Well, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’m just going to level with you. Maybe take a deep breath and have a seat first. Good? Here it is: Hanson is coming to SXSW in March, and they’ll be performing, too. That’s right, the musical gods have smiled upon us and those of us blessed enough to love Hanson and attend the 2017 SXSW Festival will be some of the happiest humans on the planet. This will be one of the rare times Hanson comes together to perform at a major event, so make sure you buy your tickets ASAP, especially if you’re still on the fence. Do not — I repeat, do not — dither on this; go see Hanson at SXSW. And if you do, make sure to take pictures for those of us who can’t attend (cough, I mean me, please and thank you, cough).
But seriously, this is a rare appearance for Hanson. Sure, they’re brothers so they ostensibly see each other all the time and chill out, but it’s been a minute since they’ve been musically in tune with one another (see what I did there?) on such a big stage. The last album Hanson released was 2013’s Anthem. The last time they performed live was for ABC’s nostalgia-laden show Greatest Hits, where they performed, of course, “MMMBop” last July. It’s about damn time Hanson reunited in glorious fashion.
Now, Hanson’s return to SXSW is a bit bittersweet. Hanson got their start at SXSW back in the early days when they were trying to make a name for themselves. According to the blog Austin360, Hanson used to travel from their home state of Oklahoma and sing “a cappella to badgeholders sitting in the bleachers at the Krieg Complex for the Sunday softball event, which traditionally closes SXSW every year. Among those in attendance was a manager who signed the band and soon got them a deal with Mercury Records.” I mean, does this story get any better?
Yes, it does. It gets better when you go see Hanson’s set at SXSW and then tweet me all the details.