A Glen Hansard-inspired holiday busk is coming to the Keswick

Before he died, Glen Hansard found inspiration in Philadelphia. In 2025, the Irish singer — mourned worldwide after he died in a July motorbike crash in Dublin — began work on an unfinished Philly album, recording with local musicians at a Conshohocken studio. Before that, Hansard, who began his musical career as a street busker in Dublin, played World Cafe Live with Philly street musicians, and even donned a faux Sixers jersey performing with the Philly band Snacktime at the Met Philly. His final Philly performance was only months before his death in the upstairs Sanctuary at the First Unitarian Church.

Now, Philadelphia is taking inspiration from Hansard.

On Dec. 6, at the Keswick Theatre, Philly musicians will host “The Philly Busk” — a holiday concert inspired by Hansard’s beloved Christmas Eve busk in Dublin to help people in homelessness.

Tickets and a lineup for the event have yet to be announced. All of the proceeds from “The Philly Busk” will benefit Project HOME — one of the city’s largest nonprofit housing agencies — and The Irish Center of Philadelphia, a Mt. Airy cultural hub founded in 1958 to preserve Irish heritage, music, and dance.

The concert — though not a traditional busk, usually performed in a street or subway station — was originally planned for the Irish Center, but organizers quickly shifted to the Keswick after an outpouring of interest and support from local artists, and after the theater expressed interest in helping.

Street musicians will also play outside the theater before the concert, in the tradition of a busk.

“We realize we need a bigger space, a bigger stage,” said organizer Liz Kerr, special events coordinator for The Irish Center of Philadelphia. “The number of people reaching out to us, offering help in any way — there’s been so much generosity. Everybody has been so positive about it.”

For 15 years, Hansard, 56, who fronted the Frames and won a best song Oscar for “Failing Slowly” from the 2007 film Once, hosted an annual, open-air charity music event on Dublin’s Grafton Street or outside the Gaiety Theatre. The beloved Irish tradition grew to include superstars like Bono, Sinéad O’Connor, and Shane MacGowan singing together on holiday classics like the Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York.”

The seed of the Philly concert grew out of grief, Kerr said. And wanting to help others in Hansard’s memory. The first person Kerr reached out to was Dublin-native and Philly-based singer songwriter, John Byrne, who busked himself back in Ireland before moving to Philly. Byrne immediately agreed to play — and to help land other musicians.

“We know the Dublin busk had meant so much to him,” said Byrne. “And Philadelphia had become a place he loved to come to. To do something like this — and have the proceeds go to a homeless charity — is just a really great way of honoring Glen Hansard.”

Outdoor venues, like outside City Hall, were initially considered but abandoned by planners due to unpredictable winter weather. Though the musicians for the event have yet to be announced, Byrne said it quickly became clear that they will need a big stage. For the memory of Hansard — and the desire to help others in need.

“It’s a way of bringing people together,” he said. “A way of giving them a chance to gather as a community and do something meaningful. I think we’re going to get a really good response from the music community. And I have a lot of hope that we’re going to have a really great crowd in there.”

Planners expect to announce more details in the coming weeks.

Kerr, also a Hansard fan, said they are thrilled to help an organization like Project HOME, a nonprofit founded in 1989 by Sister Mary Scullion which works to eradicate chronic homelessness and has a longstanding partnership with the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation, in the musician’s memory.

“Project HOME has touched so many people,” she said. “We’re just so grateful and thrilled to help them.”