Tmj4
Fans flocked to Summerfest to see Hanson Thursday night, and though the headliner has a dedicated fan base worldwide, a Racine County woman might rival at being the biggest fan of all.
“I lost count at 70 shows,” said Midgee Andre.
Andre started following Hanson when she was 12-years-old.
“I almost feel like I know them at this point,” Andre said.
The 32-year-old has three Hanson tattoos. She said her obsession hasn’t gone away, but it’s changed.
“So when you’re young it’s kind of like Bop Magazines and ‘I love Taylor’ everywhere and ‘I heart Taylor’ and then as you get older it’s more of an appreciation for the music,” she said.
Growing up her bedroom was exactly what you would expect from a super fan.
“You would pull the shades down I had them on there,” she said. “I had them on the light switches.”
She has to have the “Hanson talk” with friends before they came over.
“I have to tell them about my Hanson obsession,” Andre said.
Her apartment is still decked out with memorabilia.
“No shame.”
Andre has driven as far as Oklahoma to see the band. She spent more than $2,000 on tickets and over $10,000 on gas money to get to the concerts.
“We would pretty much follow them from show to show to show,” she said.
And she got kicked out of hotels along the way.
“I followed them right through the spinny doors, right up the steps and I was like here this is for Zac and, yah know, I got carried out.”
Andre first saw Hanson at the Marcus Amphitheater in 1998.
“Being at Summerfest is the biggest deal just because that’s the first place I ever saw them,” Andre said.