Hootenanny: Back to Basics 2 – A Kindie production by Bill Childs and Stephanie Mayers

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The Kindie genre is thriving, and one of its strongest aspects is the community. There have been industry conferences, such as the now retired Kindiefest, the newborn (relatively, it’s more like a toddler now) Kindiecomm, and some artist meet-ups and showcases. There is no shortage of people working passionately to support and move this genre forward. Two of those people are Bill Childs (Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child) and Stephanie Mayers (Mayers Consulting).

Bill and Stephanie are producing Hootenanny: Back to Basics 2 (“Hootenanny 2”), a one night event featuring nuthin’ but music from a solid set of collaborations covering a broad range of styles. So solid.

While Hootenanny 2 is primarily geared toward industry folks (kids’ musicians and (kids) music biz folks), it will be open to the public.

The event will be held on Saturday, January 16, 2016 at Jalopy in Brooklyn. Tickets are available here.

Lineup:

Rachel Loshak and Morgan Taylor (Gustafer Yellowgold)
Joanie Leeds and Dan Elliott (Pointed Man Band)
Vered Ronen and Walter Martin
Michael & the Rockness Monsters and Secret Agent 23 Skidoo
Jazzy Ash and KB Whirly
Ashley Albert and Tim Kubart
Danny Weinkauf and AudraRox
Sonia de los Santos and Brady Rymer
Shine (Shine and the Moonbeams) & Dan Zanes
The Deedle Deedle Dees and Moona Luna
Elena Moon Park and The Pop Ups

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Playlist and Videos: Feliz Cinco de Mayo 2015

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This week is full of reasons to celebrate! I’ll be posting things throughout the week in honor of these days, but for today we’ll start with Cinco de Mayo.

Since My daughter started Kindergarten, I have met many families who are working on incorporating more bilingual music and entertainment into their children’s lives. The most common statement I hear is that there is very little selection out there. It’s during these times that I think about how lucky I am to know so many wonderful children’s artists who are making rich, educational and entertaining music for this reason. It would be remiss of me NOT to share some knowledge with them.

As I was listening back to today’s playlist, I kept thinking about how I could listen to these songs any day of the year. There is so much joy, beauty and thought put into these songs. They rock! Every single artist on this list has a unique way of presenting their work, and whether you speak the language or not, you will want to sing along. Though most of the titles below are in Spanish, many the songs themselves contain English and Spanish lyrics, blended seamlessly so that the English translation either immediately precedes or follows the Spanish translation.

As a bonus, I’ve included a new single by Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, an awesome video by Nathalia and a sweet, whimsical video by ¡Uno, Dos, Tres con Andrés!.

It’s a whole musical fiesta up in here today and I encourage you to check everyone out. Clicking on the song names will take you to iTunes where you can sample and download them.

Piñata Attack – Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band [Single]
Nuestra Fiesta – ¡Uno, Dos, Tres con Andrés! [en Español y en inglés]
What Time Is It? – Moona Luna [Vamos, Let’s Go!]
Veo VeoMariana Iranzi [Hola Hello]
Una Concha En La MesaFuture Hits [Today is Forever / Hoy es para siempre]
RatonesMister G [ABC Fiesta]
El Cucuy (feat. Ruben Ramos)Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band [Aquí, Allá]
Arte Perdido – Future Hits [Today is Forever / Hoy es para siempre]
Kidz Rock (feat. Mista Cookie Jar) Twinkle Time [Single]
El Tren – Mariana Iranzi [Hola Hello]
La Pequeña Araña – Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band [Aquí, Allá]
Magical Nathalia [Dream A Little / Sueña un Poquito]
Frota Tu Panza – Mister G [ABC Fiesta]
Ave De Nylon – Future Hits [Today is Forever / Hoy es para siempre]
Tú Eres Mi Amor – Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band [Aquí, Allá]


For more bilingual children’s programming check out the following links:

Mariana Iranzi – Video: Los Pollitos
¡Uno, Dos, Tres con Andrés! – Videos: If I Was A Mariachi and La Clave + La Clave Tutorial
Mister G – Video: Everything’s Free at the Library and Bossy “E”
Twinkle Time – Video: Kidz Rock (fest. Mista Cookie Jar)
Lucky Diaz – ¡Fantastico! Album Review