Hanson Hits The Road With Families; Hosts Barefoot Mile Walks
 WENN |
The average fan arrives to a Hanson concert, enjoys the show, and heads back home, but what they may not notice are the six smiling faces on the sidelines or backstage rocking out to their dad’s music. The three Hanson brothers — Isaac, Taylor, and Zac – have packed up and hit the road for their Walk Around the World Tour and for the first time are taking their families along for the "adventure," as Isaac’s wife Nikki jokingly calls it. "Because this is the first time with all the young ones, it’ll be really interesting," laughs Isaac, 27, whose brood includes Nikki and their boys Clarke Everett, 18 ½ months, and James Monroe, 4 months on Saturday.
Opening up their tour bus to PEOPLE for a rare glimpse into the moments that show River busting out on the drums with Zac, Penny playing leap frog with him, or Everett trying to kiss his baby brother Monroe, the Hanson brothers realize that first impressions of the family can be somewhat intimidating. "Here we have the rare Hanson species, observing them in the wild," jokes Taylor, 25, who along with his wife Natalie are parents to Jordan Ezra, 6 on Friday, Penelope Anne, 3 ½, River Samuel, 2, and expecting a baby boy this winter. Zac — who has brought along his wife Kate and their 5-month-old son John Ira Shepherd – seems to have a plan to keep the kids under control. The 23-year-old jokes, "As long as we keep them away from sugar, it’ll be fine!"
Although Natalie, Kate, and Nikki laugh that they accept responsibility for their kids off stage, according to Natalie, they have come to a mutual agreement that should one of their tots escape during a concert, they will not be chasing them in front of thousands of screaming fans. "All the wives have an understanding with the tech guys that if [the kids] get up there, then it’s their job to go because we are not running on stage after them," shares Natalie. Fortunately, on the bus, most of the children seem to be kept quite occupied as Ezra is content playing video games, baby Monroe "luckily" is "usually very chill," and Penny — who everyone agrees, as the only girl, is "the boss" — enjoys discussing her concert outfits. Dishes Penny,
"I’m not gonna wear a hat because I don’t know where my Mickey Mouse hat is and it has a Mickey Mouse thingy on it and I can’t find it anymore!"
In their journey of "chaos," the brothers have also managed to add a philanthropic twist to their tour as well. Stopping along the way for their barefoot walks, the trio has pledged to donate a dollar for every person that joins them and completes the mile walk sans shoes. As Isaac explains that their goal is to "encourage people to take action against issues with poverty and AIDS in Africa," Taylor says that our necessities may be another person’s greatest treasures.
"Several things that we take for granted every day are things that can actually make a powerful difference for other people who have so little."
