The unlikely pairing of Irish rocker Glen Hansard and Czech pianist Markéta Irglová has been charming listeners since the understated 2007 musical “Once” introduced the world to their heart-felt folk rock, even earning them an Oscar for “Falling Slowly.”
Luckily, it wasn’t just a one-time thing, as the two have been collaborating ever since as The Swell Season, releasing two albums and touring all over the world — including the Prospect Park band shell on July 30.
Equally as lucky, the two’s romantic entanglement — and its subsequent dissolution, Richard and Linda Thompson-style — hasn’t prevented them from making hauntingly beautiful music together. The mismatched pair — he with his rough voice and heart-on-his-sleeve demeanor, she with her more youthful, calculated one — write swooning songs about love and heartache capped with gorgeous harmonies. It’s a performance that will surely stick with you long after you leave the band shell.
The Swell Season at the Prospect Park band shell [Prospect Park West and Ninth Street in Park Slope, (718) 855-7882], July 30 at 7:30 pm. For info, visit www.bricartsmedia.org.
