Elysium Nights: Where Music, Love, and Creativity Unite

Elysium Nights, the dynamic musical duo consisting of Maddie Hanna and Mike Lee, blends indie pop, alternative rap, R&B, lo-fi, and hip hop into a genre-defying sound. Their partnership began serendipitously after connecting on TikTok, where they discovered undeniable musical and emotional chemistry. With their unique style and mission to challenge gender norms in the music industry, the pair is set to embark on their “Blur The Lens” Midwest tour, starting with their Homecoming event in Chicago on February 7th.

Q. What is your name/name of band/band members’ names.

We are Maddie Hanna and Mike Lee, and together we are Elysium Nights.

Q. What made you want to become a musician?

MH-I’ve always been naturally drawn to music and for as long as i can remember, it’s been a way for me to express myself. My mom used to teach dance at a music school, and that was how i started getting into playing instruments and making my own music.

ML-Like Maddie I grew up in a very musical family. There was always a guitar or a piano around so it just came naturally, one day i decided to start writing and fell in love with it, I haven’t looked back since.

Q. Can you tell us a bit about the origin your music/band?

MH- It started when I posted a TikTok. It popped up on this cute boy’s algorithm and long story short we started talking and never stopped. We made a song together, Elysium, and that’s when we found out we have a chemistry, musically and emotionally, that was too good to ignore.

Q. How would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard your music before?

MH- We are a fusion of indie pop and alternative rap. We also take influence from r&b, lo-fi, hip hop, and indie music to create a fresh, genreless sound.

ML- Put Kali Uchis, Alina Baraz, Kendrick Lamar, and Noah Kahan in a bowl and mix it up. That’s Elysium Nights.

Q. What does being a female artist in the music industry mean to you?

MH- Especially in the Chicago scene, I have noticed a lack of female artists, and that is something I would really love to change. When it comes to my career and Elysium Nights, I want to be a role model. I want to show that not only can women fill spaces in the music industry usually occupied by men, they can excel in them.

Q. Do you have any upcoming shows or tours planned that fans should look out for?

MH- Yes, absolutely! We have our upcoming Midwest tour, the Blur The Lens tour. We are spreading our sound and vision to Chicago, Wisconsin, and Michigan! Our Elysium Nights Homecoming event will kick off the tour, which is February 7th at Metric Studios in Chicago, IL. We formed the concept because we just moved in together and we’re each others home, so we took the idea of a homecoming and ran with it. We are very excited for this event and tour, more information is posted on our Instagram!

Q. What is your take on social media and how it influences an artist’s career?

MH- I think good social media skills are a huge advantage while navigating this business in 2025. It’s how I promote not only my solo music, but our music and business together as Elysium Nights. However, an artist has to be careful (and I’m definitely guilty of this) to not get so wrapped up in the numbers. The way I look at it, I would rather create a community than have a bunch of empty metrics so that is how I go about it when I market on social media.

ML-Social media is honesty a great tool, its allowed me to connect with artists all over the world and really get the art i create around the world as well, not to mention helped me find the love of my life. Its hard to not get wrapped up in the numbers of it but at the end of the day, its one of the most powerful tools an independent artist has.

Q. What are some of your favorite venues to perform at and why?

MH- We definitely have a list. My Place Ohio, an underground DIY venue in Chicago is where we did our first ever Spookysium Show, a celebration of Halloween and spooky music. The owner is super cool and has fixed up the venue to include many special effects, like fog and light machines, while you are performing. Another place that we love playing is the ROXY in Lockport, Illinois. It’s a cool, intimate theatre that has a 1920’s theme and is the perfect mix of classy and vibey. Not to mention, the sound is AMAZING in there!

ML-My favorite so far has been Metric Sounds Studio, in the Northside of Chicago, Small, Intimate, but absolutely BUMPING sound system and super cool vibe all around.

Q. If you could only listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?

MH- For You, With Love by Mike Lee. I mean I think the artist is pretty cool or whatever 😉

ML-Haunted Vixen by Maddie Hanna, for obvious reasons (:

Q. What do you think is the most rewarding part of being an artist?

MH- For me, it’s being able to make people feel something. I think music is an amazing tool that creates connection and understanding between humans. To be able to make that is a powerful thing and with great power comes great responsibility. One of my favorite parts of being an artist is when I’m performing live and I see people in the crowd reacting to my music in real time. It makes me really happy and makes me feel like I’m doing something that has an impact.

ML-The connections you make not only with the audience but with other artists as well. Coming into this music scene has been the most refreshing thing because everyone supports everyone. Its also so rewarding to hear that someone heard your song and it stuck with them/gave them a reason to feel something, thats my favorite part.

Q. If you could collaborate with any artist, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

MH- Well, aside from Mike Lee which is the obvious answer here, I think a Maddie Hanna X The Weeknd collab would go CRAZY. I am a huge fan of The Weeknd and feel like my dark pop style would go super well with his.

ML-My pick has to be Xxxtentacion, he was my biggest inspiration when he was alive and really showed me how to be diverse and different in my music with a blend of genres. RIP X

Q. If your music could be the soundtrack to any movie or TV show, which one would you choose?

MH- The movie Purple Hearts on Netflix, because I have a song called Purple Hearts that that movie was one of the inspirations for. Comes out on Valentine’s Day by the way!

ML-The Office. Fun, Upbeat, lots of different vibes but heartwarming at the end of the day

Q. Where do you see yourself/band and your music in the next five years?

MH- We have some ideas developing that we want to take further in the coming years. One of these ideas that we are the most excited about is our Spookysium show. We want to turn it into a Halloween music festival held in Chicago, and our dream is for it to be a major festival like Lollapalooza one day. We are already at the point where this year it might turn into a festival. More details on that coming soon but we are very excited!

ML-The Name “Elysium Nights” will have more weight than ever before behind it. This has become my favorite part of being out here is giving opportunities to artists across all genres. One day i want history to see us as the revival of the Chicago underground/independent scene that made it about love and support again, not all about the money.