This post was originally on my personal blog, ConcertKatie, and has been updated for 2019’s event!
Hanson “Day” is a weekend concert event held yearly in Tulsa, OK. Dates were announced January 23 – and there will be THREE concerts – May 16, May 17 and May 18. (May 17 is the String Theory show at the Tulsa PAC and is SOLD OUT! May 16th is the “Storytellers” add-on ticket available at Hanson.net and May 18th will be the free concert with your RSVP.) More details came out February 11th and tickets went on sale February 14th. Tickets are still available for some events.
Oklahoma’s largest craft beer and music festival, The Hop Jam is returning this May 19th for it’s 6th year, and announcing it’s full music lineup for the all-ages free concert on two stages, plus the initial breweries from the 100 + breweries anticipated to participate. The 2019 music lineup will be lead by festival founders HANSON, returning to the Hop Jam stage after a world tour, where they performed with orchestras in North America, Europe and Australia including a sold-out appearance with the Tulsa Symphony which will take place on May 17th. Along with HANSON will be a much anticipated reuniting of indie rock powerhouse Phantom Planet. The return of celebrated indie rockers best known for their iconic track “California” follows nearly a decade on hiatus for the band, during which members of the group have found success with various solo endeavors. The Hop Jam 2019 is the band’s first show announced to mark their reassembly.
“It’s exciting to share the stage with our friends Phantom Planet, for their much anticipated return, along with an exciting lineup of high energy rock n roll,” said HANSON member and festival co-founder, Taylor Hanson. Added Isaac Hanson “This may be our favorite music lineup yet”.
Rounding out the main stage lineup is Southern rock outfit The Weeks, Tulsa’s own Wilderado, and Joshua and The Holy Rollers helmed by fourth Hanson brother Mac Hanson. Opening the main stage will continue to be the winner of the longstanding Awesome Music Opening Band Contest, hosted in partnership with Tulsa World, with the top runners up performing on the Park Stage at Guthrie Green. Submissions open March 25th at TulsaWorld.com/AwesomeMusicContest.
The craft beer portion of The Hop Jam is set to impress and excite new and old beer fans once more with an extensive list of new breweries and returning favorites from across OK, the US and more, including American Solera, COOP, Hanson Brothers Beer, Stone Brewing, Destihl, Toppling Goliath and New Belgium, along with many more landmark brands making up the over 100 anticipated participating breweries.
Tickets are available online, with a variety of offerings from beer tasting to VIP options including early entry, access to the Hop Talks panels and a VIP lounge offering food and select craft beers. Also on offer is a Music VIP ticket for the discerning music fan, which features a private viewing platform, indoor amenities, food and select craft beers. Information on special Corporate Tents is available upon request. All ticket options are on sale now at TheHopJam.com
The festival continues to raise funds to support the Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma through it’s special Hop Guitar Raffle, where the winning ticket holder receives a custom-made Hop Guitar, personally autographed by bands and brewers. Raffle tickets are also available at TheHopJam.com now. The Hop Jam also hosts the annual Brewers Table fundraising dinner (further details TBA).
Since it’s founding in 2014 The Hop Jam Festival has brought together world-class music and craft beer to the heart of downtown Tulsa Oklahoma’s Arts District, acting as a catalyst to promote the downtown revitalization and helping to enrich the Tulsa community. The event is organized in partnership with regional restauranteur the McNellies Group and Hanson Brothers Beer. Media partners, Tulsa World and iHeart Media, have helped to support the monumental success of The Hop Jam since it’s inception.
Ticket and event information available at www.TheHopJam.com
After an amazing run of String Theory shows internationally we are back to thinking about new music and future projects in the studio. What does the future hold?
MESSAGE FROM THE BAND
We are back from an amazing European / Australian tour and honestly still living in an upside down world…
Q: What time is it? A: In what time zone?
Despite the general no sleep for bandits atmosphere at 3CG, we are all getting really excited about what comes next. That means putting the final touches on the new 2019 member’s EP, prepping for HANSON Day, announcements for HopJam, Back To The Island 2020 Pre-Sale, but even more than that, what new recording projects we are going to tackle in 2019. The String Theory project was born out of the spirit of the I Was Born Challenge. What’s on the bucket list and how can we make that list a reality? We want our next project to continue the trend of seeing big musical ideas made into reality. Don’t be scared. That doesn’t mean everything from now on is a concept album, it just means if we have been talking about it for more than say five years… it might be time to just do it already.
Speaking of just do it already, we hope to see many of you at HANSON Day and The Hop Jam this year! If you have never made the trek to Tulsa, this might be the year to see what it is all about. Between all the events and a concert every day during the HANSON Day events, there is going to be complete HANSON overload, and we haven’t even announced who’s playing The Hop Jam!
Isaac, Taylor and Zac
BTTI 2020 PRE-SALE HAPPENING NOW!
ON SALE MONDAY, MARCH 11th
Fan Club Exclusive: The Back To The Island destination concert event is a rare musical escape that takes music fans to a world-class resort destination on the Caribbean shore, to enjoy connecting with other music fans in a beautiful place, while sharing once-in-a-lifetime musical experiences with HANSON as your host.
Throughout this one-of-a-kind experience, guests are invited to relax in the tropical beauty of Jamaica with the soundtrack of twenty-seven years of HANSON music as their tour guide. Back To The Island 2020 will feature rare performances and exclusive events hosted by the band each day.
Come take part in the eighth annual BTTI and escape to the tropics to kick off HANSON’s 28th year together on the beaches of the Caribbean. We can’t wait to return and we hope you’ll join us when we head Back To The Island!
Pre-sale is happening now for returning Islanders!
For more details about Back To The Island 2020, CLICK HERE.
All those attending Back To The Island must be Fan Club members at the time of reservation. IF YOU ARE NOT A FAN CLUB MEMBER, JOIN NOW!
STRING THEORY POSTER WINNERS!
Fan Club Exclusive: At each stop on the String Theory tour, we are giving away a special one-of-a-kind poster to one lucky Hanson.net member. The poster design is drawn from a Zac Hanson painting created especially for this project, capturing the boy chronicled in the lyrics of Reaching For The Sky. Every poster features the show’s date, venue and tour, in a four color screen print themed in the purples and blues of the String Theory art and will be signed by Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson.
Most Recent Winners:
Gold Coast, AU – NeonVenables
Brisbane, AU – SusannahJ
If you’re a Hanson.net members and attending a String Theory show, be sure to use your mobile device to check-in at the show in the Hanson.net calendar section. Check-ins are open just prior to doors and remain open through the concert. Look for more winners to be announced each week in the hanson.net newsletter.
NOTE: Winners will be contacted via the e-mail in their hanson.net user profile. Posters will begin shipping in late March.
HANSON DAY 2019!
Fan Club Exclusive: Join us on May 16th, 17th and 18th for HANSON Day weekend in celebration of 27 years of HANSON music!
This year, HANSON Day will have more musical experiences than ever before. Starting on Thursday, May 16th with the Storytellers concert, a String Theory Concert Friday, May 17th, and then the Member’s Only Concert on Saturday, May 18th, there is a concert to watch every night and that is not even talking about all the special events that will be going on throughout the weekend.
Every year, we invite Hanson.net fan club members from around the world to converge on Tulsa, Oklahoma to celebrate our band’s anniversary. Over the years, HANSON Day has grown from a concert into a weekend full of one-of-a-kind HANSON experiences like bowling tournaments, art galleries, one-of-a-kind musical performances, lectures, photo galleries and late night dance parties. On our 27th anniversary, we are giving you the gift of music, so HANSON Day 2019 will feature a concert every night! Held on May 16th, 17th and 18th in the Tulsa Arts District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, all Hanson.net fan club members are invited to attend. RSVP in the Calendar section on Hanson.net and make your plans to be in Tulsa this May.
The full event schedule is now available HERE with all special event tickets on sale NOW!
With the String Theory album and tour just around the corner, don’t forget to renew your Hanson.net membership for 2019!
During The String Theory enjoy these members benefits.
• Pre-sale concert tickets
• Member lines at concerts
• Meet & Greets opportunities with the band
• Fan Club Reporter’s interviews
• Exclusive videos
• Check-in at the concert to win one of a kind items
You can find your current expiration date by going to your My Account page. Not a member join today!
Fan Club Exclusive: The Back To The Island destination concert event is a rare musical escape that takes music fans to a world-class resort destination on the Caribbean shore, to enjoy connecting with other music fans in a beautiful place, while sharing once-in-a-lifetime musical experiences with HANSON as your host.
Throughout this one-of-a-kind experience, guests are invited to relax in the tropical beauty of Jamaica with the soundtrack of twenty-seven years of HANSON music as their tour guide. Back To The Island 2020 will feature rare performances and exclusive events hosted by the band each day.
Come take part in the eighth annual BTTI and escape to the tropics to kick off HANSON’s 28th year together on the beaches of the Caribbean. We can’t wait to return and we hope you’ll join us when we head Back To The Island!
Pre-sale begins today, March 11th, for returning Islanders!
For more details about Back To The Island 2020, CLICK HERE.
All those attending Back To The Island must be Fan Club members at the time of reservation. IF YOU ARE NOT A FAN CLUB MEMBER, JOIN NOW!
I thought I knew what to expect going to see Hanson perform as part of Zoo Twilights at Melbourne Zoo. Being the fan that I am, I also saw them earlier this week at the Palais Theatre on their String Theory Tour – and to say I was underwhelmed by this tour would be an understatement.
I first saw Hanson back in 1997, when I, along with thousands of other tweens and teens, packed the car park of Westfield Southland during the Tulsa trio’s first promotional tour of Australia. Since then I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen them play, never missing an Australian show, so I’ve seen them enough times to know what kind of show they’re capable of putting on.
But first let me explain —
Hanson is an American pop rock band, formed by brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac. They’re best known for their 1997 hit song “MMMBop” off their Grammy-nominated album Middle of Nowhere. They’ve since released eight studio albums under their label, 3CG Records and have toured regularly for their loyal fan base worldwide.
But Wednesday’s show at the Palais Theatre felt flat. There was little talk or interaction, and no encore (even one song done acapella would have serviced). And although ticket prices were significantly higher than previous tours, it was the shortest show, at less than two hours with an interval or no opening act.
I understand the high costs of adding production value and needing to pay a large number of musicians – and don’t get me wrong, there were moments of pure genius – but few songs were enriched by the inclusion of the orchestra. Songs like “Tragic Symphony”, the heavily-percussion driven “Siren Call”, and the rarely performed “Yearbook” were transformed to extraordinary heights, but a lot of the time, the orchestra provided unnecessary noise.
At the beginning of the show, they spoke briefly about recently celebrating their 25th anniversary as a band and wanting to cross ‘performing with an orchestra’ off their bucket lists. I do commend them for trying something different, but where Hanson concerts are usually full of high energy; the audience here seemed bored, sitting idly in their seats for the next unknown song on the set list. The most amount of energy came from a rousing game of musical chairs, as the brothers took turns moving from drums to keys to guitars.
I noticed vocal improvements from Isaac and Zac, who took the reins for most of the second act. The set list was their 2018 release of the same name played from beginning to end. The album tells a lyrical story of aspiration, despair, fortitude and ultimate return to optimism. It’s beautifully biographical and emotionally poetic.
The second half slumped and I remember checking my watch to see if this already short show was almost over. I’m never against playing new songs, but I do believe there should be a balance – especially when the majority of your audience is unlikely to have listened past 1997’s Middle of Nowhere. I’m not trying to be facetious – but that’s truth for many of us. But even fan-favourites like “Where’s The Love” and “MMMBop” failed to capture the magic they normally do on the night.
Judging by the grumbles coming from the crowd on the way out of the theatre, clearly I wasn’t the only one perplexed by the String Theory show. Although a cool premise, to put it simply: I thought, “they’re better than this!”
So imagine my surprise when I arrived to discover that Hanson would perform sans-orchestra at Melbourne Zoo last night – and not surprisingly, they were incredible!
Die hard fans rushed to the gates at 5.30pm to secure their spot at the front of the stage. Families sat down their picnic blankets and eskies on the lush grass further back from the stage, while young singles hit the food trucks for an array of delicious food and alcoholic beverage choices.
As soon as Hanson hit the stage in this unique viewing space, the audience took to their feet. From the slow-to-fast clapping in “Crazy Beautiful”, singing the ‘na na nas’ in “Been There Before”, and teasing the audience during the lyrics: “do you love me?” in “In the City” – the fans revelled in every minute of it! There was enough audience participation and interaction to make fans of the biggest of haters.
This was Hanson at their best. Performing under a starless sky, with the added glow from zoo glow-in-the-dark wristbands, Hanson gave the audience what they wanted – the hits and other bits – something off every album. Choosing only fast tempo songs, the show was energetic from start to finish, but had a natural build-up of energy. They wanted a party; and the audience responded. With only an extra guitarist/keyboardist and bassist on stage, the show peaked during “In the City”, and continued into the encore.
Opening the show were Sydney-based band, The Million. Performing songs off their five-song EP, along with a cover of Maroon 5’s “This Love”, the young trio battled the rain and heat, as well as the problem of audiences generally having zero interest in an opening act, to do a decent job at warming the crowd. Though some of their lyrics were questionable (usually phrases or words chosen to rhyme over sense or reason), The Million were charismatic, funny and had good energy, and the crowd responded favourably to them.
The two shows were of vast difference, day and night, chalk and cheese. But last night, that’s how you put on a show – and what keeps me coming back every single time!
Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson hit up ‘Sunday Night Takeaway’ as our special celebrity announcers!
Over 20 years have passed since Hanson first took the world by storm, and now this trio of brothers are facing their toughest challenge yet — reining in Julia Morris.
Appearing on Sunday Night Takeaway ahead of their Sydney shows at the Opera House next week, Isaac, Taylor and Zac joined the crew as this week’s celebrity announcers, where they kicked off the night by introducing the show.
Fans (or Fansons, rather) went wild over the US rockers as they welcomed our hosts and introduced segments throughout the show, with Dr. Chris joking that he only just took down his Hanson posters (we reckon they’re still up, tbh).
Wait. Hanson are the voiceover people tonight?! 14-year-old Amber is dying right now. @Kirst_Wilson do I still have time to run to the studio? #TakeawayAU
Following the hilarious ‘That’s Mine’ segment in which audience member Debbie had to pick out personal items — including a jacket, a hot water bottle and an apple wreath (???) that ~mysteriously~ appeared on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, The Living Room and even The Bold And The Beautiful, the Hanson boys later appeared wearing each of Debbie’s items, including the apple wreath worn by Taylor as an avant-garde necklace. Fashion!
Sunday Night Takeaway
✔@TakeawayAU
“Stop, that’s mine” and Debbie are our two new favourite things in the world #TakeawayAU
The 90s teenage crooners of American pop rock band Hanson are now fathers to 13 children between them.
And on Tuesday, Taylor Hanson, now 35, joked about how the siblings raise their youngsters and hinted he could welcome a seventh baby in the near future.
Speaking to Today Extra, Taylor praised their three spouses in a playful manner: ‘It takes a lot of work watching our wives raise our children… we cannot take credit for the raising of those kids.’
Scroll down for video
‘It takes a lot of work watching our wives raise our children’: Hanson brothers joke about fathering 13 children between them as Taylor, 35, hints he’s considering a seventh child (Pictured L to R: Zac, 33, Taylor, 35, and Isaac, 38)
Taylor, Zac, 33, and Isaac, 38, are originally from a large family of six children – four boys and two girls.
Taylor recently welcomed his sixth child – Claude Indiana Emmanuel Hanson – with wife Natalie in December.
The proud parents’ eldest child is 15-year-old Jordan Ezra. They also have Penelope Anne, 13; River Samuel, 12; Viggo Moriah, 9; and Wilhelmina Jane, 5.
Building their brood! Taylor recently welcomed his sixth child – Claude Indiana Emmanuel Hanson – with wife Natalie in December (Pictured with their other five children)
+4
‘We cannot take credit for the raising of those kids’: Like Taylor, his brothers, Zac and Isaac also have big families. Isaac and his wife Nicole have three children, while Zac and wife Kathryn have four (Pictured on Today Extra)
On the program, he was asked whether he would be open to having more children.
‘You know what, this is not something we discuss on national television. This is something, believe it or not, that is between two people,’ he joked in response.
Like Taylor, his brothers, Zac and Isaac also have big families.
Isaac and his wife Nicole have three children, while Zac and wife Kathryn have four.
Hanson appears on Chris & Julia’s Sunday Night Takeaway
Since Hanson’s debut album reached No.1 in 27 countries around the world in 1997, they have gone on to record a further seven studio albums.
This whole tour, although it is a 22 song album, String Theory Tour, it’s one big story, the lyrics all tie together.
Hanson are currently in Australia for their String Theory Tour, with concerts left in Sydney, Canberra, the Gold Coast and Brisbane this week.
Blast from the past! Hanson are currently in Australia for their String Theory Tour, with concerts left in Sydney, Canberra, the Gold Coast and Brisbane this week (Pictured 2001)
If you haven’t been living under a rock since 2016, then chances are you’ve heard the song ‘Baby Shark’. It’s hard to miss — the annoyingly catchy nursery rhyme-like dance video has had more than 2.4 billion views on YouTube since it was released three years ago.
Some have said that the song is just as infectious as ‘MMMBop’, the pop anthem from ’90s boy band Hanson. So catchy are both tunes that it’s been widely speculated that ‘Baby Shark’ is a direct rip-off of the 1997 hit.
So what do brothers Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson and Zac Hanson think about this?
After trying to be diplomatic about it by saying the similarities are down to the “chords moving in the same structure,” the band then buckled and said they too could hear the likeness.
“Screw this guys, we’re suing them right now!” the boys joked during their interview with hit105’s Stav, Abby and Matt. “Not only is it the same core pattern, but they’re talking about the same thing.
“If you listen to the lyrics in ‘MMMBop’ it says, ‘You have so many sharks in your life, only one or two will last,'” they said. “There’s his Mama shark and Daddy shark and Baby shark and Grandpa shark. And in ‘MMMBop’ you’re hungry again and you eat a surfer. Same topic, oh my god.”
From left to right: Zac Hanson, Taylor Hanson and Isaac Hanson in 2000. (Getty)
But it seems Hanson were more than happy to let this slide because this week they were busy performing their String Theory Project shows at the Sydney Opera House. Accompanied by an orchestra, the band reinterpreted their hits into orchestral pieces.
“Musicians who really love music want to do a symphony show,” Isaac told The Daily Telegraph prior to their first concert on Monday. “There are a lot of safer choices than the ones we’ve made — we love great pop music, yet we’ve made a lot of anti-pop decisions about our career.”
Well, now that they’ve gone classical, the pop floor is all yours, Baby Shark. As you were…
Hanson’s song ‘MMMBop’ reached number one in 27 countries, including Australia. (Getty)
