NEW ALBUM FROM JESSA CAMPBELL AND THE SAPLINGS

Bringing a funky flair to dynamic music that celebrates the rich biodiversity of the forest, FOREST FLOW, the second album for families from Parents’ Choice Award-winning Jessa Campbell & the Saplings, was released today. Forest Flow is available on all major music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Bandcamp. This new album from Jessa Campbell and the Saplings incorporates elements of hip-hop, pop, dance, and folk to create a fun, engaging kindie music experience that kids will love.

From her home in Portland, Oregon, Jessa Campbell writes upbeat, danceable, STEM- and ecology-based songs that are inspired by the musical tastes of her own children and informed by the styles of the adult bands with which she regularly performs. Forest Flow is a collaborative album, weaving together contributions from some of Jessa’s favorite artists and friends: GRAMMY-nominated hip-hop musician SaulPaul, LDW (Portland’s Talking Heads tribute and new wave/funk band), TravisT of Eastern Sunz (multi-award-winning hip-hop duo), Palo-Mah (Mexican-American folk songstress), and Native hip-hop artist 2 8 Tha Native.

While its focus is on ecology and STEM-related topics, FOREST FLOW avoids feeling preachy or didactic. Instead, the songs are playful and imaginative, encouraging kids to explore the natural world, discover its wonders for themselves, and get up and move their bodies. Age-appropriate and easy-to-sing-along-with lyrics make Forest Flow wonderful for family car rides or dance parties at home.

The album kicks off with “Rainbow Flow,” which features two-time GRAMMY-nominated Saul Paul and is already receiving airplay on SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live. “Movement is Chemistry,” a Talking Heads-inspired synth-pop number that is also receiving airplay on Kids Place Live, was written with and features LDW. On “Vuela, Vuela, Fly,” Palo-Mah and Campbell sing a bilingual story about monarch butterflies who start out as eggs on milkweed plants in the United States and end up traveling all the way to Mexico, where the song’s lyrics change to Spanish.

“For this album with the newer pop/dance/hip-hop sound that I’m bringing to the table, my band is made up of musicians who play with LDW,” Campbell commented to ageekdaddy.com. “These fabulous musicians are top notch players who really take the show to the next level for families. LDW’s lead singer, Lawrence Orleck, and I have been performing together for 8 years in that ensemble! Since we both have 7-year-olds, we decided it was time to write some funky music for our kids, whose musical tastes have expanded since the 2019 release of my previous kids’ album, the folk-oriented Can You Feel It?”

Make learning fun by incorporating STEM into fun things like music has been one of my parenting mantras. So, I'm GEEKED that Jessica Campbell has provided me with some free digital download codes for FOREST FLOW to giveaway. If you have a preschool or elementary school aged child in your life don't miss out on this blog giveaway!

Just complete the rafflecopter entries below before 11:59pm ET on June 18, 2023 for a chance to get FOREST FLOW for free. Winners will be randomly selected from all eligible entries. Must be a United States resident 18 years or older to participate in this promotion. Good luck!

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Jessa Campbell bridges the worlds of music and ecology, enchanting young audiences with the wonders of nature through her songs. With a background that includes performing in the national touring production of the hit television show Dragon Tales, Jessa is no stranger to children’s entertainment. She has traveled the world as lead singer/dancer on Holland America world cruises, sung backup for Wayne Newton, and headlined many festivals with Portland-based LDW (Talking Heads tribute and original funk band) and Taken by the Sky (Fleetwood Mac tribute band, in which Jessa performs as “Stevie Nicks”). Jessa has studied with Lorna Luft, Barry Manilowe, and Doug Hallenbeck, and she has also been privileged to learn from several world-renowned vocal teachers during time spent performing at the Chautauqua Opera House.

She began writing ecology-based songs with her young students in a “Wonders of Nature” class at a local learning center. Together, they explored simple science concepts through music, which ultimately led to the creation of Jessa’s first family album, Can You Feel It? released in 2019. Can You Feel It? landed a Parents’ Choice Silver Award, was featured on SiriusXM’s Kids Place Live channel, and enjoyed the "High Five Album of the Week" spotlight on Australia’s Kinderling Kids Radio.

BABY NINJA KINDIE ROCK ALBUM

Take a little bit of pop, a pinch of Americana, and a dash of African rhythm. Add in a taste of Cajun flavor, a touch of country and western with a Japanese flair, (and some dirty socks), and you have what fans have come to expect from Kelli Welli: originality, personality, a dose of the ridiculous, and lots and lots of love. The 16 tracks on the upcoming kindie rock album BABY NINJA explode with Kelli Welli’s creativity and include contributions from fellow family music artists and talented friends Uncle Jumbo, Claudia Robin Gunn, Nanny Nikki, Stacey Peasley, and the album’s co-producer and multi-instrumentalist, Bryan Daste. BABY NINJA, the fourth album for families from John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize winner Kelli Welli, is being released June 16, 2023 on Amazon, Bandcamp, kelliwelli.com and streaming on all major platforms.

If you are geeked about kindie rock then you'll love this giveaway. This geek daddy has prize packs that include the album and a 40-page comic book inspired by BABY NINJA. I'll randomly pick a few winners from all the eligible entries. To toss your name in the hat for a chance to get a FREE prize pack courtesy of Kelli Welli, just complete the rafflecopter entries before 11:59 pm on June 18, 2023. Must be United State resident over 18 years old to participate in this promotion. Good luck!

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BABY NINJA bursts out of the gate with the album’s title track, infused with a Southwestern, retro-martial-arts spy vibe underscored by this takeaway: never underestimate the very real power of a baby! Other highlights include an unabashed ode to joy, “You’re a Sunny Day,” featuring Uncle Jumbo, and “When You Dance,” a chant performed by Kelli Welli with Nanny Nikki, Claudia Robin Gunn, and Stacey Peasley. “Water Baby,” written for and about Kelli’s daughter, Kira, who absolutely loves being in the water, features a great vocal harmony background and a dazzling organ solo by Jenny Conlee of the well-known Portland-based band, The Decembrists. Kelli’s son, Ryan, is heard on “Ryan the Lion,” which he co-wrote with Kelli when he was seven years old.

The traditional “Frère Jacques” is sung in five languages, each paired with an instrument that represents the language’s native country. “Dirty Socks” is a sibling song to Kelli Welli’s popular “Stinky Shoe” from her 2022 album, Robots Don’t Tell Jokes. Kelli swears that “Dirty Socks” was written by her dog, Piper Peach.

In collaboration with illustrator Belén Toscano, Kelli has created an accompanying 40-page comic book based on BABY NINJA'S title track. A bold statement about the amazing and powerful things babies do every day, the comic book will be released alongside the BABY NINJA album.

“We’re having a great time making this music, but we also try really hard to make even the silliest of our songs smart, respecting kids’ brains and hoping the parents enjoy them just as much,” Kelli Welli communicated to ageekdaddy.com. “We have been so excited to create and share BABY NINJA! The title track trumpets from the album’s onset that we’re continuing to stretch the ways we present songs for kids and the people who love them.”

Kelli Caldwell, who performs for kids as Kelli Welli, is an active songwriter in both the children’s and singer-songwriter/Americana (“grown-up”) music arenas. She has released three award-winning children’s albums and was the Grand Prize Winner in the children’s category of the 2021 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. All three of her children’s albums won the prestigious National Parenting Products Award. She is a three-time winner of the West Coast Songwriters International Song Contest and was a finalist in the Great American Song Contest. Kelli is currently a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition, where she also reached the finals in 2019, 2020, and 2022. 

WHAT IS KINDIE ROCK

Musical artists who focus on content meant for children have developed their own niche that has become known as KINDIE ROCK. Many of these performers started off performing to adult audiences and have transitioned their styles to be suitable to youthful listeners. Dan Zanes (lead singer for the Del Fuegos), The Verve Pipe, and They Might Be Giants from performing at bars and stadiums to playing at libraries and community events as they've become leading artists in kindie rock.

Kindie rock artists don't necessarily alter their music style but instead the content so it is family friendly and in addition to being entertaining often incorporate educational aspects into their tunes. Kindie rock, also known as "kindie", is a style of children's music that melds the sensibility of a singer-songwriter with themes aimed at kids. Often times kindie rock is aimed at preschoolers; but some artists fine tune their performances for elementary school or junior high aged kids. Kindie Rock niche though tends to be mainly children aged 2 through 8 years old. 

I found my kids learned a lot while having fun listening to kindie rock songs when they were preschool and elementary school aged. Listening to songs at home and going to see performers provided good times and bonding opportunities. The best kindie rock artists are those whose music not only entertains children, but the moms and dads who are also in the audience. There is a reason kindie rock is referred to as not just children's music but "family music." 

My own kids' current appreciation of music goes back to us enjoying kindie rock as a family. They were exposed to various types of music by different kindie rock artists including the blues, jazz, folk tunes, country, latin music and more. Listening to music became engrained with them as something enjoyable to do. So, I regularly share information about kindie artists on this blog as a way to share the enjoyment my family has had with others. I hope you tune into these posts. Rock on! 

SING YOUR SONG

As my kids have entered middle-school, we've had some tear jerking moments regarding bullying and peer pressure that have put them in some tough situations. The tween and teen-aged years are a time of finding self-identity and it can be hard for kids to stay true to their self nature as they feel compelled to fit in with the crowd. This can cause anxiety, misbehavior and other troubles as kids try to be who others want them to be. 

That is why establishing a good foundation of self worth and confidence with children in their preschool and elementary school years is so important. One way of doing that is exposing them to uplifting messaging while having an entertaining time by the family enjoying kindie rock together. With that in mind, I wanted to give a plug to the newest album from The Harmonica Pocket titled SING YOUR SONG which is filled with music that is not just fun to listen to but has content to promote the value of self-identity and being proud to be your own person with children.

The Harmonic Pocket is led by singer-songwriter Keeth Monta Apgar. He is joined by a number of musical artists in this album made for families to enjoy together. SING YOUR SONG revolves around the theme of "being yourself, in hopes of empowering young people," Apgar mentioned in pitching the album to a Geek Daddy. “The primary message could be summed up in this couplet from the title song: ‘You may not sound like everybody else/But you sound just like yourself.’ In other words, be yourself because you’re the only one who can sing the song that lives inside your heart.”

One of Apgar’s favorite vocalists, Renee Stahl, of Renee & Jeremy, sings harmony on the title track. Renee and Apgar are accompanied on electric bass by beloved children’s musician Johnny Bregar and by first-call Seattle drummer Eric Eagle. Check out a special solo acoustic performance of the title track Sing Your Song by Apgar that is a little bit unique from the song on the album:

Other highlights of the album include a giddy nonsense number, “Everything Is Everywhere,” sung as a duet by Apgar and his childhood friend Tom Gilhuley, backed by Johnny Bregar and Nashville percussionist Kevin Rapillo, who has, for nearly two decades, played drums for country music star Rodney Atkins. “I Can Be The Princess” challenges some of the outdated gender roles that people still tend to slip into, while celebrating the imaginative play of children. The lovely “Wee A Tilly” is so evocative of traditional Celtic folksong that it inspired Apgar’s collaboration with Russian illustrator Ekaterina Bogdan on a beautiful music video. The Harmonica Pocket’s version of “Stand By Me” is a masterful rendition of one of the most memorable songs of the sixties. Apgar noted, “I love this song’s simple message of sticking together despite – and because of – our differences.”

The Harmonica Pocket SING YOUR SONG is available on Amazon.com. Buy it with a Geek Daddy affiliate link and this dad blogger will receive a small commission at no additional expense to your purchase.

Courtesy of Keeth Monta Apgar, a Geek Daddy also has 3 copies of The Harmonica Pocket's SING YOUR SONG to giveaway. Our lucky winner's can choose to receive a digital download of the album r have Apgar's publicist mail you a compact disc of The Harmonica Pocket's SING YOUR SONG. Just complete the rafflecopter entries below before 11:59pm ET on November 7, 2021 for a chance to win. Must be a United States resident over 18 years old to participate in this promotion. Good luck!

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