January
The new year kicked off with MMMBop and Middle of Nowhere being mentioned in many articles about songs and albums turning 20 years old this year. Hanson kicked off the year with their Back to the Island Jamaican concert event, once again at Jewel Paradise Cove in Runaway Bay, Jamaica. New events were added – Isaac hosted Family Feud and Zac hosted Cards Against Humanity. 104 songs were performed at the event with only one repeat. Highlights included Breaktown during Taylor’s solo set and during Isaac’s set a few never before performed live covers – Too Much and Hallelujah / Amazing Grace. Freak Out was also performed live for the first time. Hansonstage added Tinted Windows concerts to the database. Fifth Harmony went from a 5 piece to a 4 piece and Billboard had Taylor talk a bit about what that means for harmonies.
February
Back to the Island 2018 was announced at a new resort. Special Guests Stephen Kellogg and Chris Carrabba were announced as the special guests for the event. Events and Activities for Hanson Day 2017 were announced – events from last year like Karaoke and Dance Party returned and Movie Night was back after a hiatus. Hanson were announced as headlining the Tulsa Boom music showcase at SXSW in Austin, TX.
March
With quick sell outs on the Hanson Day activities an additional movie night was added as well as a Hansonopoly tournament hosted by Zac. The Hop Jam 2017 was announced, with Hanson once again headlining to kick off their 25th Anniversary “Middle of Everywhere” tour. In addition to the world tour they would be releasing a Greatest Hits album along with the new song, “I Was Born”. Hanson performed a tribute to Leon Russell at SXSW’s Grammy Block Party. They also performed the new song “I Was Born” live at the Tulsa Music Showcase and at several other performances they did while at SXSW. Going back to their roots, Hanson visited the ballpark at SXSW where they had busked 23 years ago trying to get the attention of record labels. London and Antwerp shows sold out quickly allowing for an additional London date to be added as well as a show in Switzerland. Several US dates sold out quickly after public sale as well. Australia and New Zealand tour dates were announced.
April
MMMBop was in the news as a song that you could sing while keeping beat giving CPR. Hanson began work on the Members Only EP “In Color”. Hanson was announced as being a part of Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI. It was also announced that Hanson would be appearing on Good Morning America May 5th.
May
Glacier Confections announced a special set of Hanson Truffles available for Hanson Day in Tulsa. The guys performed at Carnegie Hall at a tribute for Jimmy Webb. The lyric video for “I Was Born” was dropped. Hanson performs MMMBop on Good Morning America as a part of their “Ultimate Mixtape” week. Count Tutu won the Hop Jam opening act contest. Fans found out that Hanson would be inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame before their headlining performance at The Hop Jam. The Latin America leg of the Middle of Everywhere tour was announced. Fans flocked to Tulsa, OK for Hanson Day Weekend and The Hop Jam. The official music video for I Was Born was released featuring the trios children. Hanson perform I Was Born on Good Morning America.
June
The Middle of Everywhere tour kicked off in Europe. A Monterrey Mexico concert date was added. The tour went down under to Australia and then New Zealand. Hanson jumped off the Sky Tower in Auckland, New Zealand. After returning home from New Zealand, the guys performed at Milwaukee’s Summerfest.
July
Hanson’s show in Lima, Peru was announced as being canceled due to logistical issues. It was announced in addition to MMMHops, Hanson Brothers Beer Festive Ale would also be available at the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival. Hanson performed on Fox & Friends in New York City. A release date for Hanson’s Middle of Everywhere – The Greatest Hits album was announced.
August
Members Only Events for the Latin American leg of the tour were announced for Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Rio De Janiero. Hanson hosted “Rage” in Australia. Hanson performed in Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Brazil as part of the Middle of Everywhere tour.
September
Hanson was featured in the September 3rd issue of the Washington Post. Hanson hosted a twitter #25QuestionswithHanson and answered some of their fans most burning questions. It was announced the new Christmas album, “Finally It’s Christmas” was going to be released October 27th and announce the “Finally It’s Christmas LIVE” tour. Middle of Everywhere Members Only Events were announced for the US. The Middle of Everywhere tour kicks off the US/Canada leg.
October
Hanson’s Middle of Everywhere tour continues. A cover of Tom Petty’s “Wild Flowers” is added into select setlists on tour as a tribute to the late musician. NPR releases a tiny desk concert featuring Hanson. Finally It’s Christmas is released! Zac turned 32. Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night joined the guys on stage to perform “Never Been to Spain”. Hanson performs at Eat to the Beat for 2 nights at EPCOT in Florida, including a Halloween set where they dressed as Zissou Crew from the movie The Life Aquatic.
November
Hanson finishes their Eat to the Beat concert run at EPCOT and record “Finally it’s Christmas” for Disney’s holiday special at Hollywood Studios. Hanson appeared as part of Walmart’s Cyber Monday LIVE! program. The Finally It’s Christmas LIVE tour kicked off in Toronto. Hanson performed 2 songs with Mark Hudson during their Christmas show in New York City. The music video for “Finally It’s Christmas” was released.
December
The Finally it’s Christmas Tour continued in Chicago, LA and Manchester. Hanson made several TV appearances including James Corden, Jimmy Kimmel and Dr Phil shows. Hanson finished out their year with a livestream on YouTube and a radio show in Milwaukee.
In 2017 Hanson performed 108 shows performing 2369 songs live with 161 of them being unique.