Musical Notes: Music industry news and releases for children and teens

‘PlayingGuitar’ by Petr Kratochvil

Welcome to another edition of “Musical Notes.” This weekly column is dedicated solely to the best in musical entertainment. Like our sister columns, “If it’s Tuesday it must be toys and tours,” Wednesday’s “Book Report” and Friday’s “Popcorn Report,” which respectively features information on toys and travel, the world of literature and movies, this weekly post highlights the important world of music as positive entertainment for children and teens. Be sure to check back each Thursday.

This week’s edition of Musical Notes covers news of the Okee Dokee Brothers upcoming excellent adventure, top picks for live entertainment for the holiday weekend and Music for Little People recording label receives multiple honors.

NEWS

Photo by Alex Johnson

Talk about creative ways in which to spark artistic inspiration – on Wednesday, June 1, 2011 family folk entertainers, the Okee Dokee Brothers, will embark on a journey on the Mississippi, chronicling their adventure and creating music for their forthcoming album.

The duo are being joined with a wilderness guide and documentary filmmaker as they explore stops along the way; meet up with other musicians and write new songs.

Parents and children are invited to follow their progress through their website and by listening to regular updates on the Absolutely Mindy Show on Sirius-XM’s Kid Place Live.

Join them for a true taste of musical adventure; it should be fun and educational all at the same time. 

The video below explains it all.

LIVE PERFORMANCES AND ENTERTAINING EVENTS

H and M presents Baby Loves Disco at the Cumberland Mall

Saturday, May 28, 2011
1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.   
1000 Cumberland Mall, Atlanta, Georgia 30339

 Entrance 1 Seating Event Area

Show Details: “Shake that booty at the best family disco around. Real DJs, real music, real dancing fun-filled activities for all your little ones including face painting, tattoos, mini manis, craft activities, and more.”

A FREE EVENT – Sponsored by H and M - No purchase necessary, free admission with wristband. Wristbands are available while supplies last at H & M. – Maximum of 4 per person, all attendees must have a wristband to gain entry.
 
For more information, visit this link.

Kansas City Jiggle Jam

Saturday, May 28th, 9 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 29th, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Crown Center Square 25th and Grand Street Kansas City, Missouri

Show Details: This is an outstanding, one-of-a-kind kid festival of entertainment and fun, which last year garnered over 30,000 people.

Jiggle Jam hosts three stages featuring a wide array of indi kids’ music stars, including Brady Rymer, the Okee Dokee Brothers, Justin Roberts and Jim Cosgrove to name just a few.

There are also dancing, crafting, exercise workshops, educational music for listening and learning, bubble tents, bouncy toys, train rides, Tween activities, food and drinks, shopping and much more.

Admission

$8 presale

$12 at the gate

$15 Weekend Pass (online only)

Under 2 free

There’s ample FREE parking surrounding the grounds. (Handicapped parking is available in the Crown Center parking garages.)

For further information or to purchase tickets, please follow this link.

Every Family Rocks

Sunday May 29, 2011

12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Des Moines Family Music Festival

Iowa State Fair Grounds, 3000 E Grand Ave, Des Moines, Iowa 50317-2494

Top-flight musical entertainment including Justin Roberts, They Might Be Giants, the Battersby Duo and more.

Lots of kid-pleasing activities: Guitar Hero, Spin Art, Kids' Jam Band with Central Iowa Music Lab, Instrumental Petting Zoo with the Iowa Symphony Academy Hula Hooping, face painting, juggler, balloon animals, Urbandale Dance and Gymnastics demo, Little Ninjas demo, fun crafts to take home -bracelets, paper hats, sock puppets and more, and an appearances by Spike the Drake Bulldog, Cubbie Bear and Curious George.

Admission

$10 in advance
$15 at the door
Children 2 and under are free
Rain or shine

For more information or to purchase tickets, please follow this link.

AWARDS AND HONORS

Music for Little People honored by seven Parents’ Choice Foundation Awards

For the last 26 years, Music for Little People, the premiere music retailer and children’s recording label have garnered almost 200 awards for their commitment to excellence, and this week The Parents' Choice Foundation has added to those honors by singling out for distinction, seven winning products hailed from Music for Little People’s recording label.

By following each link that is provided below, you’ll be able to sound sample or order each of these distinguished recordings for your family’s musical collection.

In each instance, you have been linked to the best available format and online price at the time of this publication. For your convenience, the Suggested Retail Price (SRP) has also been provided to enable you to cross-compare with your favorite retailer.

The coveted Silver Honor Award was bestowed upon the following:

Maria Muldaur's Barnyard DanceJugband Music for Kids CD SRP $13.98

Sweet Slumbers: Soothing Lullabies for Kids 

SRP $13.98

Giggling and Laughing: Silly Songs for Kids  

SRP $13.98

These recordings received the distinguished Recommended Award:

Buckwheat Zydeco's Bayou Boogie  

SRP $14.98 

Singin' and Groovin: 25 Best Sing-Along Songs  

SRP $13.98 

Approved Awards were issued to:

World Travels: World Music for Kids  

SRP $13.98 

Let's Go Chipper! Into the Great Outdoors (a DVD/CD set) 

SRP DVD only $9.99

Music for Little People is the only label to have won this many awards in a single year since Parents' Choice began 33 years ago. Congratulations Music for Little People!

2010 Holiday Guide: Gifts of Music part two

Earlier this month we began this series by covering the Gifts of Music, then followed with DVDs and videos and special coverage on theme-oriented gifts covering one of the most popular of all children’s classics, The Wizard of Oz.

Today, we turn our attention back to one of the most popular categories – music, and gifts that specifically cover CD releases that were made during the last 12 months, which included some of the biggest names in the music industry.

Below you will find a broad range of artists that focused their talents on bringing compilation recordings to the marketplace for all family members.

These products have been researched for quality as well as value, and are geared to provide multiple age ranges with many hours of positive and fun-filled entertainment.

Best pricing options available at the time of this posting are provided below, but it is suggested that (when available) you cross-compare with your favorite online as well as stick and brick retailers.

You may wish to bookmark this page to enable further explorations of the highlighted links at your leisure, as there are numerous choices in this star-studded category, which covers a multitude of musical tastes.

As always, you are the best judge of what is appropriate for your child’s entertainment.

Putumayo Kids: Rock and Roll Playground

Released on June 29th this year, from the Putumayo Kids label, the company known as award-winning innovators in music for children, comes Rock and Roll Playground.

This album brought together a stellar lineup of talent including Grammy® Award winners Dan Zanes and Friends, Taj Mahal and 2009 Grammy nominee Brady Rymer, as well as Parents' and Choice® Gold award winner Roger Day, plus other notable and upcoming musicians that contributed to this historically musical take on the development of Rock and Roll.

Included with the CD is read-aloud illustrated booklet with notes tracing the history of this musical genre, and information about each song on the CD.

Sound samples for all 12 tracks of Putumayo Kids: Rock and Roll Playground is available through Putumayo Kids online, and best pricing for the CD is currently available at Import CDs for $9.79.

Maria Muldaur’s: Barnyard Dance Jug Music Band for Kids

From the distinctive and award-winning Music For Little People label comes a wonderful and fun collection of homegrown toe tapping, sing-along tunes for the whole family from award-winning, platinum selling vocalist Maria Muldaur whose career has spanned more than 47 years.

This collection of tunes, along with Muldaur’s distinctive vocals, utilizes everything from washboard and cowbells to pots and pans and spoons. This jug band recording is a happy audio romp designed to delight the spirit.

All tracks for Maria Muldaur’s: Barnyard Dance Jug Music Band for Kids are available to sound sample at New Releases Now, and the complete CD may be ordered through Amazon.com Marketplace for $6.77, or downloaded in MP3 format for .69 cents per track ($7.99 for the entire album) at iTunes.

Buckwheat Zydeco’s Bayou Boogie

Music for Little People presents another great album from the “Ambassador of Zydeco Music,” Grammy award-winning, Buckwheat Zydeco, who has become a true living Bayou music legend.

Great songs accompanied by guitar, accordion and Hammond B3 organ run the gamut from classic rock to original compositions presented in an enticing mix of Creole sounds that salute a niche of American culture.

Joined with Buck are music superstars Dan Zanes, Maria Muldaur, Laurie Berkner and Aaron Nigel Smith.

All tracks are available for listening at Amazon.com where the CD is priced at $7.45 and individual MP3 downloads are available for .99 cents per track.

Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti

A labor of love and generosity from an exceptional lineup of musical talent, Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti was released in August as a fund raising effort to benefit the Haitian People’s Support Project after the devastating earthquake that occurred on January 12, 2010.

A first time release from Spare the Rock Records, Many Hands was the brainchild of Dean Jones (Dog on Fleas) and was supported in kind by the many artists who deeply discounted or donated their efforts to bring an amazing mix of sounds, songs and moods that are sing able and danceable for the whole family.

Almost all of the selections on this 22-track album were recorded specially for this CD or were previously unreleased.

Contemporary music legends abound here – Pete Seeger, Elizabeth Mitchell, Dan Zanes and They Might Be Giants (to name just a few) have created an outstanding album to continue the much need support for the people of Haiti.

Sound samples for Many Hands: Family Music for Haiti are available for review at Amazon.com Marketplace, where the CD is priced at $9.02 and individual MP3 tracks are .99 cents each.

Pete Seeger’s Tomorrow’s Children

From Appleseed Recordings comes the iconic Grammy-winning folksinger/political activist, Pete Seeger in his latest studio album, Tomorrow’s Children.

An uplifting and inspirational mix of music and storytelling, Seeger is joined by youth from grammar to high school along with teachers and musicians from his hometown of Beacon, New York.

The album contains many tracks, written or adapted by the children themselves and exudes a feeling of camaraderie, empowerment and cooperation – a true passing of the torch of ideals to a new generation.

Amazon.com Marketplace has sound samples for all 19 tracks of Pete Seeger’s Tomorrow’s Children. The CD is also available from Amazon for $9.98, or individual downloadable MP3 tracks for .99 cents each.

 The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band

People Magazine dubbed her “The queen of children’s music,” and on this CD, Laurie Berkner and her band deliver a good dose of royal treatment for the listener.

An excellent compilation of Berkner’s most requested songs includes such favorites as: "Open Your Heart;" “Rocketship Run; “Victor Vito” and many more.

You may sound sample all selections of The Best of the Laurie Berkner Band at Amazon.com and purchase the complete CD for $8.99 or download separate MP3 tracks for .99 cents each or the entire album for $9.99.