EDDIE VEDDER SHOWED UP AT GLEN HANSARD’S OLD DUBLIN SPOT — AND WHAT HE DID THERE LEFT FANS HEARTBROKEN. 💔🎸 — IN THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING, MUSIC BECAME THE TRIBUTE Just days after Glen Hansard’s funeral, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder returned to the Dublin street where Hansard had once built his musical life as a busker. Joined by fellow musicians, Vedder picked up a guitar on Grafton Street and performed songs in the middle of the night, turning the familiar corner into an emotional tribute. The gathering was small, spontaneous and far removed from a typical concert, but those who were there said Hansard’s presence seemed to linger in the moment. Vedder had already delivered a deeply moving performance at the funeral, but this quiet return to Hansard’s old spot carried a meaning of its own — and the story behind why they chose that particular place makes the tribute even more heartbreaking. 💔

Eddie Vedder paid tribute to Glen Hansard by busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street, where the late musician got his start. Following Hansard’s funeral last week, Vedder showcased Pearl Jam‘s “Black” and Bruce Springsteen‘s “Drive All Night” on guitar alongside a group of fellow musicians on the local thoroughfare.

The clips were shared by Scottish musician Murdo Mitchell alongside photos taken by music photographer Danny Clinch. Mitchell and Hansard had a long friendship after Hansard spotted him busking at age 14 and invited him onstage at a show.

“After Glen’s funeral, I asked Dylan, Tom & Felix, if they would be up for a busk at Glen’s spot on Grafton St,” he wrote on Instagram. “They were more than keen so we rallied a group of some friends & we headed down even though it was like 3am, it felt like the right thing to do. His spirit was there. Not got much footage of it. We only had my guitar, a broken string & some heart, but we made it work.”

Vedder performed Hansard’s “The Song of Good Hope” at his funeral with Hansard’s Once collaborator Markéta Irglová and members of the Frames. During the memorial, Bono played a musical voicemail from Patti Smith before reciting reworked lyrics to U2 “Beautiful Day.” Both singers joined a group performance of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young.”

Bono’s tribute also celebrated Hansard’s gift for friendship. “How do you do that?” he asked. “People on the green outside, best friends. People tuning in, best friends. Even people who haven’t met him, best friends. Everyone who met him, they just remember the day they met him.”

Hansard died July 29 at the age of 56 after a motorcycle crash. His death has led to an outpouring of grief from both his peers and his global audience.

SOURCE: ROLLINGSTONE