Glen Hansard
Artist: Glen Hansard, Margaret Glaspy
Venue: The Lodge Room, LA
Date: 3/29/2026
Glen Hansard sold out Lodge Room and made it feel like the only room in the world. The Irish singer-songwriter, frontman of The Frames and one half of The Swell Season, has spent decades building the kind of catalog that lives inside people. His song "Falling Slowly," written with Markéta Irglová for the 2007 film Once, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The Broadway adaptation won eight Tony Awards. And yet, between songs, Hansard let us in. He shared how nervous he gets on the first night of a tour, no matter how many times he’s done it. Lodge Room was the first stop on his ten-date Don't Settle North American Tour, and the crowd treated it accordingly.
What stood out from side stage was how tight-yet-free the band. Their guitar tech was tuning up between songs, moving effortlessly. A highlight for me was when Hansard played "Falling Slowly." He brought out his friend Olivia, who turned out to be Olivia Vedder [?!] Eddie Vedder's daughter, to sing alongside him. With one of those choruses that just moves you.
Hansard talked between songs the way great storytellers do, generously and without performance. He spoke about his love for East LA, about playing an early show out here years ago. He said how he wanted to play the Echo Plex, but his management found him The Lodge Room as an upgrade, and he was grateful.
Margaret Glaspy opened the night solo on acoustic guitar, the Northern California songwriter's raw, sharp-edged songwriting a natural fit for what was to follow. It was a magical night.
