Greg Hanson and the Backroads

Born and raised on a farm near Wilmot, SD at the age of 5, Greg Hanson was always found around music, whether it was a record or 8 track player.  At kindergarten graduation he was given a solo and that is when his music teacher noticed something and kept him working on it through school.  At the age of 15, Greg found his true love for country music after a John Michael Montgomery concert at the South Dakota State Fair in 1993.  After that he entered talent contests all over the region.  He continued this all through high school and after high school graduation, Greg was invited to Fortons barn to sing with Sherwin Linton and the Cotton Kings as a try out for the South Dakota State Fair.  Sherwin offered Greg a spot at the State Fair right there on stage in front of the crowd.  Sherwin would continue to help Greg develop and learn on and off the stage.  Sherwin told Greg he should enter a talent contest at Royal River Casino where he caught the attention of radio DJ, Mylan Ray.  Greg would then go on to play the Country Jamboree several times in Pipestone, MN.  His big break came when Sherwin told Greg to enter a contest at Jackpot Casino where he met an investor from Branson, MO.  He then offered Greg an opportunity to go to Branson and try out on the Doug Gabriel Show.  After his performance, Greg was a offered a spot on the Doug Gabriel Show. He came back to South Dakota, packed up, and moved back to Branson where he continued to grow in his career. 

While there, he had the opportunity to share the stage with Roy Clark for a 2 month run, performing 6 shows a week. In addition, he was also able to share the stage with the Gaitlin Brothers.  While on a winter tour, Greg returned back to Watertown, SD and performed in front of his family and friends at a sold-out show in the DD Miller.  If you ask Greg what the best part of that night was, it would be meeting up with Anne Beebe, former coworker at KS93 where Greg was a former DJ. Later, Greg would be returning to Watertown more often than usual. While in Branson, Greg recorded his first album “I’m the New Man”. During the summer of 2002, one of Greg’s performing dreams came true. He would be the opening act at the Grandstand at the South Dakota State Fair, opening for Chely Wright. This opened the door for more opportunities in the future, including continuing to play multiple stages at the South Dakota State Fair.

In the fall of 2002, Greg decided he would start his own band, Greg Hanson & the Backroads. The band played covers, as well as some of his originals. The band started playing in the area and would eventually play in the tristate area.

In the beginning of 2003, a call from Dennis Morgan would boosts Greg’s career. Dennis, a songwriter from Nashville, originally from Tracy, MN is a longtime friend with Mylan Ray. Dennis wrote multiple number one country hits for people like Ronnie Milsap, Barbara Mandrell, and so many more.  Hits like “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool,” “Smokey Mountain Rain,” and more!  Mylan told Dennis that he should consider reaching out to Greg.  In May of 2003, Greg and Dennis recorded Greg’s second album “I Owe You One,”.  Dennis came to Greg in the fall of 2003 and asked to record a Christmas Album, “Have a Happy Country Christmas” this would be the third album in Greg’s career. 

In October of 2004, Greg would marry his girlfriend Anne, who continues to be his biggest supporter. She would help with the website, any kind of marketing, selling and designing merchandise for the band. In the winter of 2005, after the birth of their first born, Greg performed the national Anthem at a Minnesota Vikings game at the Metrodome in front of 60,000 people.  Greg continued playing the area getting big opportunities to open for big name artists. One of these opportunities was in 2005 when he opened for American Idol winner Carrie Underwood at the Sioux Empire Fair. Then, opening for Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Sawyer Brown, Blackhawk, Kevin Sharp, Ronnie Milsap, Little Texas, Billy Dean, Sherwin Linton, Steve Holy, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Gaitlin Brothers.  In the winter of 2014, while performing in Deadwood, SD away from his family, Greg realized how much he missed his 3 little girls and wife at home. That was the moment he realized he could not be too far from them. Now, over 20 years Greg is to playing more, with a motorhome you will see Greg and his family traveling together playing shows.  Now you will start to see his son Nicholas joining him on stage playing drums.