As we enter the final few days of 2021, we’re thrilled to present the new Hot Press Annual – featuring cover star Glen Hansard. After another action-packed year, our 2022 Annual breaks down all the highlights and unforgettable moments, as well as our top albums, songs, films, books, games, quotes and photos of the year...

In the two-and-a-half years since he released his latest solo album, This Wild Willing, Glen Hansard has weathered more than his fair share of hard times – including the death of his mother, in the middle of a livelihood-snatching pandemic. But he has never lost his drive, and, with an impressive series of projects lined up for 2022, we might just be entering a brand new chapter in what’s already been an extraordinary career. Over a cup of tea in a Dublin pub, he talks with remarkable honesty about life, art, loss, family, progress, projects, class, crises, home, hope – and learning to let go...

Elsewhere in the issue, you'll find interviews with Christy Moore, Villagers, Tori Amos, Wolf Alice, Joanne McNally, The Matrix Resurrections’ Jessica Henwick, Pat Egan, Luke Cassidy, Richard Chambers and more...

You can also read all about what went down at this year's Hot Press Christmas Round Table Summit – featuring JYellowL, Orla Gartland, NewDad's Julie Dawson, Aimée, and The Scratch's Conor Dockery.

Plus Bill Bailey, Mario Rosenstock, Jade Jordan, Amy Huberman, Róisín O, Lisa McInerney, The Darkness' Justin Hawkins, Jenny Murphy, Gemma Bradley, Erica Cody share their highlights of 2021.

So don’t miss out! Pick up your copy of the Hot Press Annual 2022 now...