When we heard that Justin Roberts was coming to town we were ecstatic—how could we possibly miss this?

When I saw that the concert was at 4:30 in the afternoon I had to reconsider. That’s prime just-woke-up-from-nap-and-ready-to-scream time for Ivan. Would this really work?

We decided to go for it. This is Justin Roberts after all, and if anyone can get Ivan out of his afternoon funk it has to be Justin and his Not Ready for Naptime Players, right?

The concert was held at the Regattabar in Harvard Square, a new venue for us. The room is on the third floor of the posh Charles Hotel and has a very open ballroom feel with lots of huge windows overlooking the square. The stage is at the same level as the audience, giving the show a very intimate feel, even though the room was packed. There were tables here and there, but most families were sitting or dancing. Actually, most of us were moving about quite a bit!

Ivan perked up immediately and got right into the groove—what had I been worried about? Ivan is a natural rocker! Justin played an hour’s worth of songs from past albums with a few new songs from Jungle Gym thrown in for good measure. He opened with Cardboard Box, which used to just be my favorite song on the new album, but is quickly becoming one of my all time favorite songs overall.

Justin has so many awesome songs that you can’t help but get excited when they launch into Stay-At-Home Dad or Yellow Bus. Probably the hardest part of a Justin Roberts concert is that there are simply too many good songs to choose from; there are bound to be one or two that you wished he had played but just couldn’t get to. I know one little girl who really missed Willy Was a Whale. But Willy was there to talk to the audience!

Yesterday’s show was delightful. If you missed out on this one, be sure to catch Justin when he’s in town next. Justin Roberts and his band have a wonderful way of interacting with the audience and moving the show from song to song, up and down, and playing with the energy level in the room superbly.

We danced, we swayed, we jumped, we laughed, and everyone had a great time. I’m always amazed by how much fun kids have at concerts and by how well performers are at engaging and directing the audience. It’s a group effort, a game played with band and audience, and the final product is a beautiful thing.

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!

Some very fun outdoor events coming up this weekend, beginning with one of our favorites tonight!

• Ben Rudnick & Friends will be playing as part of Lexington’s Summer Music Concert Series tonight at 6:30pm. This is always a super fun show. Just look for the huge crowd over by the Battle Green by Lexington’s Visitor’s Center.
• If you’re looking for farm fun, Saturday offers two options. Verrill Farm is holding their annual Blueberry Pancake Festival from 9am to noon with special musical guests the Yankee Stompers! And Lookout Farm says that peaches are ready for picking. You can visit the farm for pick-your-own fun then hop over to their kids’ area to listen to jeanniemack play music at 12, 1, or 2pm.
• This is also the weekend for the Green River Festival over at Greenfield Community College. The festival will be held all day on Saturday and Sunday and is featuring some of our favorite artists on the kids’ stage, like The Flannery Brothers, Ratboy Jr, Starfish, and Sarah Lee Guthrie. For a complete list of performers, click here.

So grab your sun screen and floppy hats, drink lots of water, and head out for a sunny musical weekend!

Ellis Paul’s kids’ album, The Dragonfly Races, is a sweet and bright folksy collection of songs with lots of acoustic guitar and mellow melodies.

His songs are full of imagination and curiosities. From traveling to the bottom of the ocean to attending the dragonfly races, Ellis takes the listener on an adventure through music. The CD almost sounds like the soundtrack to a fanciful cartoon!

Ellis says in an interview with Sienna Wildfield at Hilltown Families that he wants to get kids thinking about life as a journey:

And Ellis’ explorations are bringing him to Club Passim in Cambridge for a set of shows celebrating his 20 years in music—looks like he’s going to sing every song he’s ever recorded in order over the course of five shows on Friday and Saturday! To learn more about his daring plan, watch this video on WGBH.

On Saturday at 3:30pm he’ll be performing songs from The Dragonfly Races. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for kids.

Yep, you read that title right—Justin Roberts is coming to Cambridge!

Justin is probably one of the biggest acts in the kids indie music scene (kindie, as they call it), and he’s a number one player on our iTunes playlist. Almost all of his songs have become classics in our house, from Great Big Sun to Our Imaginary Rhino. (What’s his name? How should I know? He’s our imaginary rhino!)

His new album, Jungle Gym, is destined for the same adoring love from fans that all his CDs receive. And here’s your chance to win a free copy of the new CD and two tickets to see Justin live at the Regattabar in Cambridge! Just comment on this post or contact me and let me know which is your favorite Justin Roberts song.

The show will be on Sunday, July 25th at 4:30pm.

One entry per person. Tickets to be picked up at the box office on day of the concert; CD will be mailed to the winner. We can only ship in the US at this time.

Would you like to earn an extra entry? You can…

• Subscribe to my email or RSS updates;
• Let your friends know about the contest on Twitter, Facebook, or MySpace;
• Post about this contest on your own Blog or website;
• Add Boston Children’s Music to your Blog Roll;
• or email five of your friends and tell them about this contest.

Be sure to send me an email or comment on this post to let me know what you did for your extra entry.

This contest will end Sunday, July 18th at midnight!

Good Luck!

Earthfest back in May was so much fun, wasn’t it? And it was just the first in a long line of exciting outdoor Summer concerts and festivals.

Here are some highlights of what’s to come:

• Verrill Farm will be holding their annual Blueberry Pancake Festival on July 17th in Concord. Blueberry pancakes, bacon, and bluegrass music from the Yankee Stompers!
• The Greenriver Festival will be held that same weekend (July 17th & 18th). It’s a huge event and there will be plenty of big bands playing
  (our favorites are Joe’s Backyard Band and Rat Boy Jr).
• The Toe Jam Puppet Band will be playing a series of free concerts on Georges Island (in the Boston harbor) on Sunday August 1st.
• Verrill Farm’s other summer festival, celebrating the corn and tomato
  harvest, will be on August 21st. They’ll have bluegrass played by
  Monadnock.
• Arts at the Armory in Somerville is planning a Music for Haiti festival on August 21st. Looks like there will be a lot of cool bands
  playing.
• And last but certainly not least is the Life is Good Festival the weekend of September 11th & 12th in Canton. I know it’s a way off, but
  they’re going to have Laurie Berkner, They Might Be Giants, and Dan Zanes!

And one more thing: Most towns plan a family-friendly summer concert series every year, too. Check the website for your town or stop by your local library to see your town’s concert schedule. They’re usually in the late afternoons or early evenings in a big park or common and they encourage families to bring blankets and picnics.

We all know that the Boston Pops will be playing their famous concert on the esplanade to celebrate the 4th of July, but there are a couple of smaller shows going on this weekend that you might want to check out, too….

• One of our favorite artists, Charlie Hope, will be playing a show at Club Passim in Harvard Square at 10:30am on Saturday. She’s spectacular and we can’t wait to see her play live!
• Concord will be holding it’s annual Picnic in the Park on July 4th starting at 11:30am. It’s a wonderfully low key celebration with lots of food and bluegrass music (our favorite bluegrass band, Southern Rail, will be there). I love celebrating independence day where the revolutionary war began.

I’m sure your town will be putting on its own fun celebrations as well. What will your family be doing for the 4th of July weekend?

If a Ben Rudnick & Friends show can be called a hoedown, then would an Alastair Moock show be a hootenanny? I’m not sure, but you can find out for yourself this weekend!

Alastair Moock will be at Club Passim in Harvard Square on Saturday at 10:30am. His uniquely rough voice perfectly captures classic folksy songs like Chicken and adds just the right touch to original songs like Two Mommies (my favorite).

He plays guitar, he plays banjo, and he sings about spaghetti in your shoe. What more can you ask for?

And just to make sure you get in a hoedown after your hootenanny, be sure to check out Ben Rudnick & Friends in Hingham on Sunday at 1pm.

Have a great weekend!

Lots of fun stuff happening on Saturday and even a Wayne Potash show on Sunday. If the weather holds on Sunday, it may be a nice day for a picnic!

• Gustafer Yellowgold will be at Club Passim in Harvard Square on Saturday at 10:30am. We’ll be there—will you?
• Little Groove will be playing at the Westfield Athenaeum at 10am on Saturday and Sarah Gardner will be at the Seekonk Public Library at 10:30am. Both shows are free.
• Flooky & the Beans will bea the Franklin Park Zoo on Saturday at 11:30am. Beans and animals? Wow!
• Sunday will bring Wayne Potash to the Teddy Bear Picnic at Parker Elementary School in North Easton at 10am and the Mother Goose Musical to the North Shore Musical Children’s Theatre in Saugus at 2pm.

Have a fun weekend—I know we will!

There are so many choices in kids’ music these days, from hip hop to rock, pop to reggae, and everything in between.

But if you’re looking for something that is simple, mellow, and has a folksy flair, Fox & Branch may be the band you’re looking for.

Fox & Branch (also known as Dave Fox and Will Branch) play old time Americana songs hailing from bluegrass, blues, or even cajun traditions. This is the kind of music that really is “family-friendly” because there’s something here for everyone. These are the kind of guys who’ll pull out a fiddle or an old jug at the drop of a hat.

On their albums songs like Sunny Side of the Street sit comfortably next to Turkey in the Straw. And of course they have a perfect rendition of Mama Don’t Allow.

Their newest album, Take Time in Life, would make a great father’s day gift. What a nice CD for dad to listen to with his kids!

Want to hear more of these guys? You’re in luck! They’ll be playing at Club Passim on August 21st at 10:30am and at the Hyde Park Public Library on August 24th at 10:30am. Check them out!