Zac Hanson

The music and entertainment industry are not known for decades-long careers from rock and pop artists. In fact, their legends have codified in the mind of pop culture that few if any artists expect to claim long term success due to the highly competitive landscape and shifting sands of a trend-laden, non-artist friendly business. This makes the story of HANSON’s 32-year long career, more than 20 of it as an independent artist, all the more rare. Made up of three brothers, Isaac, Taylor and Zac from Tulsa, Oklahoma, the band broke in the late 90’s at the youthful ages of 16,14, and 11 respectively. In contrast with the time’s Alternative rock wave exemplified by Nirvana and Pearl Jam, their breakout sunny soulful organic pop was an anomaly. Lead by their infectious 1997 hit “MMMBop” which went to 1 in 27 countries, their debut multi-million selling album Middle Of Nowhere garnered three Grammy nominations. HANSON became a household name from Tulsa to Tokyo, and more than 25 years after their breakthrough are still touring the world and selling out concerts from Sydney to Los Angeles. In 2024 the story continues, and this year’s projects are helping the band mark one of the key milestones that has allowed for their longevity - their decision to found their own label and become independent once again starting with their third album in 2004. In 2004, just 7 years after the band’s debut album had rocketed them to stardom and only 4 years after their acclaimed second album This Time Around , the band faced the fracture of the label that signed them, Mercury, due to the largest music merger in history between parent company Polygram, and Universal, leaving the band in an increasingly corporate environment at their new label Island DefJam. With a global name, an active online community built by the band outside of label control, and a full third album recorded, the band was ready to leave the backdrop of a major record label and establish a brand-new independent company to release their music as a self-funded independent artist. In the early 2000’s before the birth of smart phones, YouTube and widespread social media, the concept of a group of artists still barely 20 years old known for their mainstream success establishing their own label was both daunting and unprecedented. “Everyone thought we were nuts, and they were probably right,” said Isaac, who was 22 at the time. “Though it was daunting, to us the fact that it was scary and new was not a deterrent because we had seen the best major labels had to offer and it was a mess. We knew there were fans out there and we had a chance to build a company that worked for us, instead of the other way around,” added Taylor who was then 20 years old. “We chose to bet on the real fans, and they showed up,” offered Zac, the band’s drummer. Marking the 20th anniversary of 2004’s Underneath album and the start of their independent era, the band is launching a special album Underneath: Complete , a reissue of Underneath which includes a number of songs written for the album that were not part of the original release, plus 2 brand new recordings, and the Underneath: Experience Tour bringing the band to major markets in US and Canada for a series of 2-night stands. “This new recording of Penny and Me really gets to the heart of the song. It’s about freedom and adventure, and how we’re connected to the people and places we love through music. Somehow it feels both nostalgic and brand new,” said Taylor. 2024’s Underneath: Experience Tour ‘s 2-night stands frame the Underneath project by featuring both an acoustic and an electric show in each market, to highlight the history of the project which had offered an acoustic and electric tour to support it in the early 2000’s. Bringing further connectivity to the project the band’s special guests also both have a connection to the project. Night one features “ Underneath ” co-writer and power-pop legend Matthew Sweet , and night two features Phant