The Swell Season (Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová) return with new single 'People We Used To Be'

The Swell Season, the acclaimed duo of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, today shared their lush, sweeping new single 'People We Used To Be – and begin a new chapter for the band. Augmented by strings and anchored by their poignantly intertwining and soaring vocals, the song was produced by Sturla Mio Thorisson at Iceland’s Masterkey Studios and is The Swell Season’s first since 2023’s 'The Answer Is Yes.'

“It’s a song about trying to reconcile with what feels like an end of an era and allowing one’s self to mourn the People We Used To Be while choosing to fight for the person we love and the life we built with them,” explains Irglová. “It is a song of defiance and determination as much as heart aching nostalgia.” 'People We Used To Be' arrives alongside a video directed by Radim Vanous and produced by Little Greta in collaboration with The Swell Season. Shot in Prague, the clip nods to Hansard and Irglová’s performances in the beloved 2007 film Once, which first catapulted the duo into the spotlight.

After the success of Once – which won them the “Best Original Song” Academy Award for 'Falling Slowly' – The Swell Season released their sophomore album Strict Joy in 2009, which drew critical praise from Rolling Stone, Billboard, SPIN, American Songwriter, and NPR Music, among others. In the years since, both artists have continued to have highly successful individual careers: Irglová has released three solo albums, most recently 2022’s LILA; Hansard has released five solo albums, including 2023’s All That Was East Is West of Me Now.

Stay tuned for more news from The Swell Season coming very soon.

Following stops last week in Boston for the MISNEACH festival and New York for a quickly sold-out underplay at City Winery, The Swell Season will embark on a lengthy tour of Europe, the UK, and North America this spring and summer, beginning May 13th in Amsterdam, NL. The dates include a July 26th show at Brooklyn, NY’s Kings Theatre and a September 19th show at Los Angeles, CA’s The Greek. In 2023, they toured throughout the U.S., including a sold-out show at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. A current itinerary is below.

The Swell Season 2025 live dates
May13 - Amsterdam, NL - Koninklijk Theater Carré
May 14 - Antwerp, BG - De Roma
May 16 - Köln, DE - Stadthalle Köln-Mülheim Jülich GmbH
May 17 - Hamburg, DE - CCH - Congress Center Hamburg
May 19 - Berlin, DE - Admiralspalast
May 20 - Vienna, AUT - Wiener Konzerthaus
May 21 - Prague, CZ - Forum Karlín
May 23 - Kraków, POL - Klub Studio
May 24 - Warszawa, POL - Klub Stodola
May 25 - Brno, CZ - Sono Centrum
May 28 - London, UK - Royal Festival Hall
May 29 - Gateshead, UK - The Glasshouse
May 31 - Dublin, IE - National Concert Hall
June 01 - Dublin, IE - National Concert Hall
July 11 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap
July 12 - Cincinnati, OH - Taft Theatre
July 13 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Theatre
July 15 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater
July 16 - Minneapolis, MN - Orpheum Theatre
July 18 - Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre
July 19 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore Detroit
July 21 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
July 23 - Rochester, NY - Kodak Center
July 25 - Northampton, MA - The Pines Theater
July 26 - Brooklyn, NY - Kings Theatre
July 29 - Philadelphia, PA - The Met
July 31 - Greenville, SC - Peace Center
August 01 - Durham, NC - Durham Performing Arts Center
August 02 - Atlanta, GA - The Woodruff Arts Center
September 09 - St. Louis, MO - The Factory
September 10 - Kansas City, MO - The Midland Theatre
September 12 - Dallas, TX - The Majestic Theater
September 13 - Austin, TX - ACL Live at The Moody Theater
September 15 - Santa Fe, NM - Lensic Performing Arts Center
September 16 - Mesa, AZ - Mesa Arts Center (Ikeda Theater)
September 19 - Los Angeles, CA - The Greek Theatre
September 20 - San Francisco, CA - The Masonic
September 22 - Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
September 23 - Vancouver, BC - The Orpheum Theatre
September 24 - Seattle, WA - The Paramount Theatre