Family Music Roundup: The Best of 2018
If you’re looking for some great children’s music to share with your family and friends, we’ve gone through and picked out the best. Lucky for us, Oregon is home to some of the top names in kindie (kid+indie) music and several artists will be playing venues in Portland this winter. This holiday, give the gift of music with these five albums that are sure to make kids sing, dance, laugh, and think.
Winterland
Winterland, a new Americana Folk album by the Grammy Award-winning duo, the Okee Dokee Brothers, makes the perfect gift for families who love the outdoors. Their exuberant yet introspective collection of 16 original songs offers a refreshing, wide-eyed view of the most exciting time of year. Winterland makes the perfect car-ride soundtrack for trips to Mount Hood or Mount Bachelor with songs about playing in the snow and enjoying the outdoors. While also embracing the cycles of loss and new life, darkness and light, bitter cold and warmth, Winterland reflects that winter is not only a season, but a feeling we carry within.
The Okee Dokee Brothers will perform at McMenamins Mission Theatre in Portland on March 17 at 3 pm. Tickets are $12 and available at www.mcmenamins.com/events/196458-the-okee-dokee-brothers.
Why Why Why
Why Why Why by the new Portland-based kindie duo Ants, Ants, Ants is a curious album that celebrates a childlike wonder of the natural world. Johnny Clay and Dave Gulick have been members of Portland’s independent music scene for the past decade and their new project for kids and families reflect childhood at its best with a collection of warm and playful songs. Their stylistic nods to 1970s era Sesame Street, School House Rock, and “The Point” by Harry Nilsson target not only the kids in our lives, but the kid in all of us.
Ants, Ants, Ants just released a new single called “Christmas Time,” and they will be playing at venues and libraries across the Pacific Northwest this winter. Checkout their show listings at www.antsantsants.com/shows. Catch their performance video: https://youtu.be/YSUpuMJfAfo
And “Christmas Time” – https://youtu.be/Pah-4_JZ4jw
Red Yarn’s Old Barn
Beloved Portland-based family folksinger and puppeteer, Red Yarn, tells of an epic barn dance where critters of all kinds are welcome in his album Red Yarn’s Old Barn. Red Yarn’s playful and personal country rock songs paint the Old Barn as an inclusive microcosm of the U.S. The first track sets the welcoming tone as Red and his wife, Miss Jessie, invite a diverse band of animals into their ramshackle barn. With an apathetic rooster, an activist hen, a proud horse, a neglected cow, a free-spirited sheep, and a rigid sheriff, the cast of characters represents many sides of American democracy. As the story unfolds, a wild barn dance sparks a disastrous fire. But the community reunites to rebuild, for “it takes a village to raise a barn.”
Red Yarn is playing venues across Portland this winter. See his show schedule at www.redyarnproductions.com.
Hold Tight Shine Bright
The Hold Tight Shine Bright Collective
In response to the separation of immigrant and refugee families at the border, 33 of the top artists in family music banded together to create Hold Tight Shine Bright. All proceeds from this compilation album benefit RAICES Texas, a nonprofit organization that provides legal aid to displaced immigrant and refugee families. The dozens of children’s musicians, artists, collaborators, and contributors on this album believe that families seeking refuge in the U.S. need to remain together. The album features of 27 songs of hope and comfort and offers the opportunity to start a difficult conversation with children about the current political climate.
Portland’s Red Yarn and Aaron Nigel Smith both contributed songs.
Hold Tight Shine Bright can be purchased digitally on iTunes and Bandcamp.
Nothing Is Impossible
Perhaps you know the Story Pirates from their top podcast for children. They are a nationally touring children’s comedy troupe who turn kids’ stories into hilarious songs and sketches. The Story Pirates recently released their first album Nothing Is Impossible offering listeners an eccentric array of topics and uniquely fun insight into the imaginations of children. Lin-Manuel Miranda calls the first song on the album “Fart Out Loud Day” a “masterpiece.” The song is based on the story submission of two sisters in Colorado. Nothing Is Impossible is perfect for children and families who love to laugh.
Learn more about the Story Pirates at www.storypirates.com.
-Written by Talia Smith
