The Swell Season Tickets

Short Biography
The Swell Season, the Oscar-winning duo of Frames frontman Glen Hansard and Czech ingénue Marketa Irglova, will release their new album 'Strict Joy' through Anti- Records on 28 September. The album features twelve new songs and is the follow-up to their surprise hit film and gold-certified soundtrack 'Once.' The Swell Season have also confirmed a European headlining tour in November 2009.

‘Strict Joy,' which borrows its name from a work by Irish poet James Stephens, was co-produced by Hansard and Peter Katis (The National, Interpol), and recorded mostly at Katis' Tarquin Studios in Connecticut, USA. In addition to Hansard and Irglova, the album features Frames members Colm Mac Iomaire (violin), Joe Doyle (bass), Rob Bochnik (guitar) and guitarist Javier Mas (Leonard Cohen), pianist Thomas Bartlett (Doveman), percussionist Chad Taylor (Chicago Underground Duo), horn players Steven Bernstein and Clark Gayton from Levon Helm's band and others.

The Swell Season generated a wave of acclaim during the 2008 awards season picking up two Grammy nominations and an Oscar win for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly." The duo performed the song at the Oscars ceremony and Irglova provided one of the most memorable and poignant moments of the evening when host Jon Stewart called her back to the stage after an ad break to give her acceptance speech. The success of ‘Once' also led to a sold out world tour for The Swell Season, which was captured for an upcoming documentary.

In-depth Biography
Formed by the Frames' frontman Glen Hansard and Czech songstress Markéta Irglová, the Swell Season (named after a novel by humanist Czech writer Josef Skvorecky) is a songwriting duo with a penchant for vocal harmonies and acoustic-based songcraft. The pop/rock twosome released a self-titled debut in 2006, several months before the appearance of the Frames' sixth effort, The Cost. Hansard and Irglová also appeared as working-class immigrants in the popular Irish movie Once, which was presented at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007. The following year, the duo received an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the film's hit single, "Falling Slowly," and the Swell Season's popularity surged as a result.

Once: Music from the Motion Picture went gold in February 2008, and an accompanying tour saw the group performing to sold-out crowds in multiple countries. Of course, part of the group's appeal was the real-life relationship of its co-founders, which lent a romantic chemistry to the Swell Season's stage show. Hansard and Irglová ultimately split up in January 2009, yet the band continued moving forward with a mature sophomore release, Strict Joy, which appeared later that year. ~ Andrew Leahey & MacKenzie Wilson, Rovi