The Swell Season, the lauded duo of Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, have entered a new chapter with the release of the lush new single ‘People We Used To Be’.

Boasting a suite of crystalline strings and soaring vocal performances, ‘People We Used To Be’ 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.”

The single arrives alongside a captivating video, directed by Radim Vanous, that follows the duo around Prague, with nods to Hansard and Irglová’s performances in the beloved 2007 film Once, which first catapulted the duo into the spotlight.

Following up the success of Once - which earned them an Oscar for “Best Original Song” with ‘Falling Slowly - The Swell Season released their second album Strict Joy, which reached the Top 20 in the U.S. charts.

In the years since, both artists have continued to maintain highly-successful solo careers, with Irglová has released three solo albums, including 2022’s LILA, and Hansard dropping five solo albums, such as 2023’s All That Was East Is West of Me Now.

Accompanying the release is the announcement of an upcoming world tour, which will see The Swell Season perform shows in Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, London, Amsterdam, Berlin and more, with two performances at Dublin’s iconic National Concert Hall on 31 May and 01 June.

Tickets are priced at €55 and are on sale now via this link.

See below for the full list of tour dates:

The Swell Season 2025 live dates

May 13 - 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 Stodoła
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