'Once' Musicians Jam on Main Street

[Posted by Gregg Goldstein] There's a new way to promote your film at Sundance: have the stars go busking on Main Street. I bumped into the featured actors of "Once" -- Irish singer/songwriter Glen Hansard (star of "The Commitments" and a member of the band The Frames) and Czech singer-songwriter Marketa Irglova -- playing songs on the sidewalk a few hours ago. Today they were playing a powerful acoustic version of Van Morrison's "Into The Mystic," with Hansard strumming a broken-faced guitar and Irglova providing harmony. It was their second performance following a post-screening busking session outside the Egyptian Theater last Friday.

John Carney's unconventional musical (pictured above) follows them around Dublin and shows their romance evolve as their music evolves -- through busking, songwriting in a studio, passing a CD Walkman to each other – so the Main Street busking was a natural. Catch them performing indoors today at 5:30pm at the ASCAP Music Cafe.

Hansard and Irglova collaborated on an album, "The Swell Season," before being cast in the film. If you can't make it to the Cafe or Park City, go to www.myspace.com/theswellseason to hear two songs featured on the soundtrack ("If You Want Me" and "Falling Slowly"), and www.oncethemovie.com for more info on the film.