2015 Hanson Year in Review

By | December 31, 2015

2015YearInReviewITZ

January

January kicked off with us reminiscing on the year that had just passed. Hansonstage kicked off Song vs Song which will eventually crown the ‘best’ Hanson song as voted by fans. Many fans headed to Cancun, Mexico for Back to the Island 2015. 3 Hanson concerts, 3 solo concerts, 1 wild boat ride, sets from Nick Santino and David Ryan Harris and lots of sand. Lots and lots of sand. Setlists included the “Welcome to the Island” show, the “Christmas on the Island” show (that was part Christmas and part Hanson’s favorite songs they did not write) and the “Fan Voted Desert Island” show on Isla Mujeres. Activities included mixology with Isaac, painting with Zac and DJ Taylor’s Afterparty. When Hanson got back from Mexico, they performed at the Oklahoma Governor’s Inaugural Ball. Hanson Valentine’s merchandise was released including a new ‘I Heart Hanson’ shirt, journal & pen, coffee mug, tumbler and of course, Hanson chocolates! We finished out the month with a Hanson mention on the CW show Hart of Dixie.

February

In February Hanson hosted Fool’s Banquet, their annual song writing retreat. Other artists who attended included Dan Haseltine, Asia Whiteacre, Carrick Moore Gerety, Andrew McMahon, Imani Coppola, Chau, Ryan Beatty and Matt Collins. Song titles included “My Blackbird” and “Crime of Passion”.  From February 16-20 we were treated to a Members Only stream every night of Hanson working on their 2015 Members Only EP (which became known as ‘Inside the Box’).  These streams birthed “spoof” songs ‘Guns & Bacon’ and ‘Sexy Robot’. RSVP became available for Hanson Day 2015 to be held in Tulsa in May. We found out that Hanson had collaborated with Blues Traveler on a track for their new album. Taylor hosted a Food on the Move event in Tulsa.

March

We kicked off March sharing MOE tips and memories with each other. The guys did a stream on Hanson.net to give us some more details about Hanson Day. They announced the topics of their lectures – Zac would be writing another song on stage in “Drop Your Digital Pants” and would be using polls to pick the topics.  Isaac would be going Inside This Time Around and breaking down the multi tracks. Taylor would be doing song stories where fans could share what songs mean to them. They also introduced The Moeys, an award where the winners would get a golden hanskey. They would once again hold a State of the Band, have a gallery, etc. We also found out that only 4 of the 5 songs from the Members EP streams ended up being recorded. It was announced that Hanson would be playing Belgium as part of an I love the 90s concert. Back to the Island 2016 was announced. The event would be returning to Jamaica but at a new resort in Runaway Bay. Taylor turned 32.  Isaac and Taylor participated in the “Content is CEO” panel at SXSW. Details for the 2nd Annual Hop Jam were announced.

April

Hanson and Blues Traveler performed “Top of the World” together on The Today Show. The guys performed their first show in Belgium with the most epic intro video Zac had ever seen.  The Hanson Day Tulsa Guide was released. Fans were invited to vote for the MOEY finalists.  It was announced that Hanson would perform with Blues Traveler at Red Rocks on the 4th of July. Taylor hosted another Food on the Move event. Isaac was at the Normal music Festival. Voting for the Hop Jam opening act began. Hanson participated in the ‘I Create Music’ center stage at the ASCAP EXPO.

May

Hanson participated in a lunch at the ASCAP EXPO.  The Hop Jam and Hanson had a pub crawl to promote the Hop Jam and the opening act contest. Due to visa issues with Ed Sheeran’s opening act, Hanson jumped in to open at the Tulsa and St. Louis shows on Ed’s tour. We found out that Hanson collaborated with Owl City on a track on his new album. Hanson fans from all over the world flocked to Tulsa, OK for the 2015 Hanson Day festivities and Hop Jam concert. Hanson announced they would be touring in October with dates to come in June as well as doing a stream each month from June to September. It was announced by Disney that Hanson would once again be performing at Eat To The Beat – November 10, 11 and 12.

June

June kicked off with some new merchandise including symbol earrings and the Signs of Life shirt featuring the names of those who sang on the song as well as the song itself from Zac’s lecture. Taylor joined Butch Walker at Cain’s Ballroom. Isaac joined Ben Folds for a song at Cain’s Ballroom. Taylor participated in the BBI in Boulder, CO. We all (not so) patiently waited for the tour announcement. Hilary Duff went on record about how “deep” the lyrics to MMMBop were. Hanson had another stream to tell us about the upcoming tour and that dates would be announced at the end of the month as well as to recap some of the fun everyone had at Hanson Day Weekend. Owl City’s music video for Unbelievable was released, featuring Animated Hanson. The Roots & Rock N Roll Tour was finally announced, with Hanson.net presale beginning shortly after the announcement.

July

July kicked off with Hanson performing with Blues Traveler at Red Rocks. They were joined by John Popper for In The City, joined Blues Traveler during their set to sing Top Of The World and also came back for the encore to sing with Blues Traveler, Rome, Guster, 3oh!3 and JC Chasez from *NSYNC. R&R Tour tickets went on sale to the general public, with NYC becoming the first sell out of the tour.  Hanson and Owl City perform “Unbelievable” on the Today Show as well as are interviewed. There was another stream at the end of the month where they talked about the upcoming tour and various other topics.

August

MMMBop was featured in a SportsCenter commercial with Yasiel Puig. It was announced that Hanson and Nelson would play the Arizona State Fair together in November. It was also announced Hanson would be performing as a part of the Forbes 30 under 30 festival in Philadelphia. The month closed out with another live stream and details on the Roots & Rock N Roll EP which was originally slated to have 6 tracks but was later cut down to 5 after “Too Much Heaven” came out only 97% awesome.

September

It was announced Hanson would be performing at the Forbes 30 under 30 Music Festival in Philly. Each Friday during the month Hanson streamed roughly an hours worth of footage to Hanson.net members from the studio while recording the R&R EP.  Hanson did a twitter Q&A with Owl City.  At the end of the month, Hanson had another livestream where they talked about the new EP and the upcoming tour. Isaac and Taylor attended the Great American Beer Festival. Yahoo! Music announced they would stream Hanson’s Chicago 2nd night show.  Parachute and Paul McDonald were announced as the Back to the Island 2016 guests.

October

October kicked off with the release of the Roots & Rock N Roll EP.  The tour unofficially kicked off at the Forbes 30 under 30 Music Festival and officially kicked off in Chicago on the 7th.  Yahoo! Music streamed Hanson’s 2nd show from Chicago live! Paul McDonald and Parachute were announced as the special guests for Back to the Island. Tour merchandise and the winter collection made its way to the Hanson.net store, as well as a restock of some items back by popular demand.  Zac turned 30!  The month ended with the second sell out of the tour in Portland.

November

November started with the California shows on the R&R Tour. The guys then made their way to Arizona for the State Fair where they did a show with Nelson.  Hanson once again performed at EPCOT’s “Eat to the Beat”, this time for 3 consecutive days with 3 shows each day.  They also did a beer seminar for the Food & Wine Festival.  The November 2015 issue of Forbes Life was out, featuring an article of Hanson in some fancy plaid suits. (And by fancy we mean expensive.)  Taylor and his Food on the Move project also made the front cover of The Tulsa Voice.

December

The AP ran an article on MMMHops which was picked up by many different news outlets. Hanson announced the dates for Hanson Day via a blog on Hanson.net. The year ended with Hanson’s annual “Finally It’s Christmas” stream.

 

 

 

 

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