Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Between the fan club ending and a year’s worth of rumors about Hanson taking a break, I had little hope that there would be many if any Hanson shows this year (also, I will die on the hill of Hanson never officially said they were taking a break). So when shows began trickling out one by one, I was happily surprised, but hesitant to commit to anything without having a fuller picture of how many shows there might be and where. After a few more unexpected announcements, that trickle of shows started feeling more like Lucy and Ethel working the chocolate conveyor belt, just one date after another with barely any time to figure out if there’s a presale before another two are coming down the line at full speed. I’ve never loved the stress of trying to buy tickets to 10 shows at once, but I think I have a new appreciation for the known chaos of a traditional tour announcement vs. months of drawn out blink-and-you-miss-it sales.



When one of those dates ended up being 1) within driving distance, 2) at a theme park I loved, and 3) within a week of my birthday, I finally had my answer of where I was heading to kick off this “let’s not call this tour a tour” tour.



My Own History with Williamsburg


The last time I visited Williamsburg, VA was on a class field trip when I was in the 7th grade. Looking back, it's probably not something that could happen today, 60 middle schoolers being set free in a theme park during a time when none of us had cell phones. I remember calling my mom from a payphone with a calling card on that trip, a detail that would probably seem straight out of colonial times to today's 7th graders, or maybe up there with Lucy in black and white. I loved every moment and rode every coaster and thrill ride in that park, and when Hanson announced a show there this year, I couldn't wait to go back 25 years later and try to replicate some of those fun memories--armed with dramamine and ibuprofen this time, of course.



Revisiting Colonial Williamsburg

I drove the 5.5 hours to Williamsburg and met up with four friends the day before the show. We made typical tourist plans and had dinner at a reproduction 18th century tavern (where I had “an onion pye”) followed by an interactive witch trial based on real events. When it came time to vote on the accused witch’s guilt, I was one of only five people to raise my hand to vote "guilty", and all four of my friends looked at me like I was setting women’s rights back 300 years. Hear me out; modern me knows that these trials were barbaric and unfair, but they told us to abandon our 21st century understanding and try to deliberate solely based on the facts presented, and the fact is 18th century me was sufficiently convinced that she was 100% that witch (I appreciated her diabolical cackle on the way out after being pardoned). It was a good time, and I left wondering how often the audience pardons her and how often she gets convicted.



Another fun detail that came out of our time in Colonial Williamsburg was an unexpected piece of merch to commemorate my 250th show. I’ve said it before, the number of shows you’ve been to does not make you a better or worse fan, and it’s a totally arbitrary thing that doesn’t actually matter. I still like to keep track as do many others, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that if you’re not leading every conversation with it in a braggy way. So Williamsburg was my 250th Hanson show and a few days before my birthday, and that means basically nothing, but then I found a basket of stuffed cakes with “Happy 250th!” written on them in a colonial shop, and what an oddly perfect coincidence is that? So now I’m the proud owner of a 250th cake toy because it took me 19 years and 250 shows to accidentally find milestone-specific merch. I will be shocked if I ever find any coinciding with shows #251 and beyond. 

Roller Coaster Love


For anyone that didn’t go to Williamsburg, know that the weather forecast leading up to the show was utter trash. Ten days out, it mostly fluctuated between 60-80% rain with lows in the 40s and highs in the mid to upper 50s. This is not theme park weather. That means water rides are off the table. Cute outfits are off the table. Without the proper rain gear and layering, fun in general is probably off the table. Thankfully, we got really lucky and saw a shift in the forecast at the last minute, and while I showed up in an insulated rain jacket, waterproof sneakers, and water resistant athletic pants just in case, it just barely sprinkled.

I ended up in line for most of the day instead of blazing a trail through all of the best rides, but I did get to ride three coasters and eat a few mildly disappointing food festival samples. (Sorry, Busch Gardens. Epcot’s pierogis are definitely superior).

I made sure to ride my favorite ride from middle school—Alpengeist—which turned out to be a whole lot rougher and more painful than it felt to my 12-year-old-body, but maybe that’s because I sat in the back row this time. Darkoaster was kind of underwhelming for the amount of time we spent in line for it, but Griffon was fantastic. A+ Coaster material.

When the venue opened and we claimed our seats, we found ourselves sitting in front of the stage with two hours left before showtime. "What are we supposed to do for two more hours?" I asked. And then I heard screams from a nearby ride and I knew:  this was my moment to squeeze in another roller coaster, because when else in the history of Hanson shows will I get to ride a roller coaster between doors and show time? I was determined to go find one I hadn't gotten to ride yet, but the confusing park layout, long lines, and my own inability to read a map all worked against me. I tried to follow the map to Loch Ness, but instead I found myself in some kiddie dinosaur corner of the park where I walked in circles for a solid 20 minutes before giving up and heading back to the venue. On a last ditch attempt to have not completely blown my mission, I joined a single rider line for a second round on Griffon and managed to disembark the ride about 20 minutes before the show. New pro-tip: go on a roller coaster immediately before a show if you want an instant blowout and volume boost to your hair. Honestly, I'm probably just lucky my motion sickness patch was still working.

Hanson at Busch Gardens

The stage at this place was absurdly huge, and Hanson was nestled way in the back of it. I joked in an instagram story "When you're front row center but feel suspiciously like you're in the back of the parking lot at Hop Jam" because they were so far away. I'm dead serious when I say the front row was probably equal to 20th row in a smaller venue. I'm not saying that to complain or whine or act like it wasn't good enough for me; I'm just here to share the facts, and the facts are Hanson was approximately four miles from the crowd.

The setlist was pretty much exactly what I expected for a "one-off" non-tour show, but I knew I wasn't signing up for BTTI when I bought the ticket, so I had a great time singing along to the staples. They fittingly ended with "Roller Coaster Love" and left me wishing the park was open longer so I could go back for a few more rides.

After it was over, everyone crowded around the front in hopes of snagging a setlist or a pick, and when the crowd started thinning out and we were about to leave, I saw a girl come running over next to me to catch some unidentified object from the stage. I reached my hand up at the same time, halfway caught the item, and immediately let it go and surrendered it to her when I realized it was just a ball of tape. She walked away with it, and I put my hand back down in something wet on my side that definitely wasn't there before. I looked down and saw an unidentified liquid just rolling down the side of my rain jacket, then back to the girl who I now noticed was holding a suspiciously empty wine glass. I don't think she meant to do it or even realized it happened in the moment.

Final new pro-tip: It turns out full-body rain gear isn't such a bad idea at a wine festival even if there isn't a chance of rain. 😂

So You've Just Found Out That The Russian Dolls Were Hanson...Now What?

If you've been watching The Masked Singer season five, then you now know what many of us have known since that very first delicious note in the season preview of "Shallow": The Russian Doll mask has been hiding the members of Hanson. Now that the secret is out, this is a post for those who didn't know all along. This is for anyone whose mind is blown, who had no idea Hanson was still making music, and who may be suddenly having an identity crisis over how they could have left Hanson behind in the 90s when they are clearly still SO GOOD. Maybe you never heard of them before the show and are now searching the internet for answers.You can relax, because I am here for you. 

Here's what you need to know:

1. Hanson has consistently been a band since 1992 and had their first big hit in 1997. They write all of their own music and play their own instruments, and any long-time fan will argue against labeling them as a "boyband." There have been years between albums and tours at times, but they have never broken up or stopped making music.

2. They went independent and formed their own record label in 2003 after their original label, Mercury Records, became Island Def Jam and didn't leave Hanson a lot of control over the type of music they wanted to make. Rather than continue to clash with their label while giving up full creative control, they broke free and created 3CG Records. Their first indie record, "Underneath," went on to debut at number one on Billboard's Independent Albums chart. If their journey from giant commercial success to underdog indie band intrigues you, the whole thing was captured in a documentary called "Strong Enough to Break," which you can watch for free in 13 episodes on Youtube or purchase in full on DVD here.

3. They have released six studio albums, gone on ~16 different tours, and released dozens more EPs, Christmas albums, and compilations. Every year since 2003, their fan club members get an EP with roughly five exclusive tracks. They have a double album called String Theory consisting of songs backed by an orchestra. Taylor even had a side project as lead singer in a band with Bun E. Carlos of Cheap Trick, James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins, and the late Adam Schlesinger of Fountains of Wayne. There is an incredible wealth of music to catch up on if you are just now learning about them and want to dig deeper than singles. (Trust me, you want to dig deeper than singles.)

4. Their fan base is pretty intense and is full of dedicated fans that travel to multiple shows per tour like modern day Deadheads. Many have been fans for over 20 years since MMMBop came out in 1997, but plenty have joined more recently. We're all over the globe and are a fairly diverse group full of unique personalities and interests outside of loving Hanson. Dive in and find your people. We're out there somewhere, both in line and online.

5. They have an active fan club. For roughly $40/year, you get: a member's only EP with exclusive music, access to a streaming platform of the entire Hanson music catalog, exclusive videos and podcasts dating back to 2003, access to forums, occasional livestreams, free entry to members only events, and the opportunity to win M&Gs or gain early entry into shows. The media library is exhaustively full of behind the scenes footage that is a mix of making-of videos, live performance recordings, and even a collection called "Hanson Does Stupid Stuff On Video" just in case you need to watch Hanson learn to ride a Segway or hold a koala in Australia in between those killer harmonies.

I'd personally join every year for the EP alone because the idea of not having access to some of their best work doesn't sit well with me, but there are certainly other reasons to join if the EP isn't enough to sell you. If you want a sneak peak of fan club music without the $40 price tag, check out Perennial, which is a compilation of 21 past fan club songs released publicly in late 2020. 

6. If you loved their covers on TMS, buckle up, because there's more where that came from. Here are a few of their best cover performances that you didn't get to hear on the show, mask-free:

Chain of Fools
Too Much Heaven
Oh! Darling
Cecilia
A Song For You
Change In My Life
Rip It Up
I Believe In A Thing Called Love

And an honorable mention for Taylor's cover of "Love Me" by Elvis, which is absolutely gorgeous and served zero justice by all of the noisy youtube videos I found. (Welcome to the moment of realization that I miss concerts, but not concert talkers!)

They also have a five song EP called Roots & Rock 'N' Roll with studio versions of several great covers.

7. There were some mega-obscure clues on the show, even for dedicated fans. The New Jersey sign from episode one was in reference to Hanson's first public appearance after MMMBop, which took place at Paramus Park Mall in NJ. Nobody anticipated the mass turnout that would happen and Hanson basically had to evacuate due to way too many screaming girls and not nearly enough security or space to hold them all. Lots of people thought the health-scare clues referred to Zac's motorcycle accident in 2019, but his injuries weren't life-threatening and I personally think they were referring to Isaac's pulmonary embolism that happened during a show in 2007.

Nicole Scherzinger was right about the "What goes around comes around" shirt referring to their first pre-fame album called Boomerang, but I call BS on her knowing that all on her own when only a few hundred copies even exist (but hey, maybe she's a closet megafan?) "The seal of approval from the King herself" = Hanson co-wrote a song with the legendary Carole King. Cluedle Doo practically gave it all away when he pointed out the significance in the spelling of "MisfITZ toys." ITZ = Isaac, Taylor, and Zac, and old school fans could identify which brother was in which doll the entire time thanks to plenty of Teen Beat style Q&A articles and those trusty green, red, and blue microphones color coordinated to each brother's favorite color circa 1997 (Green = Isaac, Red = Taylor, Blue = Zac).

But my personal favorite--the most clever, hit you in the face it's so easy I didn't even get it at first--were the three mugs that said "Eat," "Pray," and "?" begging the only logical question: Where's the Love? 

8. And finally, you're just in time to jump on this bandwagon with the release of their brand new single "Annalie," available now.  It's the first of seven singles from their latest collection called Against The World. Keep an eye out for a new single + music video every month through November. You can also attend an accompanying "tour" consisting of eight shows live streamed from Cain's Ballroom in their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. There are limited in-person seats to each show as well as streaming options, and each show is a different theme based on a previous albums plus Against The World. Click here for all the details!

Why I Follow a Band: The Moment that Makes it all Worth it

If I only ever write one good thing, I want it to be the description of how it feels to be in my favorite place in the world. I’m already disappointed, because no matter what I tell you, it won’t be good enough. I’ve always loved words and the infinite things you can say with them just by arranging them differently or choosing the perfect synonym and putting it in exactly the right place. They’re my favorite tools to work with, but you can’t build an ocean with a hammer and nails. Trying to tell you what I feel when I see a Hanson show is like trying to describe the taste of a hot dog to someone who has never eaten one. I could choose all the right words and make you see it in your head. You might be hungry and decide you want to try it, but there’s nothing I could ever say to make you taste it.

Even with all of the right words, there’s the issue of where to start, what angle to take. I could give you some fluffy adjectives like “unifying” and “transcendent” and “happy” and make it sound like a big kumbaya campfire sing-a-long where everybody loves each other because of a shared passion. I could go the scholarly route with a thesis and a specific end goal and start using examples to support my claims to lead you to the conclusion I want you to reach --> “Hanson shows are ________!” Doing any of those things would offer you a deceptively limited perspective of what it’s really like. It would never fit in any blank.

So forget the outlines and the angles. This is what it feels like to me.

There’s something intoxicating about being front row center, and all you can see is the band a few feet in front of you. There are a thousand people behind you and there’s an elbow in your ribs, and somewhere in your personal bubble, someone is singing really loud and off-key. Thanks to the general admission lottery, the girl pressed against your back is the same one you yelled at an hour ago for trying to cut you in line, and you’ll spend the next two hours blocking her from stealing your spot for the second time that day. You’re hot; you’re sweaty; you slept in a car or on a sidewalk or in a cheap hotel bed with three other girls—IF you slept at all—and right about now you’re seriously questioning why you put yourself in this situation over and over again. Maybe this is it, your last trip. Maybe you’ll grow up before the next tour.

And then the lights dim, and there they are. You feel the rush of adrenaline that comes with the opening chords, and it’s so familiar that it’s almost a part of the song; any song. Every song. It’s not a religious experience. Your feet still hurt and you’ll never be able to dedicate your full attention to the masterpiece in front of you because if you let your guard down, you’ll find yourself three rows back with an intimate view of some girl’s head. People will spill beer on you or scream obscenities during the quiet parts. You’ll have to yell at some girl to stop resting her camera above your head unless she wants to see it fly across the stage when you jump.

But the band will also play your favorite song, and you’ll dance and clap and forget to notice the other things. You’ll jump on cue and you’ll laugh with your friends when someone forgets the lyrics. During the guitar solo, you’ll grin and clap, and maybe you’ll get a quick smile back in your direction. You understand that all it says is “thank you for having a good time.” You feed off of the band’s energy, and they feed off of yours. It’s this crazy symbiotic relationship that has nothing to do with how hot somebody looks in a suit or how suggestive the lyrics might be. It’s about a type of love, but not lust; it's an attraction to music and to a feeling and a moment bigger than any one person.

An adrenaline-induced high powers you through the show, and when it’s over, you crash hard. It was fantastic, it’s over, and now all that’s left to do is get in the car and drive to the next one because every single show could be your last, and no matter how many times you do it, you never know what’s going to happen next. Every show you go to has the potential to be the best performance of their career, and by that logic, so does every show you miss.

But it’s not a fear of missing out that drives you. It’s the excitement of knowing that every time will be completely different and yet somehow exactly the same as the last. Each show is an opportunity to relive your best memories while forging new ones all at once. It's this strange fusion of past and present all wrapped up in a single timeless moment where nothing else matters. That's what keeps you coming back. And when you say "I follow a band," what you really mean is "I'm chasing this feeling that I can’t get anywhere else.”

The Art of Asking: Help me win tickets?

Remember back in 2011 on the Musical Ride Tour, there was a contest to win a pair of tickets at any tour stop, and you got an extra entry for every person that used your link to enter?

I did a full month of tour that year, and that free ticket was worth more to me than you know. I posted a blog entry at the time and I asked you guys to use my link and help me out. Some of you did, and I was lucky enough to win that pair of tickets to a show in NYC.

Another tour, and another three weeks down the coast for me (the west coast this time!), and free tickets are worth a lot to me once again. If you're feeling generous and are also interested in winning your own pair of tickets !PLUS A M&G!, we can do this again.

Click this link. Enter this contest. May we both win!


After you've done that, here's a pretty neat video about the power of simply asking people for help and the amazing response that often comes from humbling yourself enough to ask.

Update: Sometimes I'm not sure if my insane luck is good or bad. For this edition of Holly has weird luck, I just happened to enter this contest for the ONE show this tour that has sold out in advance so far, and I'm ticketless. You using my link to enter just became more helpful than ever. I can't really afford to bribe you or anything, but find me in line at a show and I'll give you a high five and share my Scooby fruit snacks or something :-)

MMMBop turns 18; Hanson brothers remain 12.

Pop music fans around the world are perplexed, music critics say. What is the cause of this recent stir? Records show that pop song and chronic ear worm “MMMBop” of Hanson’s 1997 release Middle of Nowhere turns 18 this year. The song first appeared as a track on an indie album called Boomerang that was recorded in ’94 and released a year later. Yes folks, “MMMBop” has finally become legal.

The controversy, however, lies in the fact that Hanson themselves still remain 12, a phenomenon that has many looking to the media for answers.

“Look at them!” One outraged MTV supporter raves. “They were just featured on the MTV website. This picture is from last week. They can’t be a day older than thirteen!”

“It's unnatural,” a second critic agrees. "Something just isn't right. Have we been lied to?"

And just around the time of its 18th birthday, rumors are circulating that a beer of the song's namesake is in the works. Huffington Post recently spoke with Zac Hanson, resident drummer and youngest member of the age-defying band.

"We are soon going to be selling our own beer. I'm not joking - MMMhop IPA anyone?" Zac reportedly said.

Source

Readers are demanding to know why the young teens have been permitted to create an alcoholic beverage they are not yet of age to consume, and with an 11-year-old spokesmanboy at that.

"It's true," a local L.A. Times reader admits. "I just read that the Hanson boys are making a beer. I looked at the picture that accompanied the article (shown left), and I said to myself, are they even old enough to drink? Hansonopoly is much more age-appropriate if you ask me."

It is unclear at this time whether the MMMboys have tapped into some age-defying secret, or if the media has been misconstruing their real ages for some time. Extreme Hanson activists have even taken to spreading the rumor that Taylor is having his fifth child to counteract the allegations that Hanson are still in their adolescence.

When asked directly about the age issue, MTV representatives are quoted as saying "It's a secret no one knows," but declined to comment further on the subject. It's a little bit weird, if you ask us.

*Note: It has been brought to my attention that "MMMBop" is NOT on Boomerang; it debuted on the indie album MMMBop in 1996, and therefore isn't actually 18 yet. Once upon a time, I knew this. Fortunately, part of a good satire is making stuff up, so just go with it. Kudos if you made it this far without realizing the error. I was convincing, right?