Biography
Few figures in the indie folk realm can point to an Academy Award win or the foundation of a hit theatrical production, yet Glen Hansard counts both among his accomplishments. Earning praise through his thoughtful, insightful, and fervent compositions along with his subtle vocal delivery as part of the Frames and the Swell Season, he later received comparable recognition pursuing a solo path. He first reached listeners via the flexible yet forceful indie rock he shaped with the Frames before achieving worldwide recognition alongside singer-songwriter Markéta Irglová in the Swell Season, whose raw and mostly acoustic indie folk formed the core of the prize-winning independent romantic drama Once. Since issuing his initial solo effort, 2012's Rhythm and Repose, Hansard has explored varied approaches, channeling the atmosphere of 1970s singer-songwriters on 2015's Didn't He Ramble, classic soul on 2018's Between Two Shores, and a broad mix of understated folk and raucous indie rock on 2019's This Wild Willing and 2023's All That Was East Is West of Me Now.
Born in Dublin's Ballymun area on April 21, 1970, Hansard showed far greater interest in music than academics from an early age. At 13, following guidance from an instructor who saw his musical promise, he left school and began earning his way by busking on Dublin streets. He devoted five years to street performances and songwriting refinement before his parents funded a demo of his original songs in his late teens. Producing fifty copies, he saw one reach noted producer and A&R executive Denny Cordell, who was struck by the recordings and recommended Hansard for a contract with Island Records. With the deal secured, Hansard gathered local buskers and struggling rock players in 1990 to create the Frames' first lineup, taking the name from the many bicycle frames he stored in his yard while repairing bikes during downtime.
Although the Frames started performing in 1990, delays kept their debut album, Another Love Song, from stores until September 1992. During that period Hansard portrayed Outspan Foster in the popular film The Commitments, yet despite the resulting fame he chose to concentrate on music instead of acting. When Another Love Song fell short of Island's commercial hopes, the Frames turned to live shows until securing a new agreement with ZTT Records, which issued their second album, Fitzcarraldo, in 1995. Dance the Devil arrived in 1999, helping the group build a devoted following across Ireland and a devoted cult audience in the United States. Their fourth album, For the Birds, emerged in 2001 via the independent Overcoat Recordings label, followed by Breadcrumb Trail the next year. Hansard returned to the screen as host of the Irish television program Other Voices: Songs from a Room, which highlighted emerging local artists.
Following the 2006 release of The Cost, Hansard paused Frames activities to pursue the Swell Season side project with Czech singer and songwriter Markéta Irglová. Though eighteen years older than Irglová, Hansard formed both artistic and romantic ties with her after finishing their self-titled debut album. Writer and director John Carney, a prior Frames member, then convinced Hansard to take the male lead in an independent film about an Irish busker who falls for an Eastern European immigrant and musician; with Irglová cast opposite him, the story mirrored their real-life connection. Once reached international audiences in 2007, and the Hansard-Irglová composition "Falling Slowly" from the film earned them an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The Swell Season issued a second album, Strict Joy, in 2009, though by then Hansard and Irglová had ended their romance on amicable terms and ceased performing under the Swell Season name, while still occasionally writing together. The project's songs gained fresh exposure in 2011 when an off-Broadway musical adaptation of Carney's film, also titled Once, premiered. The production transferred to Broadway in 2012 and later appeared in the U.K., Canada, Australia, and South Korea.
While the Frames reunited occasionally for tours, especially in Ireland, they had stopped releasing records, allowing Hansard to issue his first solo album proper, Rhythm and Repose, in 2012, shaped by the close of his relationship with Irglová and his move to New York City. Later that year his song "Take the Heartland" featured on the soundtrack for the successful film The Hunger Games. In 2013 he collaborated with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder on a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Drive All Night," included on an Anti- fundraising EP of the same name benefiting the music education charity Little Kids Rock. Hansard next released the 2015 EP It Was Triumph We Once Proposed: Songs of Jason Molina, offering new interpretations of five songs by his late friend Molina, known for his work with Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co.
Hansard returned in September 2015 with the original-material album Didn't He Ramble and followed it with an American tour. Anti- issued his fourth studio album, Between Two Shores, in January 2018, supported by an international tour that included a special performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. This Wild Willing, released in 2019, took shape during a four-week creative stay in Paris and was recorded with an array of collaborators, among them electronic artists Dunk Murphy and Deasy plus Middle Eastern musicians the Khoshravesh brothers. In 2021 Hansard joined Eddie Vedder, Olivia Vedder, and Cat Power for the soundtrack to Sean Penn's drama Flag Day, after which Vedder invited him to participate in the ad-hoc band the Earthlings for a solo tour. Hansard also contributed to recordings for Joe Wright's 2021 film Cyrano, performing two pieces written by Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner of the National.
To test new material before audiences while preparing his next album, Hansard played a series of unannounced shows at a small Dublin pub, allowing the songs to develop with whoever happened to attend. After refining the arrangements, he and several Frames members worked with producer and engineer David Odlum at his home studio to capture 2023's All That Was East Is West of Me Now. The affecting collection merges folk introspection with rock energy and features violin from Warren Ellis of the Dirty Three and Nick Cave's Bad Seeds.
Born in Dublin's Ballymun area on April 21, 1970, Hansard showed far greater interest in music than academics from an early age. At 13, following guidance from an instructor who saw his musical promise, he left school and began earning his way by busking on Dublin streets. He devoted five years to street performances and songwriting refinement before his parents funded a demo of his original songs in his late teens. Producing fifty copies, he saw one reach noted producer and A&R executive Denny Cordell, who was struck by the recordings and recommended Hansard for a contract with Island Records. With the deal secured, Hansard gathered local buskers and struggling rock players in 1990 to create the Frames' first lineup, taking the name from the many bicycle frames he stored in his yard while repairing bikes during downtime.
Although the Frames started performing in 1990, delays kept their debut album, Another Love Song, from stores until September 1992. During that period Hansard portrayed Outspan Foster in the popular film The Commitments, yet despite the resulting fame he chose to concentrate on music instead of acting. When Another Love Song fell short of Island's commercial hopes, the Frames turned to live shows until securing a new agreement with ZTT Records, which issued their second album, Fitzcarraldo, in 1995. Dance the Devil arrived in 1999, helping the group build a devoted following across Ireland and a devoted cult audience in the United States. Their fourth album, For the Birds, emerged in 2001 via the independent Overcoat Recordings label, followed by Breadcrumb Trail the next year. Hansard returned to the screen as host of the Irish television program Other Voices: Songs from a Room, which highlighted emerging local artists.
Following the 2006 release of The Cost, Hansard paused Frames activities to pursue the Swell Season side project with Czech singer and songwriter Markéta Irglová. Though eighteen years older than Irglová, Hansard formed both artistic and romantic ties with her after finishing their self-titled debut album. Writer and director John Carney, a prior Frames member, then convinced Hansard to take the male lead in an independent film about an Irish busker who falls for an Eastern European immigrant and musician; with Irglová cast opposite him, the story mirrored their real-life connection. Once reached international audiences in 2007, and the Hansard-Irglová composition "Falling Slowly" from the film earned them an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The Swell Season issued a second album, Strict Joy, in 2009, though by then Hansard and Irglová had ended their romance on amicable terms and ceased performing under the Swell Season name, while still occasionally writing together. The project's songs gained fresh exposure in 2011 when an off-Broadway musical adaptation of Carney's film, also titled Once, premiered. The production transferred to Broadway in 2012 and later appeared in the U.K., Canada, Australia, and South Korea.
While the Frames reunited occasionally for tours, especially in Ireland, they had stopped releasing records, allowing Hansard to issue his first solo album proper, Rhythm and Repose, in 2012, shaped by the close of his relationship with Irglová and his move to New York City. Later that year his song "Take the Heartland" featured on the soundtrack for the successful film The Hunger Games. In 2013 he collaborated with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder on a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Drive All Night," included on an Anti- fundraising EP of the same name benefiting the music education charity Little Kids Rock. Hansard next released the 2015 EP It Was Triumph We Once Proposed: Songs of Jason Molina, offering new interpretations of five songs by his late friend Molina, known for his work with Songs: Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co.
Hansard returned in September 2015 with the original-material album Didn't He Ramble and followed it with an American tour. Anti- issued his fourth studio album, Between Two Shores, in January 2018, supported by an international tour that included a special performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. This Wild Willing, released in 2019, took shape during a four-week creative stay in Paris and was recorded with an array of collaborators, among them electronic artists Dunk Murphy and Deasy plus Middle Eastern musicians the Khoshravesh brothers. In 2021 Hansard joined Eddie Vedder, Olivia Vedder, and Cat Power for the soundtrack to Sean Penn's drama Flag Day, after which Vedder invited him to participate in the ad-hoc band the Earthlings for a solo tour. Hansard also contributed to recordings for Joe Wright's 2021 film Cyrano, performing two pieces written by Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner of the National.
To test new material before audiences while preparing his next album, Hansard played a series of unannounced shows at a small Dublin pub, allowing the songs to develop with whoever happened to attend. After refining the arrangements, he and several Frames members worked with producer and engineer David Odlum at his home studio to capture 2023's All That Was East Is West of Me Now. The affecting collection merges folk introspection with rock energy and features violin from Warren Ellis of the Dirty Three and Nick Cave's Bad Seeds.
Albums
Forward
2025
All That Was East Is West Of Me Now
2023
Flag Day (Original Soundtrack)
2021
This Wild Willing
2019
Between Two Shores
2018
A Season On The Line
2016
Didn't He Ramble
2015
It Was Triumph We Once Proposed…Songs of Jason Molina
2015
Drive All Night
2013
Rhythm And Repose
2012
Singles
