A key difference between major touring musicians and kids musicians is the touring. The vast majority of children's recording artists are regionally-based and tour extensively within the surrounding real estate. It's similar to the old territorial days of pro wrestling, where the McMahon family "controlled" the East Coast tri-state area and Roy Shire ran the West Coast San Francisco area. Speaking of touring and San Francisco, SF resident Frances England made a NY swing this past weekend.
After two shows at Lincoln Center, England and musicians Stew Peck and Chris Chan dropped by the Long Island Children's Museum for a pair of performances. We made able to see the 2 pm concert along with a small contingent of attendees, muted no doubt by that afternoon's Super Bowl.
The timing was unfortunate, but the concert was intimate and fanciful. England's songs are up-close and personal, and that's exactly the experience that everyone received. From Chris Chan leading a conga line of children around the auditorium to kids shouting out their favorite toys and even one emboldened tyke attempting to abscond with her water bottle.
England spanned the scope of her recording career, with key selections from the Grammy-nominated EXPLORER OF THE WORLD and MIND OF MY OWN. There were even videos running behind many of the songs, which turned the concert into a full multimedia presentation (as you can see from the selections here).
The LICM does fewer children's music shows than other metropolitan venues. However that works, as location-wise they draw more of an audience from Suffolk and Nassau County then the New York city-based facilities. The theater remains a delightful, hidden pleasure to see a diverse selection of national musicians doing their "due diligence."
Coming in March to the LICM: Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band (Sunday, March 4 at 11:30 am and 2 pm)
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