Quick: Name the most famous person to come out of Onalaska, Wisc.
What We Do in the Shadows fans (like me) would argue for Mark Proksch, aka energy vampire Colin Robinson. Then there’s TV chef Sandra Lee, NFL All-Pro Tom Newberry and tennis pro/coach Tim Gullikson.
More recently, Carlie Hanson has tossed her name in the hat with a rapidly evolving music career that’ll bring her to the Back Room @ Colectivo on March 11. It’s the eighth stop of the “Home Is Where the Heart Is” tour, which will be her first trip around North America as a headliner.
The western Wisconsin native got on a lot of people’s radars in 2017, when Taylor Swift added Hanson’s second single, “Only One,” to her widely shared Apple Music playlist. But the steps she’s taken since then have added up to a progression a lot of us hope to hear from artists — willing to try new things, take off some of the shine, evolve, grow, etc.
Every release seems to see Hanson push the boat out a little farther, including her most recent single, “Pretender.” Taking a trip through her catalog makes for a really engaging listen — especially for an artist as relatively young as she is — and it’s hard to imagine her Back Room show not sharing that quality.
You can pick up tickets to the March 11 concert starting at 9 a.m. this Friday, Jan. 13, online and at the Pabst/Riverside box offices.
