Over the past few years I’ve been very outspoken about who my influences and musical heroes are. I’ve been extremely lucky to see all of them in concert multiple times. That’s one of the great things about Austin… if the talent isn’t already here, it definitely makes it’s way here. There are really only 4 people that I currently listen to. In no particular order they are John Mayer, Glen Hansard, Doyle Bramhall II and Bob Schneider. If I had to pick one that is the most inspiring and influential to me at the current time it would be Glen Hansard.
Glen Hansard has been the frontman for an Irish rock group called The Frames for the past 20 years. A few years back Glen Hansard starred in a low budget independent movie based in Dublin called “Once“. He and co-star Marketa Irglova sky rocketed into fame because of the success of that movie and it’s phonemenal soundtrack. If you are a true music lover, and more specifically a fan of singer/songwriters this is a must-see movie.
The duo formed the band The Swell Season, backed by members of The Frames.
I’ve been lucky enough to see Glen Hansard perform 3 times at the Paramount in the past year… twice with The Swell Season and one time by himself. Fortunately I was able to get some pretty good footage last night without any security hassling me. I hope you enjoy it. If so, I recommend buying the two Swell Season Albums.
As I said the last time I saw them… The Swell Season was the best live music show I have ever seen. Yes, better than Mayer, better than Bramhall II…. the music was fantastic, the band was super tight, the audio mix was flawless, the crowd was like a choir and the songwriting is pure genius. I wish you all could have experienced that.
Here’s my video footage…
