The Swell Season brings more 'Joy' to US cities

Indie-folk duo The Swell Season will return to North America this spring for another round of dates in support of the pair's third studio album, last fall's "Strict Joy."

Featuring Irish singer Glen Hansard (who also serves as frontman for Dublin indie rockers The Frames) and Czech vocalist/pianist Marketa Irglova, the duo kicks off the trek May 15 in Kalamazoo, MI. The 13-city outing runs through a May 30 show in Cleveland, OH; the pair returns for a few festival appearances this summer, including a July 14 slot at Highland Park, IL's Ravinia Festival. Details are shown at right.

"Strict Joy" surfaced in October, peaking at No. 15 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The new effort follows the duo's gold-certified 2007 set, "Once," the soundtrack for the indie film of the same name that featured the pair acting opposite one another in the lead roles. "Falling Slowly," a single from the soundtrack, won an Academy Award last year for Best Original Song.

Hansard and Irglova first collaborated on the 2006 album "The Swell Season." A documentary about the pair's sold-out world tour behind "Once" is in the making, according to a press release.