Hanson Day and The Hop Jam 2016
From May 20th – 22nd, North Main Street Tulsa was host to fans from all around the world, celebrating 24 years of Hanson Music.
The events were built around the free concert for fans, that Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson have been hosting each May for the past 9 years.
Since its inception, the event has grown from a single concert to a 2 day long series of activities for fans.
This year, the schedule was extended to include a karaoke session on the Thursday night, just as many fans were arriving in Tulsa.
The Brady Arts District, in which Hanson’s offices sit, has grown in recent years, to boast bars, music venues, clubs and coffee houses. This year, the Hanson Day events, made full use of the location, giving fans a taste of the rich facilities offered in the downtown.
For Hanson, it seems that this event marries together two interests – greeting their fans in their hometown and showing them the best of their city.
Although the Tulsa weather in May can be unpredictable, the little rain didn’t dampen any spirits and fans were relieved that hurricane season left them well alone.
This year’s Hanson Day schedule included, Karaoke hosted by Isaac Hanson, an Art and Photography Gallery with original work by Zac and Taylor Hanson, a Hanson Merchandise store, Bowling Tournament hosted by Zac Hanson, Dance Party DJed by Taylor Hanson, Photographs with the band, lectures by each member of the band and the Concert on Saturday night.
This year a special concert of Bob Dylan music was held at Cain’s Ballroom, to mark the coming of the Bob Dylan Archives to Tulsa. It was unclear whether Hanson would be performing at this event, but they showed up took part in several numbers, including their own rendition of The Mighty Quinn.
The Hanson Day concert began with a State Of The Band Address to fans.
Here, Hanson took the opportunity to say thank you to fans and share their upcoming plans. The plans look like this:
- Release of new EP PLAY on October 10th
- Streaming the Making of Play will be on Hanson.net
- New Christmas Album in 2017 working title, Wintery Mix.
- 2017 will be a big year marking 25 years since Hanson started performing and 20 years since Middle Of Nowhere.
- 2017 World Tour, with stops on 5 Continents.
- New Album 2018
- Hanson Day 2017 will be a Kick Start to a great year of music and events.
The Hop Jam this year extended its reach and its vision.
An extra stage at Guthrie Green was added and games for people of all ages developed the Hop Jam’s brief as a family event.
The Hop Guitar was raffled for the Food bank of North Oklahoma and The Hop Jam invited more than 60 brewers to put down their stalls on North Main.
Although the concert was free, the Hop Jam expanded its range of paid events this year with VIP areas, Hop Talks and early access for beer tasting.
The Music featured much-admired local artist, John Moreland and Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros headlined. Although Hanson did not perform a set, they hosted the event, made multiple appearances on stage and joined in a performance of Instant karma at the end of the show.
You can find news and reviews of The Hop Jam 2016 at http://www.tulsaworld.com/blogs/scene/offbeat/review-the-hop-jam/article_3c277c20-96e8-5854-9cfe-6f6f421144c6.html
As next year is the 25th anniversary of Hanson as a band and 20 years since MMMBop, Tulsa, the fans and Hanson are braced for an even bigger event in 2017 and an atmosphere to kick start a year of celebrations across the globe.
As Hanson have said on their latest member’s EP Loud, there is no rest in Hanson land.
Follow Hanson on twitter @hansonmusic and The Hop Jam @thehopjam
With all credits and many thanks to Lisa Turner for permission to use the images in this piece.
For more of Lisa’a photos from Hanson Day and The Hop Jam follow the link.
