Have you listened to Leeny & Tamara’s song, Singing Beach? It’s a beautiful song about a beach with sand that “speaks a squeaky melody” under your feet.

I’ve always loved the imagery of this song and the whimsical idea that a beach could sing to you while you play on it. It never occurred to me that it was real!

But talking to Leeny last week she mentioned that they have a show coming up on Tuesday, July 20 at Masconomo Park, right down the road from Singing Beach. “It’s a real beach?!” I asked. “Does it really sing?” Leeny informed me that indeed the beach does sing and if only I had listened more carefully to the lyrics in the song I would have understood how this was possible:

And, according to Wikipedia, that’s exactly why the sand at some beaches makes noise when you step on it!

Leeny says: “We wrote the song Singing Beach because the idea of a beach where the sand ’sings’ under your feet seemed so fantastical and almost had a mythical quality to it. In reality, it’s more of a squeaking sound, not like the sand is singing or speaking to you, as it does in our song. But we took some artistic liberties.”

“Also, Singing Beach holds special significance for me because that’s where I met my husband, Nick, back in the summer of 2001!”

That is a special beach!

If you want to learn more about Singing Beach (the real place), you can visit the Manchester-by-the-Sea site or check out Singing Beach’s FaceBook page (yes, the beach has it’s own FB page).

If you want to learn more about the Singing Beach song, visit Leeny & Tamara’s site where you can listen to the song and read the lyrics.

And if you’re near Manchester Harbor, don’t forget to check out their free full-band outdoor show at Masconomo Park on Tuesday at 6pm!

Our friends at Hilltown Families are running a contest to giveaway two copies of the new Putumayo Kids compilation, Rock & Roll Playground.

They’re asking their readers to chime in and tell them what their favorite rock & roll song is. What was your favorite rock song as a kid? Was it the Stones’ Satisfaction, Moonshadow by Cat Stevens, or maybe Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me?

These are some of the suggestions so far. Got a better one? Head on over to Hilltown Families and let them know!

We’ve been collaborating with Hilltown Families lately to bring local music info over to the families in Western Mass. Hilltown Families covers lots of kids events over on the other side of the state, while Boston Children’s Music focuses mainly on the Boston area. As they say on their site, “Between the two we’re bridging the state to let families all throughout MA know about great concerts for families!”

On Sunday (June 27th), Hilltown Families will be airing a radio program featuring our favorite new songs from local artists (and one artist who maybe isn’t quite local, but plays in the area a lot). The show will air tomorrow morning from 7-8am on 103.3FM WXOJ. You can listen via streaming audio at www.valleyfreeradio.org. The playlist and podcast are available on their site, too.

Here’s the playlist…

1. Two Mommies by Alastair Moock

2. A Frog Named Sam by Ben Rudnick & Friends

3. So, So Happy by Debbie & Friends

4. Shake! by the Flannery Brothers

5. Panther Stamps Pants by Gustafer Yellowgold

6. Owl Hootenany by Vanessa Trien

7. Finger Puppets by Little Groove

8. Friends are on their Way by Joe’s Backyard Band

9. Yucky! by Judy Pancoast

10. I Came Out Backwards by Leeny And Tamara

11. Pajaro Carpintero (Woodpecker) by Mariana Iranzi

12. Elephant Hide and Seek by SteveSongs

The Flannery Brothers are working hard recording their new album, The New Explorers Club, and planning to release it on October 5th.

Can’t wait that long? Neither can they! So they’re giving away a free preview song now! Just click here to listen or right click and choose “download linked file” to download.

Don’t you think everyone should hear this new album? Want to help the guys get their new CD out to the rest of the world? There are a few ways you can help:

• Download some songs
  Wake Up Songs is available on iTunes for only $6 and both of their CDs are available on flannery.com.
• Put on a show
  Hire the Flannery Brothers to play at your party during June or July for a super-low rate. Send them an email for more info.
• Donate!
  They’ve set up a donations page here. For every donation greater than $20.00, you’ll receive a signed copy of the new cd when it comes out. No contribution is too small!

I’m always keeping my eyes out for free music downloads. Many artists offer free songs on their websites so you can get a feel for their music, especially when they are promoting a new album.

Here are some pretty cool songs you can download for free right now…

My Name is No from StarFish Rocks	Sleepoverland from Justin Roberts
First Explorer from SteveSongs	So So Happy from Debbie & Friends

Stacey Peasley is a local children’s musician who has been playing music professionally for over fifteen years and recently began to focus her talents on kids’ fair. She teaches music classes for kids in Newton, Natick, and Needham. Her music is classic and lively, the sort of stuff you won’t feel embarrassed to sing out loud to, and her shows always elicit random toddler dancing. You can find her on Facebook, too. Below Stacey reports on her very first visit to Kindiefest earlier this month.

Stacey meets Joanie Leeds.

A weekend away without the kids—VERY rare and exciting! I jumped in my car and left Natick, MA for Brooklyn, NY, and even though my kids would not be present, the weekend itself would be very much about kids.

In fact, the weekend would be comprised of many talented people dedicated to creating and promoting music for kids and families.

Kindiefest was a three day event created by three extremely talented and successful members of the children’s music community—Bill Childs, Tor Hyams, and Stephanie Mayers—who all share the goal of making family music an exciting part of the lives of parents and children.

I was entering as a total newbie and pretty much not knowing a soul that would be there. I couldn’t find the exact location so I stopped to ask a group of guys who were walking by for directions. They told me they were headed there and said, “We’re Recess Monkey”… my first celebrity sighting!!

I parked my car and bravely entered the venue. I had my cool Kindiefest ID around my neck, so I was officially part of this scene, right? One of the first artists I came in contact with was Joanie Leeds… second celebrity sighting!! Her CD is a staple on my IPOD, so it was great to meet her (and to tell my kids I met her!)

She was one of many names and faces I recognized as we all spent the evening mingling, meeting new people, and examining each other’s cool Kindiefest ID’s to find out who we all were and where we were from.

Dan Zanes giving his keynote speech.

Dan Zanes was the keynote speaker for the evening and I was thrilled when he mentioned getting to know the people who were there who didn’t know anyone! Thanks, Dan!

Day two was spent attending specific panel discussions on many aspects of the music industry: creating a CD from start to finish, distribution, marketing, just to name a few. The panel members were top-notch in their experience in the business and it was great to hear advice from them.

From artists such as Justin Roberts, Ralph Covert, and Sara Hickman, to well-known radio hosts, producers, and agents—all had their unique take on their area of expertise. I was extremely impressed with all the levels that were represented at Kindiefest—from artists pretty new to this field such as myself, to those who do a great job selling out local theaters like Vanessa Trien and Debbie Cavalier, to those with TV spots like SteveSongs and Audra Rox, to superstars like Ralph Covert and Marty Beller from TMBG. Everyone seemed really excited to meet each other and the vibe was amazing!

The day ended with an amazing showcase of performers. I think everyone in the room was inspired by the artists’ performances. I know I was! It was a great end to a great day.

Mr. Leebot.

The final day, Sunday, was an event that was open to the public which also included many terrific performers. I was able to chat with more artists I hadn’t met yet: Tito from the Hipwaders, Jeremy from Renee and Jeremy, and the members of Recess Monkey.

It was time to say goodbye to new friends: Taes and Nick from Splash N’ Boots, Nina and Jason from King Pajama, Miss Nina from NYC, Nick from In the Nick of Time, and Vanessa Trien…oh wait! I’ll get to see Vanessa in Boston, cool!

Overall it was a great experience and the love was felt by all! The positive response from those who attended was overwhelming and it seems that everyone can’t wait till Kindiefest 2011!!!

More photos…

Stacey and Taes Adams from Splash N’ Boots.

Tito Uquillas from the Hipwaders.

Stacey and Debbie Cavalier.

Nina Zeitlin & Jason Blechman of King Pajama.

You’ve probably heard the rumors… everyone in town is talking about it… and yes, it’s true! They Might Be Giants are coming to the Regent Theatre in Arlington next month for two benefit family shows: May 23rd at 12pm and 3pm.

TMBG, as you probably very well know, have released three children’s albums in the past few years, Here Come the ABCs, Here Come the 123’s, and their newest Here Comes Science.

All were introduced to much buzz and acclaim in the children’s music world. Here Comes Science was even voted the best kids and family album of 2009 by the Fids & Kamily Awards.

So what got TMBG’s John Flansburgh and John Linnell interested in kids’ music? I got to ask John F. that question and his response was that, well, it just kind of happened: “We had been going for twenty years and it seemed safe to do it as a one off, and then it became so successful we ended up doing more kids projects essentially by popular demand. Like everything else in our careers, it was an accident.” And a happy accident at that.

TMBG have a way of moving between the adult and child genres that most bands can’t quite pull off. Their kids’ music isn’t sappy or dull. They delve into serious topics in their science CD, like evolution or photosynthesis, without sounding preachy. Though you may think TMBG are trying to teach lessons with their songs, that’s not really the point at all. Mostly, they’re just singing about things that interest them.

“I don’t think we feel it’s that important that kids learn so much from our music,” says John F., “I think we enjoy the ideas that are introduced in the songs, but we’re not educators and it kind of makes us uncomfortable having to be that responsible. But we enjoy the topics we write about, and I think that comes through.”

TMBG and Boston By Foot

It’s officially official, Judy Pancoast has gathered her own group of Groovy Dudes to play shows with her! This means that Judy’s shows will now feature a full band—how exciting!

Judy’s new team includes Bob West on guitar, Maxx Arbuckle on bass, and Tim Maxwell on drums, as well as Mat Huxel on saxophone. It looks like they’re also adding a another female to the dude line up with Mary Gatterman on keyboard. That’s quite a crew!

Of course Judy will be singing and dancing as well as adding her own special pep to all the shows. I imagine we’ll still see her behind her keyboard now and then, too, but having a full band on stage with her will really spice up her already flavorful songs.

I asked Judy what all this excitement means for her concerts. Will she still play solo? And what about her back up dancers, the Judy Crew?

“I am planning on doing shows with the band and still doing solo shows as well,” says Judy, “and my dance team (the Judy Crew) will perform at both kinds of shows. When I am performing with the band we will be known as Judy Pancoast and the Groovy Dudes but solo I’ll still be plain ol’ Judy Pancoast.

“The reason I named the band the Groovy Dudes is because I am trying to really put a focus on the kind of music I present. It’s not really rock, although I do some rock music, but I would put it squarely in the genre of the bubblegum pop of the 60’s and 70’s. My biggest influences musically were the Monkees, the Carpenters, and basically anything in the top 40 during the late 60’s and 70’s, my formative years. I was never hip or cool but always the geeky girl who would rather listen to The Archies than Led Zeppelin.”

Maybe this explains the surfboard silhouettes in the logo?

I also wanted to know if Judy plans to take her show on the road. Getting a band together just begs for a cross-country tour, doesn’t it?

“I have several shows booked for the band this summer,” says Judy, “but my overall goal is to get us booked in larger venues such as theatres and performing arts centers with large stages for the fall and winter seasons.

“I would love to take the show on the road next summer, but since most of the band members will be in college for at least another year we have no plans to tour far and wide during the school year, although we will be traveling to perform shows on the weekends.”

Oh well—I guess that just means more Groovy Dudes for us lucky New Englanders!

Of course, the band’s first gig will actually be in New York this Saturday (May 1st) at the Tribeca Street Festival, but their New England debut will be this summer on June 29th at the Nextdoor Theatre in Winchester at 10am.

Judy’s band is sure to be a blast (especially with a saxophone player on the regular roster) and we can’t wait to get a glimpse of the new crew. Keep an eye out for more shows this summer from Judy and her Groovy Dudes!

To learn more about Judy Pancoast’s music or to find out where she’ll be playing, visit her website: www.judypancoast.com.

Come join Boston Children’s Music on Facebook! Become a fan of our page and you’ll have access to all the posts on the site plus extra tidbits about cool children’s CDs or fun music events.

We’ll also post photos and videos from all the events we attend and hope that you will share your photos and videos, too!

I decided to take a week off from my computer to clear my head and maybe get rid of my typing calluses. My head is clearer, my fingers still seem to want to type!

While I was away, some interesting local music news popped up in my inbox. Thought I’d share it with you…

• Leeny & Tamara will be doing a live in-studio performance on WERS The Playground this Sunday, April 18 from 6:00-6:20pm ET, wrapping up their Live Music Week Pledge Drive. Local listeners can tune in at 88.9FM, otherwise they have live streaming audio online at www.wers.org. Leeny & Tamara will be joined by some old friends on drums, bass, and guitar (including Steve from Leeny & Steve), and they’ll have four kids singing background vocals. Should be a blast, and with the kids involved, hopefully unpredictable!
• As part of their 125th Anniversary Celebration, the Boston Pops is having a
  student art contest. The ten winners will have their artwork displayed
  in Symphony Hall, win spring pops tickets, and receive an opportunity to
  meet the conductor back stage. Entries can be submitted as jpegs to artcontest@bso.org, must be 300 dpi or higher, and should include the artist’s name, age, grade, and school. Good luck!
• The Boston Ballet is is currently performing Coppélia, a story about a life-like doll that steals a local boy’s heart, grieving his true love, Swanilda. They’ve just put together a really neat video series called The Faces of Boston Ballet where you can meet the dancers and designers. It’s a great way to get your kids interested in the ballet before you go.

If you’ve got news to share about the children’s music scene in Massachusetts, please let me know!