New Music for NW Kids
New tunes for summer, videos for rainy days, and the promise of Portland’s first family music fest
Summer is finally here! And, what’s summer without fresh tunes? Luckily, we are living in one of the best places on earth for family friendly music.
Portland’s family folk hero Red Yarn recently released a made-in-Oregon music video for his song “Old Hen Cackled.” The music site Americana Highways debuted it. It may just inspire families as the election season heats up, and it’s so catchy.
New this month is Can You Feel It? – an album from newcomers to Portland’s kids music scene, Jessa Campbell & the Saplings. Jessa celebrates the wonders of nature and the Pacific Northwest eco-system with her gorgeous voice, country-folk musical vibes and STEM-based lyrics. Here’s a link to the “Can You Feel It?” music video, featuring local kiddos. She performs regular gigs at Alberta Street Pub, Hoot ‘N Annie’s, and Know Thy Food. Catch the full band (with opener Kelli Welli) on Sunday, June 9th at the Secret Society (it’s just one of the amazing Sunday happy hour shows in the Not-So-Secret family concert series.
Coming soon will be a brand-new Robot EP from indie pop artists Ants Ants Ants. On June 20th, right before they embark on a little east coast tour (including SiriusXM radio and Wolf Trap Theatre-in-the-Woods), Johnny, Dave and Nat will release the first “Robot Robot” single.
Here’s an exclusive NW Kids preview of this fun new song at this streaming link.
This summer, the libraries will be alive with music. I’m so much looking forward to Latin Grammy winners The Lucky Band, who will perform at a few Multnomah County Libraries during June 9 to 12, and at the Portland Children’s Museum on July 13th. Have you heard Lucky and Alisha’s new album Buenos Diaz? Their extremely peppy #Spanglish “Taco Tuesday” song and video could be a recurring theme this summer!
And, if you missed Latin Grammy winners 123 Andrés when they were here in April, they’ll be returning for the Building Bridges Family Music Festival on Sunday, September 22nd. Their Portland stop will come after more than 50 concerts celebrating the release of their new language learning album Canta las Letras. NW Kids Magazine is a media sponsor of Portland’s first family music festival. Tickets for the 2-day Building Bridges festival will go on sale this month.
Meanwhile, please check out the summer road trip playlist I curated for you on SoundCloud. It could just carry you from here to there in musical style! Check out our Family Music Roundup!
