The winner of the University Program Council’s Battle of the Bands, Eli Hannon, will open for UPC’s Spring Concert in April 2025.
As a musician, Hannon has collaborated with several University of North Alabama Students in the past. He was joined for his Battle of the Bands show by Drummer E.J. Powell, a recent UNA graduate of the Class of 2023.
“I couldn’t do it without him,” said Hannon, referring to Powell and his drumming abilities. “He’s a legend.”
Hannon said he has been connecting with many local artists in the relatively short time that he has been in the Shoals area. He has collaborated with solo artists such as Savannah Maybrey, Cadence Baker and Katlyn Barnes, as well as larger groups such as Bold Bloom.
He also emphasized that the local music scene in Florence has served as an inspiration to him.
Hannon said that the decision to move to the Shoals area from Buford, Ga., his hometown, was made rather suddenly by him and his family.
“I was like, ‘I want to get out of here,’” Hannon said. “[My dad] was like, ‘Finally someone agrees with me.’ We just uprooted, left and came to Sheffield.”
His family moved to the Shoals, and they brought along several of his close friends as well.
During his high school years in Buford, Hannon was homeschooled. He said that his non-traditional education helped him grow to appreciate expressing himself through the outlet of music.
“It helps you step outside of the world and that culture – that hamster wheel,” Hannon said about his education.
He continued to describe how influential his father, who is also a musician, was in inspiring him to pursue his dream career of music.
“My dad was, and is, a musician and producer for as long as I can remember,” said Hannon. “There have always been instruments around the house, and he’s very musically talented.”
The first instrument Hannon learned to play was the piano. After that, he began to learn guitar, bass and several other instruments as well.
When his family moved to the area, Hannon said they built a studio in the basement of another studio already established in the Shoals, where he spends most of his time working on his music.
Even though his parents were in different career paths, Hannon said that they were both supportive of his choice to pursue music professionally. He said that he is currently planning to release four full-length albums within the next year.
