Never Enough Happiness for Jenn Cleary

My brother used to scream "Freebird" at every concert he attended. Not because he actually needed to hear the classic southern rock song. Most likely, he wanted to see how the performer or band would react. And sometimes, they would respond by singing a verse or chorus. The kids on "Magical Music Train," a track on HAPPY DAY, Jenn Cleary's second collection for children, also want to hear "Freebird." Which shows that kids today are not much different from kids decades ago – they crave the good stuff.

Colorado's Cleary has performed music for more than two decades. She officially entered the children's music space with last year's ALL TOGETHER NOW! and follows it with HAPPY DAY, engaging her younger listeners with bluesy folk rock filled with genial, life-affirming content.

Sustainability is the theme of "Plant a Garden," but Cleary dives right back into the sweet stuff with the subsequent track, "I Like Candy" – more about acknowledging the value of fruits and vegetables than hiding a secret stash of Tootsie Rolls. "Turtle Time" urges children to slow down (to a snail's pace) and enjoy the natural world around them, as nothing lasts forever and we need to enjoy activities in the moment. On "Only One You," Cleary sings about self-reliance and confidence:

There's only one you, no one else is the same
With a wisdom inside you can't even name
You have the key to be who you want to be

If you doubted Jenn Cleary's good intentions, look no further than the non-profit she founded 14 years ago, which promotes innovative, locally sustainable health and economic sufficiency programs in Nepal, India, and Tibet. During this time, Cleary adopted Dorje Dolma, raised until age 10 by her nomadic yak-herder aunties, parents, and grandparents in the remote Himalayan mountains of Nepal. Her experiences are addressed on “I’m a Yak,” which uses yak whistles and herding calls to recount how the lifestyle hasn't changed for hundreds of years – except by climate change. You can also read about Dolma's experiences in her book, "Yak Girl: Growing Up in the Remote Dolpo Region of Nepal."

If your only experience with harmonica is Blues Traveler's John Popper, meet Cleary's sideman, Mad Dog Friedman, who keeps the tempo flowing on the title track and other tunes. HAPPY DAY winds down with the contemplative "Fly Seagull Fly" and bedtime lullaby, "It's Time To Go to Sleep." But with Jenn Cleary, the blues don't need to be sad. It's just another shade in a child's palette and tomorrow will be another day to color outside the lines.

HAPPY DAY is available on Jenn Cleary's website, Bandcamp, and Amazon.

Here is the lyric video for her song, "I'm A Yak":

Jenn Cleary Sings the Sustainability Blues

If there was ever a time to sing the blues, it was during our shared pandemic year. Contrary to popular belief, the blues are not exclusively gloomy or unhappy. Blues is a song style that can convey many positive sentiments, such as family, environment, and community. Leading the 2021 blues brigade is Boulder, Colorado-based Jenn Cleary, with her first children's release, ALL TOGETHER NOW!

Cleary's journey to children's music took a circuitous path that went through Nepal, India, and Tibet. Making a difference on that side of the planet, she founded and ran a non-profit that promoted locally sustainable health and economic sufficiency programs in those countries. During that time, Cleary became acquainted with Dorje Dolma, a girl raised by nomadic yak herders in Nepal who needed life-saving surgeries. Cleary brought Dorje to America and subsequently adopted her. After college, Dorje went to work in a preschool and the duo cowrote the song, "Families Of All Kinds," based on Dorje's firsthand experiences. Dorje also contributed the cover artwork, "Healing Heart," for ALL TOGETHER NOW! (For more about Dorje's journey, you can read her book, Yak Girl: Growing Up in the Remote Dolpo Region of Nepal.)

During the past two decades, Jenn Cleary has released three adult-oriented blues CDs and performed around the world, including at the Sundance Film Festival and Colorado Rockies games. Her playlist always included a handful of infectious, kid-friendly tunes, leading her to develop ALL TOGETHER NOW! for family audiences. Cleary shares flights of fantasy on songs like "Dinosaur Friend" and "Bubbles." Similar to Tom Chapin's "This Pretty Planet," Cleary mixes social consciousness with traditional family interests. An avid beekeeper, the pollinating creatures make appearances on several tunes, most prominently on "My Sisters And Me" about a beehive working in harmony. The theme is crystal clear in numbers like "Clean Water," Love Right Now," and "Backyard Farm" (her zydeco variation on "Old MacDonald").  

Having traveled extensively and helped families in far-flung countries, Cleary doesn't break a sweat singing about the disparity of families. What makes a family different doesn't make it any less relevant as a family unit, she points out on "Families of All Kinds." That also goes for the animal kingdom, on "Our Wild Family." Thanks to technology, the pandemic showed kids that their concerns are no different from other children around the world. On ALL TOGETHER NOW!, Cleary celebrates the amazing variety of universal values that surround and sustain our civilization. That's clear cause for upbeat blues, sunny skies, and honey bees.

ALL TOGETHER NOW! is available from Jenn Cleary's website, Amazon, Spotify, and Apple Music.

Here is a video for Jenn's song "Those Boys":