My Favorite Singers: Glen Hansard

Written by: Tereza Lysakova

Imagine this. You walk through the street of the city where you live as any other day but then something happens. Something, which you think would only happen in movies or on the pages of your favorite fiction book. And imagine my surprise when exactly this happened to me, several years ago, precisely in August 2013. I remember it clearly and I will never forget. 😊 So, I was walking through Vodičkova street in the Prague city center, as I do quite often as this area is close to the Wenceslas square and I like going to the shops and cafes in this area. But this is not the point.

The point is, when I wanted to cross the street, there in the middle of nowhere, walking from the opposite direction, I saw him. My very favorite singer in the whole world, Glen Hansard. It was kind of surreal. I knew I saw him couple of days ago in the concert at the Prague Castle and couple of times before also on the stage, but this is simply different. What is the probability you will meet your favorite singer or actor, or simply one of your most favorite artist in the world at the same time and in the same place, i.e. in Prague, on the crossroad of the Vodičkova street and when I am walking there...like, seriously?

I really don't know where I found the strength to do this, but I thought to myself, come on, do something. This is probably the only possibility you will ever have to talk to him. So, I gathered all the strength I had, and I approached him. I said probably the most pathetic phrase in the whole world: "Hi Glen, is that you?". He said: "yes". I told him I was a big fan of his and we shook hands. I told him I had visited his concert which was held couple of days ago, before our encounter, in the gardens of the Prague Castle and that I had enjoyed the concert very much, which I did indeed, but I had also told him that it was quite cold eventually as it was an open-air concert which was held outside. I know, like I was prepared I will be talking to the Academy Award winner and the Irish folk rock superstar that day, right? Anyway, it was a very short meeting, but to me very intensive. And believe me, I smiled long after it happened, i.e. couple of days or maybe weeks after the encounter, when remembering it. And I still do. Although, I was in such a shock, that the idea of asking for photograph has not even crossed my mind. However, since that day I really believe in miracles, and I also believe there might be another opportunity one day.

I first noticed Glen back then in 2008, when I saw the movie called Once, where he stared with the Czech singer Marketa Irglova, and for which, or more precisely for the theme song called Falling Slowly, they were deservedly awarded the 2008 Academy Award. And I immediately liked both, the film and the soundtrack, and Glen, of course. 😊 And since then, I have tried to take the opportunity to visit the concerts when Glen and his band have had a gig either in Prague or in another city in the Czech Republic. To mention just a couple of them, the legendary 2012 concert in the Archa Theatre, the aforementioned concert in 2013 at the Prague Castle or in 2018, when Glen played in Valašské Meziříčí with the Irish Band the Interference. If you don't know the Interference, then you might probably know the song "Gold" from the Once movie. So, this is the exact band who performed this song. This tour was a tribute to their singer Fergus O'Farrell who sadly passed away in 2016. The show, as any other Glen's performances, was truly magical. The last time I saw Glen was in November 2019, again in the Archa Theatre, where he introduced his latest album.

And for sure, when travelling to London, I did not miss a chance to see the musical "Once", which is based on the movie and features the songs from the film. It was such a great experience!

Mentioning my most favorite songs would be probably pointless, as almost every song is a pure gem. Of course, Falling Slowly (you can find some more of my favorite duets in this post), but for instance When Your Mind's Made Up, Bird of Sorrow, Her Mercy, Song of Good Hope, or One of Us Must Lose, just to mention a few, along with many, many more.

I am really looking forward to the next shows!

Images credit: Tereza Lysakova