Ariel Hanna living a dream as she tours with Christian music artist TobyMac
While home for Christmas this past December, Ariel Hanna was waiting to hear back about a position at INO Records, an entry level position to start her in the music industry. Instead, she received an e-mail from Ryan Lampa, manager of TobyMac, one of the bigger names in the Christian music industry, asking her to come on the next leg of his tour.
"Hello, dream job," said Hanna. "My mind is still blown over this. I got to go on this incredible tour across the country as the tour assistant right after graduating from Kentucky Christian University. It was nuts."
While traveling with TobyMac and the crew during his 2011 WinterWonderSlam Tour, Hanna was introduced to a variety of responsibilities she knew she had to learn in order to get her foot in the door of the Christian music industry.
A typical day included Hanna assigning dressing rooms, putting up signs for the band members so they knew where to go at each venue, make sure dressing rooms were set up properly, assign meet and greet opportunities, run errands, get catering information and get it set up for the post-concert time and an assortment of other jobs that mostly go unnoticed, unless they aren't taken care of.
Toward the end of the tour, Hanna was learning the ropes for filming and audio. Surprisingly, she wasn't asked to drive the bus, too.
"Whatever needed done, I did it, just to learn as much as I could about the entire industry," said Hanna. "Eventually I want to become a tour manager, and this is a perfect way for me to start my career. It has been an incredible learning experience, one which has probably spoiled me. I shouldn't get to start with a tour this big, but I am not sorry I did."
City to city, venue to venue, Hanna received some important firsthand knowledge about what it takes to become a tour manager. As an intern, she knew she wasn't going to get rich on the WinterWonderSlam Tour, but she knew that the things she was learning would be far more valuable in the long run.
Now that the TobyMac gig has ended (Feb. 27), she thought that her whirlwind life would slow down a bit. But instead, Rising Christian singer Brandon Heath has asked her to join his staff in a paid capacity as the tour assistant.
"It going to be a church tour designed to help get Brandon's new album out to the masses," said Hanna. "It's super-exciting to be able to continue doing something that I love doing, and having gotten such a big start right out of college is beyond my wildest dreams.
"It's like I have been led by God to this point in my life, and I'm where I'm supposed to be. I don't feel like I am anything special, I am just doing what I feel God wants me to be doing. I've been really blessed."
And as an added bonus, Hanna has also embarked into an arena in which she never pictured herself. A series of circumstances led her to becoming one of the band's trumpet players. Performing in front of thousands of people was not something she expected.
"When we were in California, we realized that one of the members from DiverseCity had lost a piece to his trumpet," said Hanna. "It just so happened that another wife was flying out the next show from Nashville. We were trying to figure out the best way to replace the piece or rent trumpets when a light bulb went off… I have that exact trumpet. So I suggested that we just have the trumpet flown out with the one members' wife."
Problem solved, right? Well, perhaps, but because of how things played out, a rather unique circumstance was born.
The members of DiverseCity had no idea Hanna played trumpet. After badgering her for weeks, and having turned them down at every suggestion that she join them on stage for a song, Hanna finally relented.
"I was officially told that I did not have a choice and that I would be playing in my (almost) hometown, Canton, Ohio," said Hanna with a laugh. "It just so happened that my entire family would be coming to that particular show. We managed to keep it a secret for a couple weeks as Tim Rosenau and Gabe Real taught me the part."
Finally, the big night arrived. Hanna's family got the VIP treatment, meeting everyone and enjoying the concert. Finally, TobyMac introduced an additional member of the band. The little girl from Holmes County was on stage playing back-up with TobyMac. Her family, totally oblivious to her being involved on stage, was blown away.
"It was awesome," said Hanna, who has since played that song with the band. "They freaked out."
We even got to go to the after-party following the concert, and when they found out we all sing, they had our entire family sing for everyone," added Ariel's dad Bob. "It was pretty incredible."
Where will Hanna's new gig take her? She is willing to do whatever she has to do to learn the ropes, and find out where God will lead her next.
Published: March 10, 2011
