Warren's Children's Music Blog

Yep, just in time for the November Presidential race (and maybe as a refreshing departure from the bad vibes of recent debates) Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment presents Schoolhouse Rock! The Election Collection. Released on September 23, the DVD includes the new song "Presidential Minute," along with classic videos like "I'm Just a Bill," "Preamble," "Three-Ring Government," "Electoral College," "Shot Heard 'Round the World," and the more recent tune "I'm Gonna Send Your Vote to College."

Now, naysayers might argue that it would be much more economical to go ahead and buy the Schoolhouse Rock! Special 30th Anniversary Edition, a two-disc set released in 2002 that included everything Schoolhouse Rock-related. But the new Election Collection is perfect for classrooms in that it collects all the electoral process videos into one neat little package. Plus, the new DVD comes with an "Election Tracking Kit" that will help kids keep track of the upcoming election results in all 50 states with maps and stickers.

Essential? No.

Useful? Yes.

Fun? Definitely!

Kids' music star Laurie Berkner will present her first ever webcast tonight at 8:00 pm EST, when she'll read fan letters and perform an acoustic version of "Rocketship Run," the title song from her latest album. The webcast will be hosted on her official Two Tomatoes website, where new and exclusive Laurie Berkner merchandise will be available immediately following the webcast.

Here's a Laurie Berkner profile to get you caught up on what this artist has been up to lately, and to see how she got to her current superstar status.

The 2008 Parents' Choice Awards for children's audio were awarded October 2, and the Gold Award winners should come as no surprise to children's music fans: Putumayo's African Dreamland, Frances England's Family Tree, Gunnar Madsen's I'm Growing, and Ralph's World's The Rhyming Circus. The Parents' Choice judges also gave out seven Silver Awards, nine Recommended Awards, and 19 Approved Awards.

Also worth checking out are the two artists who received Classic Awards, given to performers whose albums were released several years ago, but are still fresh and entertaining today. The 1998 album Singing With Treblemakers: Songs for Young Singers by The Treblemakers Children's Choir, and Jack Pearson's 1995 folk album Singin' in Our Own Back Yard are this year's Parents' Choice Classic albums, and join previous recipients such as Raffi's Quiet Time, Ella Jenkins' Seasons for Singing, and Pete Seeger's American Folk, Game, and Activity Songs for Children.

Good news and bad news for Nickelodeon's Yo Gabba Gabba! fans: the show finally made it to DVD in the form of Yo Gabba Gabba!: The Dancey Dance Bunch!, and will be released on October 14, 2008. BUT, only four episodes from the first season will be included on this single disc. A similar move by Nickelodeon got under the skin of Jack's Big Music Show fans a few years ago when that show's "first season" DVD similarly included only four episodes.

So the question is this: are fans going to pass on the Yo Gabba Gabba DVD when it includes only a quarter of the first season's episodes, or will they go ahead and buy it anyway?

The annual Austin City Limits Music Festival kicks off today, and their family-friendly Austin Kiddie Limits lineup is loaded with great kids' bands and performers. The three-day shindig will feature rock & roll from The Jimmies, Uncle Rock, and Mr. Ray; R&B/hip-hop from The Q Brothers and Big Don; bluesy rock from Jambo; and country twang from Buck Howdy.

Over the next few days I'll be posting updates, photo albums, and reviews generously provided by children's music experts and bloggers Bill Childs (www.sparetherock.com) and Stefan Shepherd (www.zooglobble.com). Childs and Shepherd also organized the second annual Family Music Meltdown, a sort of alternative to the official AKL festival that will be held at Austin's Ruta Maya Coffee House Saturday evening, featuring an all-Austin kids' band lineup!

Here's a run-down of both festivals:

Austin Kiddie Limits -

Friday, September 26:

• Uncle Rock 11:30am
• Q Brothers 12:30pm
• Jambo 1:30pm
• Big Don 2:30pm
• Anthropos 3:15pm
• Paul Green's School of Rock All-Stars 3:30pm

Saturday, September 27:

• Jambo 11:30am
• Uncle Rock 12:30pm
• Buck Howdy 1:30pm
• Mr. Ray 2:30pm
• "Special Guest" 3:15pm
• The Jimmies 3:30pm

Sunday, September 28:

• Big Don 11:30am
• Buck Howdy 12:30pm
• Mr. Ray 1:30pm
• The Jimmies 2:30pm
• Nicole Atkins 3:15pm
• Paul Green's School of Rock All-Stars 3:30pm

Family Music Meltdown -

Saturday, September 27, beginning at 6:00pm:

• Super Pal Universe (special acoustic set)
• Mr. Leebot
• The Telephone Company
• Laura Freeman
• Joe McDermott & The Smart Little Creatures (full band)

If you're feelin' groovy, just kickin' down the cobblestones by the 59th Street Bridge in Manhattan, go ahead and take the Tram (or the F train) over to Roosevelt Island for their Kidfest in October. Every Saturday next month, kids' bands will be rockin' the Roosevelt Island Kidfest from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Bands include The Deedle Deedle Dees, Uncle Rock, and Audra Rox, as well as a performance by Broadway Babies, a New York City-based Broadway music program for children 0-5 years.

Here's the complete lineup and dates:

• October 4 - The Deedle Deedle Dees
• October 11 - Broadway Babies
• October 18 - Uncle Rock & The Playthings
• October 25 - Audra Rox

Children's music superstar Laurie Berkner got a great writeup in the September issue of New York Family magazine. The article includes a short bio to get everyone caught up, then gets into Berkner's personal life, including the birth of her daughter Lucy, songwriting, and living in Manhattan.

The article also discusses bandmates Adam Bernstein and Susie Lampert's increased musical involvement in Berkner's latest CD, Rocketship Run. And for the die-hard fans, Berkner writes liner notes on ten of her most popular kids' songs. You can read the entire article about Laurie Berkner on the New York Family website.

On Sunday, October 5, The New York Times and Target will team up to present a day full of books and music with their fourth annual New York Times Great Children's Read. The festivities, all FREE!, take place on the campus of Columbia University on Manhattan's Upper West Side, and will feature live read alouds, book signings, and concerts for kids and their families.

Celebrities will be reading from a list of favorite New York City stories hand-picked by children's librarians from the five boroughs' three library systems: Brooklyn Public Library, The New York Public Library, and Queens Library. Family music favorite Dan Zanes will read Arthur Dorros' picture book Abuela, illustrated by Elisa Kleven, at 11:45 am at the New York Times Reading Stage, a perfect tie-in for his latest kids' CD, the bilingual Nueva York!.

The big draw for kids' music lovers will be the Target stage, where children's performers will entertain families alongside authors reading from their works. Musical highlights include Justin Roberts, Johnny and the Sprites, Choo-Choo Soul, Lisa Loeb, They Might Be Giants, and D.J. Lance Rock and Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba!. Check out the full lineup on the New York Times Great Children's Read site.

Putumayo's latest musical offering for kids is the compilation Sesame Street Playground: Songs and Videos from Around the World. The two disc package includes 13 songs and five videos from worldwide productions of Sesame Street, including The Netherlands, France, Tanzania, Brazil, and Palestine.

Nobody could touch songwriter Joe Raposo's work on Sesame Street, so it's no surprise his classic tune "Sing" (The Carpenters took it to #3 in 1973) is by far the best on the CD. Other highlights include the song "Galli Galli Sim Sim," the theme song from India's version of Sesame Street; and "Rubber Duckie" from the Chinese production of the show, which sounds to be the original backing track of Jeff Moss' tune with overdubbed vocals!

Check out the videos as well: India's "Gali Gali Sim Sim" tops the bunch with their colorful and slickly-produced animation/live action show-opener. Also interesting is Russia's entry, "The Song of the Caretakers," from Ulitsa Sezam with Na-Na. The video, backed by a tune that sounds vaguely like McCartney & Jackson's "The Girl is Mine," shows workers reporting faithfully to their jobs, sweeping away the tears of yesterday and bringing today's sunshine.

Another great compilation by Putumayo, and an excellent way to promote cultural awareness musically.

Run on over to Justin Roberts' Official Website and enter your youngster in his "Back to School Contest." The winner receives a kid-sized guitar and a copy of his CD Pop Fly, both autographed by Roberts himself!

Roberts has traveled an interesting road on his way to kids' music stardom: check out this artist profile I recently put together. And good luck with the contest!