U2 frontman often participated in the Christmas Eve Busk, which Hansard organized in Dublin<\/p>\n
\n\tBono<\/a> paid tribute to Glen Hansard<\/a>, the late singer-songwriter best known for the movie Once and his bands the Frames and Swell Season, in a heartfelt tribute posted to U2\u2019s Instagram<\/a> on Thursday. The singer called Hansard an \u201cangelic presence,\u201d a \u201cvoice of the streets,\u201d and \u201cthe shining star of the Christmas Eve Busk,\u201d the annual charity concert that they and other Irish performers participated in to raise money for those in need. Hansard died<\/a> at age 56 on Wednesday in a motorcycle crash.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cHe really was who you thought he was,\u201d the U2 frontman wrote. \u201cHe could never walk by a person living rough without checking they were OK\u2026 and more than that, he worked very hard so that less people had to live on the streets in the first place.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cWhen the crowds got bigger [at the Christmas Eve Busk] and for safety\u2019s sake, Glen had to agree to move the Busk to a stage kindly provided outside the Gaiety Theatre, he would say, \u2018We\u2019ll give it our best but it\u2019s not a busk if we\u2019re not on the street!\u2019 \u2026because that\u2019s who he was \u2014 a performer at eye level in any situation. The stage was a separation he wouldn\u2019t recognize. Of all the grand and gigantic venues he and the Frames played, you sensed the street was his most favoured place to perform. And street people, his favourite audience.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n \n\tBono summed up how he saw Hansard\u2019s legacy by focusing on Hansard\u2019s generosity. \u201cFor me, he will always be everywhere I see a coin spinning into an open guitar case,\u201d Bono wrote.<\/p>\n \n\tHansard recorded several albums with the Frames and Swell Season, his duo with his Once costar, Mark\u00e9ta Irglov\u00e1. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for Once\u2019s \u201cFalling Slowly,\u201d and the production won eight Tonys when it was adapted to the stage. Recognizing his prominence, Hansard began organizing the Christmas Eve Busk in 2010. Bono, the Edge, Sin\u00e9ad O\u2019Connor, and Shane MacGowan are among the performers who participated in it.<\/p>\n \t