Beltway Bambinos

We don’t have Sirius XM in our car and every other time I try to connect my Bluetooth to Pandora, it fails me. So, we rely on good old fashioned CD’s from talented musicians. We are sharing our favorite “kid music”– which more times than not, adults actually find fun and amusing more so than the Bambinos. These artists are creative and make children’s music fun to listen to. Lucky for us, a lot of these musicians make their way to Washington, DC more than once a year. Keep an eye out for upcoming shows.

Zoom a Little Zoom: A Ride Through Science, brought to you by the music geniuses Cathy Fink & Marcy Marker. Great music comes first with the “Constellation Jig”, a Klezmer treatment to the hibernating “Bobo the Bear” and western swing of “Why Does the Sun Shine?”. Boogie-woogie to “What Makes the Lightning?” or learn how to sound like a cricket with “What Is An Insect?”. The new album includes an Activity Guide for each song by Lynn Baum (former head of School Programs at the Museum of Science in Boston), downloadable from the CD. The guide, which features ideas easy to replicate at home or school using household materials, will be available for free download soon.  In upcoming performances and videos, these activities will come alive – experiments and all.

Latin Grammy-winning 123 Andrés takes listeners on an imaginary trip to South America with his newest album release, La luna. The soothing Andean sounds and the delicately composed songs drift listeners of any age to a dream world. Here, a gentle pirate searches for poetic new words, sheep wander on a hillside, and a little blue horse gallops down from the clouds to carry children to sleep.These new and traditional songs, sung mostly in Spanish and featuring a variety of instruments, provide the perfect companion for nap time, bed time, gentle playtime, and even a peaceful drive around town. A few upcoming shows will be on May 5 & May 7 in Washington, DC.

Mr. Gabe, our very own local musician performs regularly around town. Our review from when the CD first launched can be found here.

Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights is “A real genre-bender, containing elements of folk, Southern rock, hip hop, pop and punk presided over by a singer whose sheer command of vocal artistry is second to none.” We were fortunate enough to see her this past summer at Strathmore Backyard Theatre.

Jack Forman is a Grammy nominated family musician & on-air host of Sirius XM’s Kids Place Live. Forman presents an album of 12 songs directly inspired by kid-calls on Live From the Monkey House, conversations with Recess Monkey fans, and dinner-table jokes that spin out of control. You’ll love it!

Lisa Loeb who we all know from way back who had the popular hit, Stay (I Missed You) is now entertaining her fans children. We got the chance to see her live in October at Strathmore AMP. She also has a great children’s CD called Nursery Rhyme Parade that we love.

Laurie Berkner turned her most popular songs into fun, dance remixes that will be recognized by all! She performed locally in January at Gordon Center for Performing Arts.

Mister G is a Latin, Grammy winning, kids bilingual singer! He debuted the songs from Mundo Verde/Green World at the National Climate March in Washington, DC which kicked off his extensive US tour. The songs breathe life into the global environmental message from various angles that are accessible and relevant to both children and adults.

Other albums you may find of interest that we have in our collection–