Sunny Days Ahead
They say great minds think alike and clearly that is the case with the new albums from Wendy & DB and Brady Rymer and The Little Band That Could. Not only do the albums have similar titles, Get Your Sunny Side UP and Sunny Side Up, but they both encourage listeners to start each day fresh with a heart filled with love and joy.
After exploring the Blues on their last two family albums, Wendy & DB return to their pop roots with Get Your Sunny Side UP. The album kicks off with the title track, featuring Wendy’s powerful vocals, encouraging listeners to start each day with a new, positive attitude. This is followed by the bluesy “I’m in a Mood,” “Never Give Up” starring some ethereal vocals from Pierce Freelon, the bilingual “Ouchie Ya Ya” with Flor Bromley, and “Talk About It,” an important song for children and adults about not just talking to one another, but listening to each other in order to find a middle ground. Wendy & DB continue to celebrate and urge everyone to protect the environment with “Recycling Bins” and “Little Bird/Big World” featuring the incredible vocal stylings of Secret Agent 23 Skidoo. In a departure from their usual vibes, they mix things up with the loud, cacophony that aptly matches tone with subject matter with “Let’s Make a MeSs.” Two tracks that would be perfect in storytime include the love and joy filled “Rainbow in My Heart” which would pair well with ribbons or scarves, and “If You’re Happy and You Know It,” a high octane, fresh take on an old standard. Get Your Sunny Side Up will be a hit with children and adults of all ages. Take a peek at their latest video, “Seymour the Sloth.”
For Brady Rymer and The Little Band That Could, life is Sunny Side Up. For 25 years. Rymer’s music has always been imbued with positivity and kindness, and this latest collection is no different. His hallmark pop-rock-folk sound lifts each of the songs up, filling them with happiness and a sense of joy that is underscored by the band’s effortless harmonies. The album opens with the title track, an upbeat tune that emphasizes that every day is a fresh start. The themes of friendship and togetherness are explored on “Me and My Friends” and “The Reason is You” while kindness is the star in “When You’re Kind,” a lovely duet between Rymer and Laurie Berkner. Additional songs celebrate the simple pleasures in life like laundry on the line, a baby bird preparing to fly, and a dandelion in the wind making this album perfect for family listening as we continue our journey from spring into the lazy, hazy days of summer.
I was first introduced to the music of 
Chicago-based children’s music artists Wendy Morgan and Darryl Boggs don’t just talk the talk, they also walk the walk. Along with writing music about helping protect the environment, the animals within it and general messages about having love for one another, for years the duo has donated part of the proceeds from their albums to the VH1 Save the Music Foundation and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots. While the target audience for the music from their albums is at the preschool through early grade school level, Wendy & DB make time each year to work with local middle and high school students throughout the Chicagoland area to create music that is important not only to the students, but to the larger global community as well.
The first of the two children’s music concerts that I was able to attend over the weekend was held Friday morning at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. Sponsored by Kids Rhythm and Rock, Chicago’s own Wendy & DB performed two concerts to benefit the museum, VH1 Save the Music and Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots. These engaging, interactive performances had children up and dancing as they heard songs including, “Pink Flamingo,” “Watersong,” “Girl Superhero,” and the blissfully exhausting “HopScotch.” I don’t know about the little ones, but after those high energy performances, I was just about ready for a nap.
