Welcome to Brooklyn, home of
Kindiefest, the annual confab of kids musicians, writers, radio folks, promoters, bookers, and other folks trying to figure out where they fit into this new universe. I've already given you my thoughts on the
weekend's big takeaways, the
Saturday industry artists' showcase, and the
Sunday public concert. My comments below are mostly a notebook dump -- that is, if the notebook were my brain. I need to get this out of my brain and onto paper (sort of) so I can move on and do more awesome stuff.
First, props go out once again Stephanie, Tor, Bill, and Mona for putting on this conference. They seemed much more relaxed this year than last, so we'd actually see them throughout the weekend, maybe even enjoying themselves. If there were glitches, they were minor (sound problems before Aaron Nigel Smith's set) or well-hidden. It left more time for conversing instead of worrying what sort of weird thing would crop up.
That's them at the registration table on Friday evening, by the way. I think that might have been the most stressed they appeared to me all weekend.
I hadn't previously mentioned the Friday evening keynote from SiriusXM cut-up/high-level manager Kenny Curtis, who gave a pep talk to the crowd about the value of kids music, complete with bingo cards. (The trick? Identify phrases on the bingo cards and shout "Bingo!" when bingo was, in fact, achieved. That was in the middle of one giant schmooze-fest that essentially ran from 6 pm or so 'til past midnight for some of us. I forgot until I got there how much talking I end up doing. Pretty good for a shy guy like myself.
With Lollapalooza celebrating its 20th anniversary in Chicago this year (August 5-7 in Grant Park), Kidzapalooza celebrated in a very special way:
By releasing its performer lineup before the Austin City Limits/Austin Kiddie Limits announcement for a festival that's usually about 2 months after Lolla.
Some of the lineup had been previously leaked, but the big five are:
Keller Williams
Haley Bonar
Ralph's World
Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could
Big Bang Boom
In addition to these bands, the lineup also includes the Q Brothers (there every year performing and doing rap/beatbox workshops with the kids), Peter DiStefano and Tor (there every year), and Northbrook Garage, Kate Diaz, and the Happiness Club, all youth performers. (And here's something to think -- it's a nice feather in a cap for an established musician to be able to say they played Lolla, but can you imagine what it's like for a Chicago-area teenager?)
That's a solid lineup right there once again. Anyway, if you want to see the lineup announced by Kidzapalooza co-founder Tor Hyams' kids, here's a YouTube video for ya. Tor's son looks so much like Tor it's scary. Except for the glasses.
