I talked a couple weeks ago about the best places to see kids music live, but I specifically excluded summer festivals from my list. Now, sometimes those are big weekend festivals like Kidzapalooza or the KC Jiggle Jam, but they could also include ongoing series like Mad. Sq. Kids (that's their abbreviation, not mine) in New York City. It's their ninth season, and their lineup this year includes Elizabeth Mitchell, Father Goose, Trout Fishing in America, AudraRox, the Deedle Deedle Dees, Dog on Fleas, The Jimmies, and more. For free.
Sigh. If you live in NYC (or visit between June 9 and August 13), your cup runneth over. Here's the lineup:
Austin Kiddie Limits 2009 Lineup Announced
The lineup for the 2009 Austin City Limits Festival (Oct. 2-4) has been announced, including the Austin Kiddie Limits stage...
Ralph's World
Milkshake
Q Brothers
Telephone Company
Lunch Money
... are definitely there. It's unclear whether Quinn Sullivan, Palm School Elementary, and Loose Cannons are playing the AKL stage or one of the other stages. Secret Agent 23 Skidoo is also listed (at his site) as performing at AKL, so I'm kinda thinking there are a couple more acts to be added.
Top of the bill is a little OK, not great (Pearl Jam, Dave Mathews, Beastie Boys); it's the undercard, as always, that's where it's at (Levon Helm, Sonic Youth, Lily Allen, Blitzen Trapper, etc.) And for those of you looking for (potential) kids stage cameos, look no further than Medeski Martin & Wood, Terri Hendrix, and Andrew Bird...
B Is For Bob, G Is For Grammy, so Z...
... must be for Ziggy. It's a lousy Scrabble hand, but a busy spring for Ziggy Marley. His Family Time album comes out May 5th, then a month later, Marley's playing Club Nokia on Saturday, June 6th as part of the GRAMMY Museum's monthly "Musical Explorations" program for families. It's Marley's first family-specific concert along with Rhythm Child and unsurprisingly, it's for the "What Is Reggae?" show.
And if that wasn't enough, on June 23rd Marley will release B Is For Bob. As previously reported, the album features Ziggy tackling his father's catalog, remixing, adding some tracks, reimagining, as it were, some classic Bob Marley tracks. The album cover art and track listing after the jump...
Concert Recap: The Deedle Deedle Dees (Phoenix, April 2009)
It was a whirlwind weekend for Brooklyn's Deedle Deedle Dees here in Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun. On Friday they played 3 shows at local elementary schools. Then on Saturday they visited the Children's Museum of Phoenix and played a couple sets in the gorgeous first-floor atrium. Nice mix of the history stuff and sillier, slightly younger stuff. But all I got is new stuff. Remember the "Have the Dees write a song" contest? Here is the winner:
The Deedle Deedle Dees - "Little Red Airplane" (Live)
One of the things I noticed about the show, both at the Children's Museum and at Church of the Beatitudes, where the Dees played a show Sunday afternoon, was just how much more active Lloyd Miller (Ulysses Dee) was than the last time I saw him play (at the Family Music Meltdown Bill and I put on in Austin in 2007). To be sure, the fact that Lloyd was without his standup bass was the primary facotr, but they interacted much more with the crowds I saw. Yay for between-song banter! Yay for band-assisted dinosaur feet!
The Deedle Deedle Dees - "Vegetarian Tyrannosaurus Rex" (Live)
Anyway, the shows were a blast. Look for the Dees' new album (from which 4 of the 5 videos' songs are drawn)sometime in September.
More video and photos after the jump.What's Playing This Weekend? Best Kids Music Venues in the Country
I live in Phoenix, which, as anyone who lives in Phoenix will tell you, is not the most scintillating of live music towns. There are many reasons for that, but I'm doing my best to change that, at least in the kids' music field.
There are certain venues across the country, however, that I draw inspiration from -- venues that manage to find space for both local and national artists, building a kids music community through live shows.
One note -- unfortunately, I've never been to any of these venues. My declaration of these sites as "the best" is based solely on the quality and diversity of their concert lineup. I should also note that this list explicitly excludes libraries and festivals as the former tends not to be able to bring in a bunch of touring musicians and the latter only gives you a weekend of music each year.
Of course, I want to hear about your favorite places to hear music with your family, not just for the quality of the music but also for the quality of the experience. Because no matter how good the show, if there's no place to change your kids' diaper, it's hard for anyone to be a happy camper.
On with the list...
Live in Phoenix: The Deedle Deedle Dees (April 18 & 19)
I'm a little late spreading the news here on the website, but I've been looking forward the first appearances of the occasionally raucous Brooklyn band The Deedle Deedle Dees in Arizona next weekend. Ulysses, Booker, Innocent, and Otto will be playing no less than 3 shows open to the public. On Saturday morning the 18th they'll be playing 2 shows at the Children's Museum of Phoenix in downtown Phoenix, one at 10 AM, the other at 11 AM. The shows are free with admission to the museum. Then on Sunday afternoon the 19th at 2 PM, the Dees will be playing a show at the Church of the Beatitudes. Tickets are just $4/person, $15/family. The Church is at the corner of 7th Avenue and Glendale in Phoenix.
Long time readers will know that I've helped put on a show with the Dees, so I'm very excited to have 'em make it all the way out here...
