Orlando Weekly

• Photo via Hanson/Facebook

Despite the efforts of an online petition and a special protest cake, Hanson and SeaWorld, two things that have been consistently panned by critics for years, will join forces for a concert in Orlando this afternoon.

Hanson, the band that wrote “MmmBop” nearly 20 years ago, has gotten quite a bit of flack for not canceling today’s show. Along with the protest cake, which was sent to their studio office and featured a little orca made of frosting, an online petition also made the rounds, gathering more than 4o thousand signatures.
“After hearing this and finding out how SeaWorld neglects and mistreats animals in its care, numerous bands have decided to cancel their appearances. Please do the same and move this show to a different venue. Your fanbase will support your decision and respect you for it,” reads the petition.

Hanson supporters and PETA protesters are expected to be at today’s performance with signs that read “Shout It Out: SeaWorld Kills,” a reference to the band’s album from 2010.

“Hanson’s loyal fans who care about animals would follow Isaac, Taylor, and Zac just about anywhere—except SeaWorld, where orcas are kept inside tiny concrete tanks and denied everything that’s natural and important to them,” said PETA Associate Director of Youth Campaigns Rachelle Owen, a Hanson super-fan who helped to organize outreach efforts to the band.

While Hanson still maintains a very hardcore fanbase, it’s difficult to distinguish if the outrage is coming mostly from PETA, or from diehard Hanson fans who also passionately hate SeaWorld. I guess we’ll find out.

Hanson is expected to perform at the Seven Seas Festival at SeaWorld at 5 p.m.

UPDATE:
Lori Cherry, Public Relations Director for SeaWorld, sent over the following statement regarding the petition and today’s planned protest. “SeaWorld does not mistreat animals in anyway. The claims in this petition are false. To the contrary, our veterinarians, zoologists, marine biologists and other animal care specialists treat every single animal with love, compassion and the highest standards of care. In addition, our team has rescued more than 31,000 animals. Each ticket, each visit, each experience at our parks helps fund wildlife rescue and rehabilitation efforts, habitat protections and ocean health initiatives.”

Just Jared

Lucy Hale is still obsessed with Hanson!

The 28-year-old actress opened up about her love for the brother band while making an appearance on The Tonight Show on Tuesday (March 6) in New York City.

“I will remember the day I turned on MTV and I saw little Zac Hanson with his dreadlocks playing the drums and I was like ‘This is it, this is what love feels like,'” Lucy joked.

She added that while she hasn’t met the group, they’ve had a lot of close encounters.

“Almost meeting, almost going to shows, almost songwriting with them! I amost got to write a song with them and it just hasn’t happened,” she explained.

Check out all Lucy had to say in the video below…

KTUL

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — As of Thursday, more than 10,000 fans around the world have signed a petition asking Hanson to cancel their March 11 concert at SeaWorld in Orlando.

One fan started the petition on an online platform for social reform called change.org a couple weeks ago.

The petition letter begins by saying, “We’ve followed you around the world – from Tulsa to Jamaica – and back again. We support your projects, camp out in the snow, rain, and sun to see you. We’ve spent over 20 years fighting for your music and your vision, believing in you every step of the way. But we can’t defend your support of SeaWorld.”

According to some fans, they are asking the band to reconsider playing at SeaWorld because of numerous allegations of animal cruelty at the theme park.

The petition continues on, “Orcas swim in endless circles and break their teeth by gnawing in frustration on the concrete corners and metal bars of their tiny tanks. Dolphins are impregnated, sometimes forcibly after being drugged; a polar bear recently died after her companion of 20 years was torn away from her; and three infant marine mammals, including a 3-month-old baby orca, died there in just 3 months.”

According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), dozens of bands and musicians have canceled shows at SeaWorld after fans protested.

A group made up of a dozen fans from Tulsa to Australia ordered a cake from a local downtown Tulsa bakery that was delivered to 3CG Records, Hanson’s recording studio. The cake has a whale design on it and reads, “Hanson, we love you, please don’t play at SeaWorld.”

For more information or to sign the petition, you can visit change.org. There is an option to remain anonymous if you wish to do so.

Pollstar

Shane Bevel / For The Washington Post via Getty ImagesHansonleaves the stage after playing at Hop Jam in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 21, 2017. The band hails from Tulsa.

Activists (and at least a few fans) have called for Hanson to cancel a March 11 performance scheduled at the Seven Seas Food Festival at SeaWorld in Orlando, with a change.org petition saying, “So many animals have died at SeaWorld– and the number grows and grows.”

“At SeaWorld, intelligent, sensitive animals are confined to tiny tanks that to them are the size of bathtubs,” the petition, which has been signed by more than 19,000 people, read.

“They are denied everything important and natural to them. And they don’t just suffer. They die. … SeaWorld is hell for animals.” “After hearing this and finding out how SeaWorld neglects and mistreats animals in its care, numerous bands have decided to cancel their appearances. Please do the same and move this show to a different venue. Your fanbase will support your decision and respect you for it.”

The 2013 documentary “Blackfish,” which chronicled the alleged mistreatment of orcas (“killer whales”), was followed by the cancellation of the Bands, Brew & BBQ event at SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens in Tampa in 2014, which was to feature Heart, Barenaked Ladies, Willie Nelson, Martina McBride, Cheap Trick, Trace Adkins, Trisha Yearwood and others.

SeaWorld has called “Blackfish” propaganda, stating, “We object to Blackfish because its two central premises are wrong: (1) that life at SeaWorld is harmful for killer whales and for trainers working with these animals, and (2) that SeaWorld has attempted to cover up the facts surrounding the tragic death of trainer Dawn Brancheau in 2010, as well the history of Tilikum, the killer whale involved in that accident. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

While more than 19,000 people have signed the online petition, and it had grown by about  1,000 signatures in the time it took to write this article, it should be noted that anyone online can sign the petition regardless of being interested in Hanson or the concert in question.

Other artists to play the Seven Seas Food Festival, “a taste adventure” that happens every Saturday and Sunday from Feb. 17 to April 15, include Alabama, Chris Young, Hunter Hayes, Daughtry, Easton Corbin, Eli Young Band and others.

Bayside Stadium where the concerts are held has recently hosted artists including Larry The Cable Guy, ZZ Top, and others.

Pollstar has reached out to Hanson’s booking agent to ask if there are any plans to cancel or move the performance.

Hanson remains a strong draw on the road, following the mid-90s success of the pre-teen brothers’ hits including “Mmmbop,” with recent boxoffice reports submitted to Pollstar including selling out the Pageant Theatre in St. Louis Oct. 11, (2,000 tickets $78,000 gross), First Avenue in Minneapolis Oct. 10 (1,550 tickets, $59,288) and Emo’s in Austin, which sold out 1,550 tickets and grossed $54,275 Sept. 13.

Hanson has a reputation for standing up for worthy causes, including organizing the “Take The Walk” campaign to combat HIV/AIDS and poverty in Africa, which started with mile-long barefoot walks staged across the U.S. and Canada.