HERRIMAN, Utah, Feb. 24, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — After 15 or more years playing and singing with bands, country singer, guitarist and banjo player Chris Hanna can’t imagine life without it.
“I think I speak for most people who end up doing it,” he said. “There’s just a feeling that you can’t not do it. We’ve been doing it so long, since forever.
“It’s almost kind of like going to a gym or brushing your teeth or something like that. You just can’t picture not figuring out new songs and doing shows.”
Hanna, by the way, was speaking to Gephardt Daily by phone, from outside his gym.
“It’s just, you’re the type of people who just played and played forever, and always played, and if there’s some opportunity and you just can’t picture not doing it. It’s just in you.”
Hanna and his bandmates will play their venue debut at Herriman hot spot Redemption Bar & Grill on Friday, Feb. 28. The event, for ages 21+, costs just $10. Find tickets here.
Hanna will be there, no doubt with brawny biceps and sparkling teeth, with his three bandmates: Matthew Gooch on drums, Justin Carrell on bass and vocals, and Elliot Goldman on guitar, keyboard and vocals.
The sound is country with a variety of influences, including traditional (from Carrell,) rock, acid (from Hanna,) and jazz and blues (from Goldman).
The band has gained and lost members, as bands tend to do, with the current group together about five years, Hanna said. And they stay busy. Often busier than they intend.
“We try to hold back like around here,” Hanna said. “Sometimes we try to play two concerts a month, but people ask us for more and we just can’t say no. If you’re performing locally, you don’t want to overwhelm the audience. We get asked (by venues) more than we might choose, like a whole lot, and we usually end up just kind of taking them.”
And the group ends up making more money than needed for band needs and travel costs outside the area for festivals and club gigs. Nobody is quitting their day jobs just yet, Hanna said, but The Swinging Lights is making enough to get some videos produced that might help take the band to “the next level.”
So the future looks bright for the band, although the habit of making new music and performing for appreciative live audiences is already very satisfying.
“When we play festivals, people are kind of ready to listen to originals. Like, they’re primed for us. But when we go to a bar, they’re always kind of raring for some covers to let them know where we are coming from. So what we do depends on the audience.
“And we have a group of line dancers that come out, maybe every third or fourth show, and they can get anybody dancing to our original stuff, too.”
Just come ready for a good time, Hanna said, and The Swinging Lights will take care of the rest.
Redemption Bar & Grill is at 3715 W. Maradona Drive, Herriman. The show starts at 9 p.m. in Redemption’s basement venue, but fans often come early for the food and drink, which is also available on the main floor sports bar and the second-floor tiki bar.
And feel free to bring your best line-dance moves, whether or not the roving enthusiasts group shows up.
“We’re excited to be there,” Hanna said. “It’s a new part of the valley for us, and we’re excited to meet more people who love live music.”
Redemption Bar & Grill is a proud sponsor of Gephardt Daily and supporter of independent local journalism in Utah.
