Glen Hansard was a featured performer in the ‘Courage’ live concert series from Other Voices in Ireland
Glen Hansard performed on Thursday, May 21 as part of the ‘Courage’ concert series from Other Voices in Ireland - watch back on a clip from his fantastic performance, streamed from the National Library of Ireland, here:
Glen Hansard went live on Thursday, May 21 right here on IrishCentral and over on our Facebook page as part of our ongoing IrishCentral Happy Hour livestream series.
Organizers say: “Glen Hansard has an extensive history with Other Voices having performed on and presented the first-ever series and played on the show multiple times in the intervening years, he is a lifelong friend of the show.
“Glen initially came to fame with his band The Frames, one of the most loved Irish bands ever. His song 'Falling Slowly,' which was featured on the soundtrack for the film Once, which he also starred in, won an Oscar in 2008. He has since become an immensely successful solo artist worldwide and has released four albums to critical acclaim.
"For the duration of the series, artists will be asking the viewer to donate what they can to a charity of their choice. Glen Hansard has chosen Safe Ireland, a charity that offers a range of services to women and children experiencing domestic violence."
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About Glen Hansard
Glen Hansard is the lead singer and a founding member of Irish rock band The Frames. He is one half of folk duo The Swell Season, along with Czech pianist and vocalist Markéta Irglová. Together, they share an Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Falling Slowly,” from the film Once, in which they both starred. He has released four solo albums, including the GRAMMY-nominated Didn’t He Ramble (2015), as well as a number of EPs.
Those who have followed Hansard’s career since his award-winning turn in Once will have witnessed one artistic arc: the journey of a Dublin busker who cut his teeth on the greats - Dylan, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen – and followed the path of the troubadour, the singer-songwriter to great effect.
But there is another thread running through Glen Hansard’s musicianship. In his decades as the lead singer of The Frames, rock and folk ambitions coexist with moments of strangeness, intimacy, and stillness: love songs drowning in the last fevers of the Spanish Flu (“Santa Maria”), protagonists who ponder throwing it all away and disappearing in a fugue state (“Keepsake”). And above all, the band, veering from silence to cacophony, ready to underpin soaring emotional and dynamic shifts. His latest album This Wild Willing, released in 2019, marks an inflection point in his career, a turning where he marries the sonic inventiveness of the best of his work in The Frames to the discipline he’s found as a lyricist in his solo career.
It is an album guided and formed by the twin totems of resolve and surrender – the resolve to see a thing through alongside a willingness to surrender, to trust in that which lies outside yourself – the other musicians in the room, your lover, your healer, your audience.
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About 'Courage'
‘Courage’ is a new project in Ireland that delivers uplifting, inspiring performances from brilliant artists to the public during the COVID-19 crisis. 'Courage' will beam these performances directly into homes across the nation, from a number of iconic cultural locations.
'Courage' has been curated by the team that produce Other Voices and is funded by Ireland's Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, and by Intel.
To date, ‘Courage’ live streams have featured performances from Ye Vagabonds, Sorcha Richardson, Caoimhín Ó’Raghallaigh, Rhiannon Giddens, Francesco Turrisi, Lisa Hannigan, Iarla Ó Lionáird, Steve Cooney, Denise Chaila, and Colm Mac Con Iomaire. The project has gone from strength to strength, with 886,858 views worldwide.
Organizers say: "Our goal is to provide essential cultural output during this period. Music collapses distance in this time of isolation, it gives us courage, consolation, and brings us together. Performances will take place on Tuesday and Thursday nights and will be made available worldwide, free of charge, thanks to the support of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Intel, and RTÉ.”
Speaking of the project Minister Madigan said: “We know culture plays a hugely positive role in our collective wellbeing. The performances that will take place during the Courage program are sure to raise plenty of spirits and can be enjoyed as people stay at home. It is in addition to the support that the Government is already providing to artists and those working in the arts and cultural sectors.”
The performances will be filmed in strictly controlled locations. Because of public health regulations, there can be no live audience in the locations where we film the artists, and the only people in the locations will be artists and strictly essential crew.
For the duration of the series, artists will be asking the viewer to donate what they can to a charity of their choice.
You can learn more about Other Voices on their website and Facebook.
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