Song Premiere – “Little Blue House”
For a very long time, only a handful of musical genres were represented in children’s music. Then came kindie music which started to break away from the “traditional” styles and sounds that were offered for kids. With the door now open to artists from outside that traditional mold, we’ve begun to see music that truly reflects the listening preferences of families by spanning a multitude of genres including country, rock, jazz, hip hop, and now, the blues.
With their new album, Into the Little Blue House, Chicago-based Wendy & DB (Wendy Morgan and Darryl Boggs) give a Master Class in creating the blues for young listeners. Combing their love of entertaining and educating children through music, Wendy & DB crafted a collection of songs that both teach children traditional blues tunes as well as introduces listeners to songs that lift them up in both mind and spirit. The album is given layers of depth with guest vocalists and an entire crew of Chicago blues musicians.
“Little Blue House” is the perfect first track for Into the Little Blue House . With lyrics that encourage listeners to feel free to express their feelings and really be themselves, “Little Blue House” strikes all the right chords as it welcomes young folks into the rich world of the blues. Take a listen below. Into the Little Blue House will be available on Friday.
So many wonderful collaborations popped up in the past couple of years that blended artists and genres that we never would have previously imagined. I’m so excited today to add a new partnership to that list -Jazzy Ash (Ashli St. Armant) and Red Yarn (Andy Ferguson). I’m not sure what took this duo so long to get together but I’m glad that they did because the combination of Jazzy Ash’s jazz infused style and Red Yarn’s folk/Americana sensibilities perfectly combine to create music that tells stories and entertains all at the same time.
For the last decade, I worked in a community where the majority of families had at least four children, which meant at any given time they were struggling to find music that would appeal to a range of ages and musical tastes. Often the solution to this dilemma was musical or movie soundtracks. Now there’s a new option – 
The world of children’s music experienced a devastating loss recently with the unexpected passing of Morgan Taylor. The creative force behind Gustafer Yellowgold, a little drop of sunshine come to Earth, Morgan’s talent as an artist and a musician led to two GRAMMY-nominations as well as Audible’s award for Best Children’s Audiobook. Over the past few days there has been an outpouring of love from those who were friends with Morgan and those whose lives had been brightened by his music. Even though I never had the privilege of meeting Morgan, I was fortunate enough to see him perform in 2018 at the Children’s GRAMMY-nominee concert in New York City. When he first appeared on stage, you weren’t sure what to expect from this unassuming guy carrying a guitar, then the magic began and Morgan put on a truly delightful performance that was a treat for the ears and the eyes. The world may be a little darker place without Morgan Taylor in it, but through the legacy of 
Josh Lovelace
Family music artist 
New Zealand-based 
Along with Sing for the Sea – Little Wild Ocean Friends, Claudia worked with her sister Dr. Melissa R. Gunn and award-winning watercolor artist Elise De Silva to create a companion songbook that includes science notes and activity ideas for each song. Originally due out in July, when Claudia heard about the “Ocean’s of Possibilities” theme, she decided to give American audiences a chance to gain early access. The digital songbook and album are available now on Bandcamp (see 
One of the things that I’ve discovered this past year is that there is a wealth of children’s performers in Australia and New Zealand that I previously hadn’t heard a lot about here in the States. But with performers across the globe embracing the digital market, that is changing. A couple of months ago I was introduced to the talented, Australia-based 
It’s Earth Day! Celebrate this rock we call home with a new, high-octane tune from Esther Crow. Disheartened by ever-growing landfills that contribute to the climate crisis and inspired by purging some of her own “stuff,” Esther wrote this song to encourage families to be greener and consider donating items they no longer want rather than tossing them in the trash. Produced by Dean Jones, this call-and-response rock song which features Esther’s eight-year-old son on mandolin and violin, gets the message across in a gloriously frenetic way. After jamming along, listeners will surely be left with the desire to take a good hard look at all their “stuff.”