For Those Who Can't Wait For Summer Music Festivals

Perhaps you're thinking you don't want to wait until August or September to see a whole bunch of kids' music artists. Perhaps you're also thinking, hey, I'd like to see the Judds reunite! (Coachella's got Portishead, you decide which you'd prefer.) Well, then, Coachella's countryfied cousin, Stagecoach has come to rescue. In addition to booking the Eagles for the festival's second, Stagecoach also is doing its Half-Pint Hootenanny once more and announced its lineup today, with some familiar names on the list:

Brady Rymer
Buck Howdy with BB
The Bummkinn Band
Tom Freund and Friends
Uncle Ron and Aunt Sandii
Kid Fiddlers
The Bon Family and California All-Star Cloggers
Croakers Youth/Family Square Dancers Club

That's a decent lineup there. Stagecoach is May 2 through 4 in Indio, California.

And what if you prefer Austin in springtime?
Well, there's always South By Southwest March 12 through 16 with a bajillion bands and those who love (or hate) them. The free kids show on Auditorium Shores takes a different tack, with Sara Hickman's Super Pal Universe (remember them? they were at Austin Kiddie Limits) and the Rachel Tractenburg Morning Show making an appearance Saturday afternoon.

If you're actually attending the conference, be sure to check out Rockin' in the Wee World (yeah, those kid-music puns can fade away now), which at the very least features three very nice people -- Sara Hickman, Austin Kiddie Limits/Kidzapalooza producer Tor Hyams, and Stagecoach Half-Pint Hootenanny producer Karen Rappaport McHugh -- among others. And, hey, it's Friday at 12:30 -- you'll totally have woken up from Thursday night's shows...