Festival season is almost upon us, and I’m starting to get really excited about some of the artists I’ll get to hear this summer. At the top of my list is The Swell Season, the duo of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, who shot to fame in the film Once.
Incredibly, there are some among us who haven’t seen Once yet. If you are one of those poor, unfortunate people, I strongly urge you to set aside 86 minutes tonight and watch it. You should probably also set aside a couple of hours tomorrow to buy a guitar if you don’t already have one – after watching the movie, your life will feel incomplete without one.
Watching Glen sing Leave was one of the reasons I bought an acoustic guitar last year. I had this romantic idea that a guitar would be a conduit, a way to unlock a passionate side of me that is just looking for a way out. So far, no dice. If and when it does happen, I’ll let you know.
Three years after the film was released, Glen and Marketa are still recording and touring together. They’ll be on the main stage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival on Friday, July 9th and at Ottawa Bluesfest on Sunday, July 11. Other tour dates can be found on their website.
You can listen to other Swell Season tracks at the usual places
dearlove.ca 