, and when I put music out there, I put it out there because I want people to have it.”
Young’s outlook on life moving forward can be summed up by the title track from his 2016 album, “Life Looks Best,” now also a pervasive hashtag on his social media.
“The song says ‘life looks best from a bar in Key West,’ but the slogan means that life looks best wherever you’re happy,” he said.
Pressed to pinpoint his “I Made It” moment in an industry that so many define with benchmarks of record sales, high-dollar purchases and mainstream awards, Young’s explanation was perfectly simple:
“My goal is to have enough money that I can take my wife out to dinner and not worry about it, but never have enough that I don’t think about the bill. I’m comfortable enough to take care of my modest needs without worry.”
To follow Young’s schedule and discover his music for yourself, visit facebook.com/coryyoungmusic or search for “Cory Young” on your favorite streaming platform.
