July 22 – 28, 2025
When Hanson first announced a show in Snoqualmie, WA, it was during the height of fan uncertainty as to the future of the band. So, naturally, I jumped on the tickets thinking this was potentially my last chance to see them, at least for awhile. Plus, I love the Pacific Northwest and am always eager to get away from Nashville’s heat in the summer. Little did I know they’d soon also announce a free show the following day in Minneapolis, where several of my Hanson friends live. Turns out, flying direct from Nashville to Seattle, then Seattle to Minneapolis, then Minneapolis to Nashville, is cheaper than flying Nashville – Seattle round-trip. So between that, a free second show, and a free place to stay, sometimes the frugal choice is adding another Hanson concert to your itinerary.
A few of my friends had never been to Seattle before, so we spent the first couple days visiting the tourist hot spots. We hit up Pike’s Place on day one for some Beecher’s mac and cheese, and found a variety of flavored ciders across the street. I tried a few and landed on a blueberry apple cider which was so good, I’m mad that I’ll probably never have it again. After wandering around the shops, we decided to head out to the suburbs for an early dinner. We ended up at RockCreek Seafood and Spirits, since I knew I wanted oysters at least once on this trip. We got there just in time for happy hour and I had the cutest little French 75 and two oysters, and we shared the cast iron paella, Carolina prawns, and tuna tartare – my first time trying it and favorite of the selection. 10/10 recommend splitting meals with fellow foodie friends. After dinner, we walked a few blocks down to Marmalade for some dessert. As a fan of both coffee and ice cream, I had never had an affogato and decided this was the time to try one. I ordered it with their cinnamon graham gelato and it was the perfect end to a delicious day.
With the show almost an hour outside of Seattle in Snoqualmie, we stayed at a hotel halfway between the two in Issaquah. After driving back and forth on day one, I mentioned I was surprised we hadn’t seen Mt. Rainier, and chalked it up to being too far east and just not taking the right routes. But then day two on our way into downtown Seattle, there it was! I hadn’t even realized it had been too cloudy the day before. Our first stop downtown the second day was, appropriately, the Space Needle. I had driven by before, but had never gone up it. We lucked out with the perfect weather for the views; the lady operating the elevator told us you can actually only see Mt. Rainier about 90 days out of the whole year! I have a fairly new fear of heights, so I was anxious to step out onto the revolving glass floor. But once I took that first step I was fine (there’s a metaphor in there somewhere), and had fun taking pictures of the ground below.
After the Space Needle, we headed next door to the Museum of Pop Culture. It’s a really fun building on the outside, and inside was way bigger than I anticipated. There are separate rooms for all different themes: horror, sci-fi, fantasy, indie video games that you can play, music, and exhibits specifically for Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, and the history of African American Music. We spent most of our time taking pictures in the Fantasy room, and playing various instruments in the music room. The music room has individual studios you can play in if you know what you’re doing, and instruction videos if you want to learn the basics of a new instrument. Who needs Hanson when your friends can attempt their own version of “Crazy Beautiful”?
Both the Space Needle and the Museum of Pop Culture took up more time than we anticipated, so we headed back to the suburbs for dinner at Tipsy Cow. They have a large selection of fun burger toppings, and per the punny name, boozy milkshakes. After a brief rest at our hotel, we decided to take advantage of the clear skies and perfect weather, and drove back into town to catch the sunset at Kerry Park. I’ve been to Seattle twice prior to this trip, and both times I drove by the bottom of Kerry Park but wasn’t up for climbing up to the top. So I was surprised when this time our GPS took us to the top; I had no idea there was another road up there! I guess third time’s the charm, and we even lucked out with a “princess parking” spot right across the street! It was such a beautiful, chilly evening watching the sunset cast an orange glow against the skyscrapers with Mt. Rainier in the background. Plus, I felt right at home with a group of people playing some bluegrass music behind us. It was the perfect way to end the “Seattle proper” part of this trip.
My friends and I had looked into possibly doing a hike on this trip, but almost everything we came across was either too far out of the way, or too difficult for our skill level. We settled on taking a quick trip to Snoqualmie Falls the day of the Hanson show, since we would be in that area anyway. There’s a very accessible viewing area of the top of the falls, just beyond the parking lot. At first, we thought that was all there was to it. But, then we found a sign for a trail and made our way down to the bottom of the falls. It was only a half mile long, but we were not prepared for how rocky and steep the walk would be! I haven’t been very active since my car accident last fall, so I had to stop and catch my breath a few times on the way back. It made me glad we didn’t attempt a more difficult hike after all, and was a good note to self to get active again. We ended our excursion with some coffee and treats from the little cafe in the gift shop, again enjoying the perfect weather.
To make life easier on ourselves, we decided to eat dinner at 12 Moons – the Asian restaurant inside the Snoqualmie Casino. We all shared some spring rolls and gyoza, and I went with a combo that included a spicy tuna roll and chef’s choice of eight nigiri: inari, tofu, shrimp, eel, tuna, salmon, yellowtail, and scallops. They brought us a giant bowl of complimentary seasoned taro chips, as well as a green tea blend. It all ended up being more food than I had room for, and I had to leave half my spicy tuna roll behind.
The venue for the concert was just outside the casino, with a great view of the mountains in the background. The set list was the standard single-heavy, festival set list, as expected, but there seemed to be an energy shift from the band. Maybe part of it was a renewed sense of “enjoy this while you still can” on my end, but it was hands down the best one-off show I’ve seen in a long time. I lucked out with a front row seat, but it was a little awkward that there was a 5 foot gap between the front row and the barricade that security wouldn’t let us cross. (What is it with casinos thinking the floor is lava?) I did appreciate that it prevented the dreaded stage rushing, though. That said, about 3/4 of the way into the show, people did start going up to the barricade and turning their backs on Hanson for what turned into a Selfie Fest, but no one stayed up there and everyone went back to their seats. But then, during “Fired Up”, my friend noticed Taylor gesturing for us to all come up to the barricade, so we finally did for the last one-and-a-half songs. (As always, you can see the whole set list on Hansonstage.)
After a way-too-short two-hour nap between midnight and 2am, we packed up our suitcases, drove to the airport, and caught an early morning flight to Minneapolis for the second show. We spent the early afternoon taking turns showering and crashing on the carpet at a friend’s house. Eventually we made our way down to the Mystic Lake Ribfest a few hours early to secure the top, shaded section of the bleachers in the back of the crowd. To be quite honest with you, I was too tired and too hot to really enjoy this show. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a good time, but I may or may not have literally fallen asleep during “Penny and Me”. Hanson switched up the set list more than I anticipated. I did expect “MMMBop” to be toward the end, as Hanson likely knew that a free festival show would bring out the nostalgic crowd who only care about hearing the one song, but I was surprised to hear “Fired Up” so early in the show. I’ll always prefer being in the front row, but it is fun to sit up in the back and watch a crowd of non-fans dance around to songs like “Cold As Ice” and “And I Waited”.
I’ve been to Minneapolis quite a few times, and some of our friends had to leave the day after the show, so we skipped the touristy activities and instead focused on having a foodie day between airport runs. We started with what may be the best brunch I’ve ever had at 6Smith. To keep up with the summer vibes, a few of us each got an oyster, and I ordered the chicken and waffles. It came with two huge waffles with the maple syrup baked right in, two strips of bacon, andouille sausage, and a giant chicken breast all smothered in gravy. Knowing I’m a fan of romance author Abby Jimenez, my friend took me to her cupcake shop, Nadia Cakes, which naturally gets a shout out in every book. I’m honestly not a huge cake person (it’s bottom of the barrel dessert, imo), but I had to get the “Say You’ll Remember Me” cupcake for the plot. I’m so glad I did; this was the best cupcake I’ve ever had, easily.
Way back in 2022, when Hanson played Fargo, we ended up at a little German restaurant where my friend Holly (yes, there’s more than one of us) ordered a bowl of borscht. Our friend Yelena is Russian and promised Holly next time she was in Minneapolis, she’d have her mom make some better borscht for her to try. Three years later, here we are, and Yelena made good on that promise. I had never had it before, but it was so good and I look forward to fall/winter weather when I’ll be inspired to attempt to make it myself.
After a few rounds of playing the card game “Organ Attack”, a good night of sleep, and a work remote Monday, I found myself at the end of another trip gone by too quickly. Thankfully, I have a few more short Hanson trips (and a big not-Hanson trip) coming up soon. While we don’t know what exactly Hanson’s plans are for the future, I’m already busy dreaming up my own. As for now, only one thing is for certain: there will be oysters.
Scream And Be Frees 