The Swell Season

The Swell Season was formed as a result of a collaboration between Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová, Bertrand Galen and Marja Tuhkanen when they recorded the album "The Swell Season" (released in April 2006). In April/May 2006, the quartet played six shows in Ireland to support the release of "The Swell Season". Later in the year (October & December) they also played a number of shows in the US to support the release of the album there. The huge success of the film 'Once' resulted in Glen and Markéta touring the US constantly during 2007 and the line-up morphed over time (Glen and Markéta being the core members). The current Swell Season line-up also includes three members of The Frames: guitarist Rob Bochnik, violinist Colm Mac Con Iomaire, and bassist Joe Doyle. Hansard and Markéta starred in the film 'Once' by writer/director John Carney. Many songs of The Swell Season are used in this film, which won the World Cinema Audience Award at Sundance 2007.