Month: September 2013

Glen Hansard is delighted to announce a solo tour for October with 8 shows around the country including Sligo, Belfast, Dundalk, Clonakilty, Ballycotton, Cavan, Cork and Galway.  Special guest on the tour will be Lisa O’ Neill (all dates bar Galway). Tickets priced €20.00 on sale this Friday, 6th September.    Lisa O’ Neill is due to release her second album Same Cloth or Not next month.

Glen will then return to Dublin’s Vicar Street with his full band on 26th of November. Tickets priced €30.00 on sale this Friday, 6th September.  The band, of course, includes all members of The Frames as well as a buoyant brass section and string section.

Glen’s recent run of summer shows received fantastic reactions all round, with long sets, surprise special guests and excellent reviews to boot. After the Iveagh Gardens and Galway Arts Festival, Glen finished on a high when he was invited to join Bruce Springsteen on stage in Kilkenny for a rendition of Drive All Night –

Since the release of his solo album, Rhythm and Repose (Plateau) last year, Glen has been busy touring in both the US and Europe.

[Biog] Best known for his work with The Frames, The Swell Season and in the feature film Once, for which he won an Academy Award, Rhythm and Repose is Hansard’s first album of new material since his 2009 release Strict Joy with The Swell Season.

Rhythm and Repose is a result of Hansard’s last year and a half of living in New York City. The album was recorded by Patrick Dillett (David Byrne, Arto Lindsay, Laurie Anderson) and produced by Thomas Bartlett (Doveman, The National, Antony and the Johnsons). The record features the musical talents of Brad Albetta on bass, Ray Rizzo on drums, Nico Muhly and Rob Moose on strings , David Mansfield on slide guitar , Javier Mas and half of Bruce Springsteen’s current horn section. Assisting on vocals are Cristin Milioti (Once, The Musical), Sam Amidon, Marketa Irglova and Aida Shahghasemi.

In 2012 Hansard has been seen in the documentary The Swell Season which has toured the film festival circuit this year, contributed two songs to the blockbuster soundtrack, The Hunger Games, and been active in the promotion of Once, The Musical which successfully opened on Broadway last year to rave reviews, including the New York Times who explains, “what was always wonderful about ‘Once,’ its songs and its staging, has been magnified.”

Earlier his year, Plateau released In The Deep Shade – A Film by Conor Masterson, a stark portrait of an extraordinary band, who have played together for over 20 years.   “Glen Hansard is a gifted, emotive frontman who sings as if he must, with a heart on his sleeve that is constantly throbbing.” —The New York Times

Tour Dates

20 Oct – Hawkswell, Sligo (w/ Lisa O’ Neill) 21 Oct – MAC Theatre, Belfast  (w/ Lisa O’ Neill) 22 Oct – Spirit Store, Dundalk (w/ Lisa O’ Neill) 24 Oct – Debarras, Clonakilty (w/ Lisa O’ Neill) 25 Oct – Blackbird, Ballycotton (w/ Lisa O’ Neill) 26 Oct – Blessings Bar, Cavan (w/ Lisa O’ Neill) 28 Oct – Cyprus Avenue, Cork  (w/ Lisa O’ Neill) 29 Oct – Town Hall, Galway

November 26 Nov – Vicar Street, Dublin (full band)

www.glenhansardmusic.com

Villagers will play Vicar Street on 17th December with tickets on sale now!

Villagers are set to release “Earthly Pleasure” as the next single from their critically acclaimed Number 1 album, {Awayland}. A compelling fantasy with ‘spiky lyrics, restless rhythms and a lovely melodic chorus’ (the Evening Standard), “Earthly Pleasure” will be available digitally on 23rd August. It follows on from previous singles “The Waves” and “Nothing Arrived”.  {Awayland} is the follow up to the debut Choice Music Prize nominated album Becoming A Jackal.

In March Villagers played two sold-out shows in Dublin’s Olympia Theatre. More recently they have toured in North America and played a standout show at Glastonbury Festival. Earlier this month Conor O’Brien was invited to appear at Beck’s Song Reader Live at The Barbican in London, alongside Jarvis, Franz Ferdinand, Charlotte Gainsbourg and others. Conor performed his own sensitive version of “Old Shanghai” which was hailed as a standout of the evening by The Independent and also performed a duet with Beck on closing song “Do We, We Do”.   Villagers have had a busy summer with appearances at T in the Park, Latitude, Longitude and Pukkelpop Festivals. They will also be appearing at Reading & Leeds this weekend.

Tues 17 Dec – Vicar St, Dublin

www.wearevillagers.com