Summertime is a great time to share music together with family and friends. Memories can be made, when everyone’s singing along to favorite songs around the campfire, at family parties and on the road.
It’s also fun to discover new music, particularly with kids in tow. Luckily, we live in Portland, where there’s a vibrant independent children’s music scene. While “The Wheels on the Bus” will no doubt keep rolling along until your head is spinning, a parent can also lead a kid to other excellent options. Live music is one way to explore what you (and your kids) will enjoy.
For almost a full day of live music, don’t miss Rox in Sox (www.roxinsox.org), the second annual free music and books festival in Lake Oswego on Saturday, August 2 (NW Kids is a media sponsor). You can participate in a fully interactive show with local folk artist Red Yarn, or play air guitar along with the kids from the local School of Rock. Festival organizer Aaron Nigel Smith and his One World Chorus of local kids (www.oneworldchorus.org) also invite singing along – last year, their reggae grooves brought everyone on their feet.
Two artists from Seattle’s famed Kindiependent collective will be rocking out at Rox in Sox with songs from new albums: The Not-Its! (www.wearethenot-its.com) and Recess Monkey (www.recessmonkey.com ). Both just released new albums this summer. Check out their new music videos, both created on location in the Northwest:
The Not-Its! “Haircut” – http://youtu.be/FOWSeQui754
Recess Monkey – “Wired” – http://youtu.be/9akc6mCd6oo
Summertime can also mean serious declines in educational skills, as many teachers discover at the beginning of each school year. Slow down the summer “brain drain” with snappy new educational songs from Mister G (www.mistergsongs.com). Mister G is an internationally acclaimed, bilingual artist from Massachusetts who will be performing at a few Multnomah County Library locations during August 5 to7. Check out his schedule here (https://multcolib.org/node/25942), and watch his newly debuted video “Love To Read,” here: http://youtu.be/G2coOPttic8
