Glen Hansard

Glen Hansard's path ran from the streets of Ballymun, where he busked from his early teens, to a body of work spanning rock, folk and film. Raised in northern Dublin and largely self-taught on guitar, he founded the Frames in 1990 and fronted them through six studio albums, four of which reached the top ten of the Irish Albums Chart. His songwriting, rooted in the busking tradition, has an unfussy directness that carries across his band, duo and solo work.

He came to wider notice as Outspan Foster in Alan Parker's The Commitments in 1991, and in 2007 he starred in Once alongside Markéta Irglová, the pair writing the film's music. Their song "Falling Slowly" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008, and the film was later adapted into a stage musical. As the Swell Season with Irglová he released three albums, and his 2012 debut solo album Rhythm and Repose was followed in 2015 by Didn't He Ramble, a Grammy nominee. He died in a motorcycle accident near Dublin in July 2026, aged 56.