Glen Hansard died last week, and it’s hard to know where to start. He was one of the genuine ones — in his music and in how he moved through the world. That’s a rare thing, and it’s the thing we’ll miss most.
I’ve written before about my favorite Hansard memory: an impromptu moment at a 2015 Atlanta show that said everything about who he was.
Let’s celebrate his legacy with three videos.
We start with a 2015 backyard acoustic session in Germany. Hansard is playing “Say It To Me Now” when a string breaks. The guitar goes out of tune. But he keeps playing, full of conviction. “We can try it again if you want,” he says at the end, with a chuckle.
Then there’s “Her Mercy,” from a live album recorded just last year. The song opens quiet and coiled, then breaks wide open — watch the crowd rise to their feet in a moment of pure catharsis.
We’ll close with Hansard at SXSW in 2012, raising a toast and leading the crowd in an a cappella “The Parting Glass.”
Photo credit: Suzanne Davis McMahon from Hansard’s appearance at the 2016 Newport Folk Festival
About the author: Mild-mannered corporate executive by day, excitable Twangville denizen by night.