Let's Hear It for the Moms! - Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Let's Hear It for the Moms! album cover

Artist: Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Album: Let's Hear It for the Moms!

Description: A seven-song sampler of previously-released maternally-related tracks from the New York roots-rocker, downloadable for free.  I would guess that this is a limited-time offer, so don't delay -- Mother's Day has come and gone, but celebrating the mothers in our lives, be it our own or others we know, doesn't go out of style.  I've always liked Rymer's take on "Mama Don't Allow," but all of them are worth the mp3 space.

Source: Bandcamp

"Favorite Cousin" - The Pop Ups

Artist: The Pop Ups

Song: "Favorite Cousin"

Album: N/A

Description: I'll have a separate post on Christmas and holiday music in a few days, but didn't want the free nature of this track to go unnoticed any longer than it had to.  Yes, it's nominally about Christmastime and Hanukkah-time, but really it's about jamming with your favorite-but-not-often-seen family member.

Source: Soundcloud

"Who Grew My Soup?" - Story Laurie

Artist: Story Laurie

Song: "Who Grew My Soup?"

Album: N/A

Description: An educational song with just enough funky groove and ska to make it go down so easy.  When the kids have mastered the melody, you can start reading them The Omnivore's Dilemma at night, right?

Source: Bandcamp

"Hinterlands" - Dog on Fleas

Artist: Dog on Fleas 

Song: "Hinterlands" 

Album: Buy One, Get One Flea 

Description: New music from the New York band Dog on Fleas is always reason for celebration.  Especially when it's free.  It's from their upcoming 2014 album (love that title, by the way), and their description -- "adventurous songs on the jazzier, campier side of things" -- fits this lovely, shambling track perfectly. 

Source: Bandcamp 

"Falling" - Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights

Artist: Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights

Song: "Falling"

Album: N/A

Description: A sweet and slightly zippity song about autumn.  Includes glockenspiel and ukulele, which I hope is enough information to get you to click play on the widget below (and download it if your family is charmed by it).

Source: Bandcamp

Groovin' in the Garden - Story Laurie

You can download five of the tracks from Story Laurie's recent album Groovin' in the Garden via Noisetrade for the price of a mere e-mail.  With Laurie McIntosh handling the vocals and songwriting, and a bunch of musicians including Dog on Fleas' Dean Jones on a kajillion instruments (and producing), it's a fresh (pun intended) take on food-friendly folk.