The Philly Busk: From a Dublin Street Corner to Philadelphia, Music that Helps Neighbors Come HOME

At 13, Glen Hansard left school and took his guitar to the streets of Dublin, where he played for anyone who would stop and listen.

Decades later, after starring in the film Once and winning an Oscar for songwriting, he went back. On Christmas Eve 2010, he gathered fellow musicians on Grafton Street to play for people who had no home to go to. The Dublin Busk has since become a beloved tradition, raising more than $2 million for a local organization that provides comprehensive services for the unhoused.

Hansard died on July 29 of this year, at 56. The idea he started didn’t.

Philadelphia knows how a song can carry a message. In the 1970s, Gamble & Huff’s records told the world to Wake Up Everybody and climb aboard the Love Train, and in 1985 JFK Stadium hosted the American half of Live Aid. This is a city that has always believed music is meant to move people to act.

That belief runs through Project HOME’s work, too. We know everyone has a story, and that the path to homelessness is rarely just about housing. It’s shaped by health, income, opportunity, and isolation. Our mission is to end and prevent chronic street homelessness in Philadelphia, one neighbor at a time.

On December 6 at the Keswick Theatre, Charlie Hall (drummer, The War on Drugs and producer, A Philly Special Christmas), Ben Arnold, John Byrne, Tommy Conwell, Bogside Rogues, Paul Moore, The Silver Ages, and Kevin McCloskey & Maureen Adamson take the stage. It's expected that additional artists will be named as the date of the Busk draws nearer. Every artist is donating their performance. Before the show, street buskers will fill Keswick Village, and a raffle will give away guitars donated by Gibson and Takamine. Proceeds will benefit Project HOME and The Irish Center of Philadelphia.

This is the first Philly Busk. We hope you’ll help us make it the first of many. 

Grab your tickets early at keswicktheatre.com.