MANSFIELD — Jessica Hannan has a specific goal in mind for her band.
“We’ll go in and try to make Mansfield, Ohio proud,” she said.
Hannan, originally from Mansfield, and her band have a particularly important gig on Thursday, May 19. The band is playing in the Hard Rock Rising semifinals at the Hard Rock Cafe in Northfield Park. The band was selected out of 7,000 entrants to compete against four other Ohio-local bands, representing a variety of music genres.
Nationwide, they are one of 206 bands entering the semifinals of the Hard Rock Rising competition.
“I’m nervous, truthfully” Hannan admitted.
That’s understandable. The competition’s prize is staggering: a $50,000 bonus, a record label signing, a $10,00 full production music video, and an all-expense-paid trip to Ibiza, Spain where the winning band will perform.
But for Hannan, it’s not about the money or even the opportunity.
“Even if there was nothing (to win), music is just my world … so I just want to do it out of the pure enjoyment of playing music.”
Hanann began singing at age 12. Now 29, it’s definitely been “a little bit of a career,” as she describes it. She grew up singing country music, but as she got older she began incorporating rock elements into her music, a style of country she described as similar to that of Miranda Lambert as opposed to Johnny Cash.
She’s enjoyed a significant amount of exposure in those 17 years, too, having played at nearly every festival and fair in the state of Ohio, and opening for national acts such as Jeff Carson.
In fact, June 11 at Clays Park Resort the Jessica Hannan Band will be one of the opening acts for country musician Eric Church.
Hannan has also seen very recent success with the release of her first EP. The five-song EP is entirely original songs, three of which Hannan will perform at the semifinals.
One in particular, “Drive,” has received a lot of positive attention.
Released in January this year, the song already has 3,000 plays and is available on iHeartRadio and Spotify, and is selling on iTunes.
Hannan and her band are currently on their “Drive” tour, which began early in January and spans across the entire state of Ohio for the full year.
However, this year has also produced a not-so-little hiccup for the band. The act is minus its lead guitarist, who has been excused for personal reasons. A substitute will play the upcoming show, but Hannan is searching for a full-time replacement.
“In Mansfield, as a whole, country is not a predominant genre,” explained Hannan.
So, the band has struggled to find someone who’s as passionate about its music as all of the other members.
“It’s about the love of what you do,” she said. “I don’t want anybody playing music that they don’t enjoy.”
Indeed, the band is a tight-knit group. In fact, Hannan and her drummer David Haag are married. The couple has been together for two years and their chemistry fuels the act.
“It’s the best feeling,” Hannan explained, “to be able to turn around and know (David’s) right there.”
Bass guitarist Tim Lillo, of Galion, is practically family, too.
“I love Tim to death,” said Hannan, “he’s been right there with us.”
After the band’s five-song performance on Thursday, the judge’s will collaborate on notes and scoring, looking at things as detailed as how the artists handle their microphone and their breathing, before announcing later that night who will move on to the finals.
The Ohio final round will take place on June 1 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Cleveland. Should Hannan and her band win the semifinals and move on to the final round, they will be competing against the winner of the Cleveland semifinals as well as a web submission contestant.
“Whatever is meant to be is going to be and I can’t change it,” Hannan said with anxious excitement.
To find out more about the Jessica Hannan band, including upcoming tour dates and locations, check out their website jessicahannan.com or like their page on Facebook.
The semifinal performance is free and open to the public at the Hard Rock Rocksino in Northfield Park is Thursday, May 19, at 8 p.m. All audience members need to do is visit the band’s Facebook page and print off the entry ticket.
Also, if anyone is interested in being a permanent lead guitarist for the Jessica Hannan band, they can email jessica@jessicahannan.com or call 419-606-9576 to set up an audition.
