Glen Hansard

Glen Hansard this year released the two album set Don+t Settle – Transmissions East & West. Recorded over two nights in April 2025 in front of an audience at Berlin’s historic Funkhaus, the album’s 20-song tracklist features live reinterpretations of songs from across his esteemed career, including his four solo albums, his work with The Frames, as well as half of the Oscar-winning duo The Swell Season (with Markéta Irglová).

Don+t Settle – Transmissions East & West as a whole encapsulates multiple things at once: a career retrospective opus, a ‘Best Of’ collection, a live record, and a new studio album. It saw high praise and support from the likes of Mojo, Uncut, SPIN and more – and a predominantly sold-out tour in support of the album, including a rapturous show at London’s Roundhouse received rave live reviews.

Both volumes of Don+t Settle – Transmissions East & West feature no vocal overdubs, second takes, autotune, or editing–brilliantly showcasing the breadth of Hansard’s talents and songwriting. In all, the album feels like an important demarcation point in an already storied career, with Hansard looking backwards within his creative path while he moves forward – ‘transmissions’ both from his past and to his future.

A founding member of The Frames, Hansard first gained international attention through Alan Parker’s 1991 film The Commitments and a subsequent film, Once (2007), made on a modest budget, became a global success and grossed $23 million worldwide. Co-starring Markéta Irglová,  the pair won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for ‘Falling Slowly’ and later recorded and toured as The Swell Season.

Since launching his solo career with 2012’s Rhythm and Repose, Hansard has released four further studio albums: Didn’t He Ramble (2015), Between Two Shores (2018), This Wild Willing (2019), and All That Was East Is West of Me Now (2023).

Over the years, he has collaborated with and earned praise from artists including Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Joni Mitchell. Now 55, Hansard describes Transmissions East as a document of energy and connection, capturing the spirit of his live performances at an important moment in his musical journey.