Video Premiere – “Rainbow Flow”

A couple of weeks ago we had several days of pretty serious storms here in the Midwest. After one of the storms the sun came out so bright, I immediately wondered if there was a rainbow. I popped out my front door and this is what I saw (the photo is unfiltered). I couldn’t get a picture because of the houses, but that afternoon the sky was aglow with a complete rainbow. It was such an awesome sight after such a dark day.

“Rainbow Flow,” the opening track from Jessa Campbell & the Saplings latest album for families reminded me of this beautiful moment. Filled with facts about the science behind what makes a rainbow, Campbell takes what could otherwise feel like a school lesson and turns it into a one-of-a-kind dance groove. The melody of “Rainbow Flow” swirls around you making your body move while Campbell’s stellar vocals weave in lyrics that educate and entertain at the same time. Throw in special guest, GRAMMY-nominated Saulpaul, and you have a song that listeners won’t soon forget. And speaking of forget. If you’re like me, you were taught that the easiest way to remember the colors of the rainbow was with the acronym ROYGBIV. After listening to “Rainbow Flow,” I say forget that! All you have to do is listen to the chorus and you’ll never need ROYGBIV again.

Jessa Campbell & the Saplings second album for families, Forest Flow, is due out June 9. Filled with STEM and ecology-based songs that celebrate the wonders of the forest, this new collection of music features themes that are accessible to children wrapped in sophisticated arrangements that will appeal to adults. While June 9 is still a ways off, here’s a little sample of what to expect with the video premiere of “Rainbow Flow.” Enjoy!

Listen Lead Love performed by Esther Crow

I have been looking forward to Esther Crow’s new album Listen Lead Love ever since she debuted the singles “Homemade Halloween” and “Christmas Socks” late last year. After listening to the album, I have to say, it was well worth the wait. On her second outing as a solo artist, Esther leans into her unique retro-rock style to great affect. The album kicks off with “Start the Discussion” (featuring special guests Strawbitty Yops). This call to action encourages listeners to take the initiative and start talking about the climate crisis. As with many of the songs on the album, Esther crafts lyrics that break down the issue in ways that make it easily accessible to children. In addition to the climate crisis, she takes on the importance of switching to solar power, the need to move away from creating waste and instead recycle, reuse, and repurpose, and in the closing track, the directive to not be afraid to let your voices be heard and “March!”

For most of the songs in this collection, Esther’s power vocals are backed by drums and electric guitars with melodies that often call back to the rock of the 1960s and 1970s. On “The Leader in You,” Esther injects reggae into the groovy sound she creates with Kare Africa Kids by including a special guest appearance from Father Goose. Just past the halfway point in the music there is a gentle interlude in the form of a duet between Esther and Kymberly Stewart. The veteran performers’ voices blend perfectly on “Feelings are a Rollercoaster,”  creating a beautiful moment where listeners are reassured that emotions are ok to feel and that real friends stick by each other during the happy and the sad times. By the end of the chorus children will feel as though they are wrapped in a warm hug.

Listen Lead Love isn’t just the name of Esther’s second album. It’s also how she approaches life. Esther shares that philosophy with families as a reminder that we only have one Earth and and it’s important that we love and honor the planet, as well as all those who inhabit it. Listen Lead Love will be released on Earth Day – April 22.

 

Make it Myself! Performed by Ants on a Log

Julie Be and Anya Rose (Ants on a Log) are back with their third full-length family album. On this latest outing, Make it Myself!, the duo’s talent for combining social justice with silliness is beautifully on display in a collection of 14 songs that encourage children to think creatively about challenges they may face in life. Those challenges range from something simple like finding ways to stay entertained while waiting in line to more complex challenges like finding the courage to stand up against the injustices that a child may encounter in every day life. On the sillier side is a buzzy lullaby to a mosquito and a yummy twist on King Midas where the king turns things into cheese rather than into gold. Also included is the stellar “They’re My Friend,” an accessible introduction to nonbinary pronouns, and “What Book?” a song sung from a girl’s perspective as she implores adults to see more than just pretty appearances.  Whether the lyrics are serious or silly, Ants on a Log creates a sound that engages and entertains. Check out the video for the title track, “Make it Myself” below.

Kaboom! performed by Todd ‘n’ Tina

 

Welcome to the second album of non-stop fun from Minnesota duo Todd Millenacker and Krissy Mondelli, or as they are more commonly known, Todd ‘n’ Tina. With Kaboom!, Todd ‘n’ Tina continue to demonstrate their skill in telling full stories in small packages. Although each of the ten tracks in this collection only lasts 1:30 to 2:00 minutes, each still manages to tell a complete tale. Whether it’s the pop-delight “Tennis Racket Guitar,” the sea shanty “Pirates & Parrots,” or the punk-fueled “Box Life,” each tune tells its own special story in its own unique way. Todd ‘n’ Tina do a fantastic job of pairing just the right musical genre to the subject matter before layering in clever lyrics that children will listen to again and again in order to catch all of the zany word play. Not only do Todd ‘n’ Tina create lively, engaging songs, they also create entertaining videos to go along with them. Kaboom! as well as a library of one-of-a-kind videos are available on their website. Catch Todd ‘n’ Tina’s latest video “Jellyfish Chicken” (because nobody wants those chicken bones!) below.

 

Song Spotlight – “Happy Feet”

Released on February 5, “Happy Feet” is a wonderful take on the “freeze dance” that will get listeners tiptoeing, jumping, and doing the dance and jive around the room. Continuing the theme from the last post about artists creating cross-continent collaborations, after writing “Happy Feet,” Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Ashley Mills Monaghan started brainstorming potential duet partners and immediately thought of New Zealand-based award-winning children’s performer Music with Michal ,and soon a wonderful new partnership was born. Listening to the seamless way that Ashley and Michal’s voices combine, it’s hard to imagine that the entire song was created by simply sending wav files back and forth through email. Ashley and Michal adeptly meet each other note for note, mirroring each other’s energy and joy. The result is an engaging, earworm of a song that is perfect to use during storytime, in preschool classes to burn off a little energy, or at home. Everyone’s feet will be happy after dancing to this tune!

Song Spotlight – “Thank You Science”

Happy International Women and Girls in Science Day!! As a child, I loved science – especially the wonders of things that couldn’t be seen with the naked eye. My parents were very supportive of my interests and bought me a beginner’s microscope one year for Christmas and a telescope the next. While my drive to officially study science waned, my interest never did. In college (as a French and International Relations major), when forced with taking a science course with a lab, I chose astronomy. I loved those chilly fall nights up on the hill gazing out into the galaxy and to this day, I still own that child’s telescope, carefully packed in its original box from JCPenney’s. These memories from my younger years are just a few of the reasons why I love the new single “Thank You Science.”

Born of the creative minds of Marsha Goodman-Wood of Marsha and the Positrons and Claudia Robin Gunn, “Thank You Science” is a beautiful song full of gratitude and celebration. Chock-full of information, in the span of a few short minutes, Marsha and Claudia manage to include basic facts like the Earth is round, call out things such as the Scientific Method, and shout out to a whole host of famous female scientists. Even though the subject matter of “Thank You Science” has an educational element to it, the poppy melody is uplifting and fun. Marsha and Claudia are joined on vocals by Positron member Ayanna Gallant and when the three voices join together in harmony, the effect is a real delight.

In December of 2021 School Library Journal published a piece I had written about the evolution of children’s music as a result of the pandemic. In that article Claudia spoke about how the virtual realm of the pandemic had expanded the world for children’s musicians and was leading to collaborations with artists they may never have connected with otherwise. “Thank You Science” is an example of one of those collaborations. Marsha is based in the Washington, D.C. area while Claudia lives a bit of a ways away in New Zealand. Through the wonders of Zoom, they were able to combine their interests in the scientific world and love of music to work together and write “Thank You Science.”

“Thank You Science” is available today on your favorite streaming services.

Spotlight – GRAMMY Nominee Justin Roberts

Welcome to the fifth and final spotlight on this year’s GRAMMY nominees for Best Children’s Music Album. Today we’re shining a light on Justin Roberts. No stranger to children’s music, Space Cadet marks Justin’s 16th album for families and fifth GRAMMY nomination. As with his previous collections, Justin perfectly captures the voice of young children creating fully developed characters in each song that empower listeners to embrace their differences, feel their feelings, and love one another. Now that he’s a father to his own little one, there is an even deeper feeling of understanding and empathy to Justin’s music that makes this album stand out from his discography. Kids Rhythm and Rock caught up with Justin shortly after the GRAMMY nominations were announced.

This is your fifth GRAMMY nomination. Is there anything that makes this nomination special?

Absolutely! I’m so thrilled and moved to be nominated this year. Having made 16 albums over the past 25 years, there is no greater honor than knowing that my peers think highly of the creative work I’m doing. It’s always scary to put out a new album when you know it will be judged against your entire catalog and I try to make sure I’m pushing myself creatively with every new project. After making a very personal and quiet album a few years ago (wild life), it was amazing to return to the studio with the Not Ready for Naptime Players and make a big rock record and then get this kind of recognition.

Photo by Todd Rosenberg


Not only did you release a new album in 2022, your latest picture book, I’ll Be Your Polar Bear was also published. How is Justin the musician different from Justin the author?
 
Making books is a totally different process than making albums. Not only is there an incredible back and forth between me and the book’s editor but there is a really fun collaborative process with the illustrator. You never know what story or stories they are going to tell with their art and getting back sketches and final pieces is just so moving when you see how it interacts with the text you’ve written. I’m thrilled with with way I’ll Be Your Polar Bear turned out.
 
What’s next for you?
I’m currently co-writing songs with R&B/Soul singer Meagan McNeal for an upcoming kids record that she is working on. I met Meagan when we collaborated on a video series for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra last year and then did a live performance with members of the CSO at Symphony Hall in November. I loved Meagan’s voice so much I asked her to sing on a few songs on Space Cadet (“When February Comes” and the skat singing at the end of “I have Been a Unicorn”) and then we started co-writing for her project. It’s been amazing getting to know her and I’m just a huge fan.
 
Is there anything else that you would like to share?
I have another picture book coming out from Penguin in the spring called Giant Sized Butterflies on Your First Day of School illustrated by the incredible Columbian Illustrator Paolo Escobar. It’s based on a song of mine about a first day of school called “Giant Sized Butterflies” from Pop Fly. I absolutely adore the illustrations and am really excited for folks to see this one. I get a lot of notes about that song serving as a yearly ritual for families starting school and I’m hoping this book will also serve that purpose.
 
I’m also working on new songs for my follow up to Space Cadet and looking forward to more touring in 2023 with the Not Ready for Naptime Players.
 

In case you missed them, check out the spotlights for fellow nominees Wendy & DBDivinity Roxx, Alphabet Rockers, and Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band.

Watch the GRAMMY’s Premiere Ceremony LIVE on Sunday, February 5 at 12:30 PM PT/3:30 PM ET on live.grammy.com or The Recording Academy YouTube channel to see who wins Best Children’s Music Album. 

Spotlight – GRAMMY nominees Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band

Today we’re shining the spotlight on Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, or as they are otherwise known, husband and wife duo Lucky Diaz and Alisha Gaddis. Being part of the GRAMMY landscape isn’t new for this children’s music power couple. They were nominated last year for their album Crayon Kids and have won Latin GRAMMY awards for Buenos Diaz (2019) and ¡Fantastico! (2013). Their latest entry into the Best Children’s Music album category is the EP Los Fabulosos, a delightful high energy pop/rock/punk romp.

Thank you to Alisha for taking the time to answer a few questions for us!

You’ve garnered multiple Latin GRAMMY nominations, and two wins!, as well as several EMMY Nominations and one win for your PBS show “Lishy Lou and Lucky Too.” What does this nomination mean to you?
Nominations are a tremendous honor on their own. I think we look back at the career we’ve built ( and have been lucky enough to experience) in awe. The awards and recognition are nice but making the art is really the win for us.
You have performed in venues around the world to crowds for whom neither English nor Spanish are their first language. What is it about your music that transcends language barriers?

Photo by Carson Sargent

Joy is infectious. Smiles are universal. Whether we’re performing in stadiums in China or festivals in Mexico it’s all the same. We create work to spread love and encourage creativity. This is a language we all speak as humans.
What is next for Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band?
Exciting times! We have a summer tour all around the country (please see our website for dates!) Also, Lucky has his second book on HarperCollins coming this spring entitled La Guitarrista. It’s a follow up to his hit book Paletero Man!
Is there is anything else you would like to add?
We’re so grateful to you and all your readers. Just being included in the conversation of children’s work is so special! Gracias!
In case you missed them, check out the spotlights for fellow nominees Wendy & DB, Divinity Roxx, and Alphabet Rockers.

Spotlight – GRAMMY nominees Alphabet Rockers

Today I am very excited to shine the spotlight on Alphabet Rockers. Led by co-founders Kaitlin McGaw and Tommy Soulati Shepherd, the group has evolved from offering poppy, light hip hop songs about everyday concepts that are geared toward younger children, to creating music that is “healing, reflects who we are, and empowers us.” The collective already garnered GRAMMY nominations for its albums Rise, Shine, #Woke, and The Love, but there is something unique about their latest album, The Movement. This time around, Kali de Jesus, Maya Fleming, and Tommy Shepherd III who have been with the Rockers since they were small children, are now teenagers, and they actively participated in writing the content of the album. The resulting collection of songs speaks to a reimagined world of belonging and justice.

For the 2022 Children’s Music Round Up I created a category called “The Children Are Our Future.” It featured The Movement as well as Multiply from The Wise Channel. I chose this heading because as Whitney Houston once sang, “I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.” With The Movement, that’s what Kali, Maya, and Tommy are doing – leading the way. The only time I’ve seen Alphabet Rockers perform live was at a pre-GRAMMYs showcase in 2018 (please excuse the blurry photo taken with an old phone). One of the things that stood out was that the adults in the group proudly shone the spotlight upon the young children in the collective – including Maya, Kali, and Tommy III – giving them the microphone to rap in their still high pitched voices and the space to dance with boundless energy and joy. Those kids who were only nine or ten at the time, have grown into amazing 14 and 15 year olds with voices that need to be heard. 

Rather than Kaitlin and Tommy being part of the interview for this post, they instead worked with Kids Rhythm and Rock to get feedback from, as Kaitlin calls them, “the kids.”

How old were you when you started performing with Alphabet Rockers?

(Kali) I was around 6 when I started performing with the group
(Maya)  8 or 9
(Tommy III) 4 or 5

You were an active part of the creation of the content for The Movement. What was your favorite part of that process? 

(Kali) My favorite part of the process in creating The Movement was getting together with everyone in the group, whether it be for a music video or in the studio. It’s always great to get together, brainstorm, and formulate our songs.

(Maya) That’s a good question. I think My favorite part was probably the feeling of being in the studio during the pandemic; being able to come to the studio and even though we were masked up, still being able to be together and be in that creative flow with each other and create music and spread love even though we were going through a really hard time.

(Tommy III) Oh, I don’t know if this counts, but the “Slide” video, that was actually really fun. Everything is fun to do but that one was hecka fun and that’s why it’s one of my favorites,

Were there any challenges?

(Maya) There were challenges, but probably the biggest one was being able to, as we get older, find the [right] stuff for us, as you know our bodies change and our voices change. I think just also being able to have a balance of things where we have things that we actually like and have things that, you know, we use for the album or music videos where we’re able to add our ideas while still meeting your vision (Kaitlin and Tommy). Like how we were able to do music videos and add our friends and add our school, being able to do things like that. 

(Tommy III) The challenge was, to be honest, sometimes I didn’t feel like doing it, but we have to do it because it’s the work that has to be done. Just being so tired. Because of Covid it felt like we weren’t doing that much but it took a lot of emotional energy out of us and it drained us a lot so during that time, I didn’t feel like doing a lot of things, but we had to put in the work so we can push for freedom.

Photos by Nino Fernandez

What does this GRAMMY nomination mean to you?

(Kali) This GRAMMY nomination means a lot to me. I believe that it provides us with the opportunity to present our work more widespread and gives us a voice that speaks louder than before.

(Maya) This GRAMMY nomination means a lot. The work we put in, and the time, and energy, and like Tommy was saying, emotional commitment. Knowing the struggles and challenges that we all had to go through during the time we were making this album and seeing our growth and being able to make it to now our fourth GRAMMY nomination, 

(Tommy III) The GRAMMY nomination. I just really like it. To say that we have a GRAMMY nomination, that’s really dope. To say we have a GRAMMY nomination considering what type of music we’re making. The music that we make doesn’t always get GRAMMY nominations because it’s not mainstream. But, it’s like, the music we’re making is pushing for change, and the fact that music like that can be put onto a platform like that is good. 

Thank you very much to Kali, Maya, and Tommy III for sharing your thoughts with us! These kids, they are our future and with them taking the lead, I think we’re going to be alright.

In case you missed it, check out the spotlights for GRAMMY nominees Divinity Roxx and Wendy & DB.

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