Ireland Week- The Frames/The Swell Season: It's A Long Way To Fitzcarraldo

St. Patrick's Day is officially less than a week away!  With visions of shamrocks, and leprechauns, and green beer dancing in my head I can't help but think of all the great Irish bands to provide the soundtrack.  As a countdown to the big day, each post for the next seven days will be feature a band or musician from Ireland!

To start off Ireland week, we have music from two bands (technically)!  The Frames began touring all the way back in 1990, and I wish I had known that when I was six!  The Frames may just be my favorite band, and I finally got to see them live this past year on their 20th anniversary tour.  Their live shows are legendary in Ireland.  In fact, they are consistently named the best live act in Ireland... yes, that includes U2.

Here's The Frames performing "Fitzcarraldo" and "Monument" live!

The Swell Season, is a bit of an offshoot of The Frames.  The Swell Season is Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, along with the rest of The Frames as the backing band.  The Swell Season was born out of the motion picture Once starring Hansard and Irglova (if you haven't seen it, you should).  In addition to starring in the film, Hansard and Irglova also provided the soundtrack.  Their song "Falling Slowly" won a 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song.  Their latest record Strict Joy was released in 2009.

Enjoy The Swell Season performing "When Your Mind's Made Up", for NPR's Tiny Desk Concerts.

Hope you enjoyed the first installment in Ireland Week!  Check out the websites for The Frames and The Swell Season