The Swell Season

The Swell Season | September 13, 2025 | ACL Live Theater

Glen Hansard is no stranger to Austin. In the last few years he's played Stubb's and the Paramount and charmed audiences in the process. When The Swell Season first reunited in March 2022 for a limited run of shows, followed by a more extensive US tour in August 2023, Austin wasn't on the tour, leaving locals to wonder if they'd missed their chance to see the Once duo together again. On September 13th, Hansard returned to ACL Live at the Moody Theater with Markéta Irglová, bringing The Swell Season to Austin for the first time in over a decade.

Hansard set the tone early with humor. He recalled the last time he was in the building, hammered at a Springsteen show, and admitted he didn't even recognize Marcus Mumford that night. The crowd laughed, the ice broke, and the room felt smaller than its 2,750 seats.

The first few songs carried a quiet weight, drawing the audience in but leaving the room subdued. That changed when they launched into "When Your Mind's Made Up." Glen, who had been mostly restrained and measured up to this point, erupted in his signature growl. That performance alone was reason enough to pay the price of admission.

Throughout the night, Hansard switched between part troubadour, part stand-up comic. He riffed on song titles ("Back Broke" becoming "Brokeback"), slipped in pointed political jabs that drew loud cheers, and never stopped bantering with the crowd.

But for all the laughs, the night also carried weight. The Swell Season's new songs from Forward sat comfortably alongside the older material. The final stretch was pure intimacy. After finishing with "Gold," the band bowed, seemingly ready to close out the evening. But as Hansard mentioned, "It was one of those nights," and they quickly decided to play two more songs. The Van Morrison cover, always a crowd pleaser, was a nod to the Irish troubadour legacy that came before him.

In that same vein, they ended the night with an all-acoustic cover of Pete Seeger's "Passing Through”. No mic, no amplification, just his voice carrying to the back rows. The crowd went still. In that moment, Moody Theater felt less like a concert hall and more like a gathering of friends leaning in together.

Sixteen years after their breakout, The Swell Season still thrives at creating simple songs that make big rooms feel intimate.  

Find The Swell Season at the following: Instagram, Facebook, and their own website of course. Their latest album Forward is streaming everywhere you scroll for music.

Words and photos: Victor Gonzalez