Kindie rock

Frances England playing at the Grand Opening ceremony at Playland at 43rd Avenue in San Francisco on May 7, 2016.

Kindie rock is a style of children's music that “melds the sensibility of the singer-songwriter with themes aimed at kids under 10.”^[1] Many popular kindie rock artists first gained fame as adult performers, including Dan Zanes and They Might Be Giants.^[2] The term was first coined by Salon.com writer Scott Lamb in 2006, and has gained in popularity since.^[1] Although its original name implies a rock music style, kindie has never been purely rock music, instead encompassing innumerable musical styles. In recent years, artists have increasingly used the less specific term "kindie music" or "kindie." Playtime Playlist, a kindie directory website, notes that the term kindie “comes from merging of ‘Kid’ and ‘Independent’” and that kindie is differentiated from conventional children's music by the way that “artists are free to make music that comes straight from their heart and isn’t bound by commercial formulaic rules.”^[3] As pointed out by Stefan Shepard of the kindie music blog Zooglobble, kindie artists' primary aim is to make child-oriented music with the same care and thought as adult music.^[4] It is also defined by its opposition to "mainstream" or commercial children's music.^[4] Community is also an important part of the modern kindie scene, as exemplified by the biannual Kindiecomm conference and the yearly Hootenanny gathering.^[5][6]

History[]

Pre-1970s[]

If one takes the precepts of Stefan Shepard's Kindie Manifesto as a working definition for kindie music, then it is clear that kindie has existed since at least the early 20th century, with folk singers such as Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie performing and writing many children's songs throughout their career.^[7][8] Music hall was also a source of children's music in the past,^[8] but folk singers remained the main proponents of independent kids' music throughout the early to mid 20th century. Jim Copp and Ed Brown were an exception to this rule, with their many quirky keyboard-based albums throughout the 1950s and '60s influencing numerous artists in the years to come.^[9]

1970s–1990s[]

During the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s, the field of music for children became more popular in the 1970s and '80s, due largely to the advent of music-based children's television shows such as The Bugaloos and Sesame Street.^[10] Artists who were separate from television also proliferated, with Canadian Raffi selling millions of albums, while other artists such as Barry Louis Polisar gained popularity and toured widely.^[11][12] Many other artists who still perform for children today began performing in the 1980s and '90s, including Bill Harley and Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer.

21st century[]

1990s and early 2000s[]

The kindie genre has seen its first signs of significant growth at the start of the new millenium. In 1998 and 2000, respectively, Laurie Berkner and Dan Zanes self-released their debut kids' albums and are generally considered to have kickstarted the modern kindie movement.^[13] Although the children's music industry had been growing in the 1990s, with the digital age it became easier for children to gain access to media and for independent artists to promote their work.^[14] Over the first two decades of the 21st century, the number and recognition of artists making kindie music grew exponentially, becoming more mainstream.

In recent years, kindie music has gained recognition and its own distinctive niche as many music festivals and trade shows celebrating the genre have took place as well as many radio shows and podcasts have been created from the genre. The genre has also seen significant growth in terms of the musical styles covered, including among others, the introduction of pop-inspired,^[15] hip-hop-inspired, as well as jazz and country inspired artists, as well as some Latino-American acts doing bilingual works allowing the Spanish-speaking minority to be represented by the genre. ^[16] Many kindie acts have been honored at the Grammy Awards in recent years, such as the Pop Ups, Lucy Kalantari, the Okee Dokee Brothers and Lisa Loeb, among others.^[17][18]

COVID-19 Pandemic[]

Many kindie artists have made several songs covering the COVID-19 pandemic. These remind kids and families of basic health protocols such as wearing face masks, hand washing, social distancing, and to also send reassurances to families while under self-isolation.^[19] Some artists have also done virtual concerts which have doubled as fundraisers for charities leading in relief response to those impoverished by the pandemic.^[20]

Genres[]

Although the term "kindie rock" seems to limit the music to the rock genre, there are kindie artists who work in an extremely large variety of musical styles, sometimes using numerous styles on a single album or release. Current or formerly active kindie musicians encompass many subgenres of rock, including roots rock,^[21] indie rock,^[13] metal,^[22] psychedelic rock,^[13] pop music,^[23] prog-rock,^[24] and punk.^[25] Other musical styles practiced by kindie musicians include electronica,^[26] experimental music,^[27] folk,^[28][29] hip hop,^[30] jazz,^[31][32] reggae,^[33][34] and soul,^[35] among others.

Community and industry organizations[]

A fixture of modern kindie music is its community-centered ethos, as evidenced by the great amount of collaborations between kindie artists. There are also three important organizations and conferences that serve to further the communal and collaborative aspect of the industry.

Kindiecomm[]

Begun as an annual conference, but since moved to a biennial status,^[36] Kindiecomm is one of the main conferences for kindie musicians and was formed by Kathy O'Connell and Robert Drake of WXPN's Kids Corner radio show in 2013 "to capture the camaraderie and creativity of our musical family, while sharing useful information in an intimate setting."^[37][36]

Children's Music Network[]

Predating the modern kindie movement, the Children's Music Network was founded in 1987 as a way of perpetuating and supporting children's music.^[38] In many ways, the industry support pioneered by the Children's Music Network has continued into the modern era.

Others[]

Although kindie as a named genre is centered in the United States, other countries and regions have similar national children's music associations and conferences, notably the Kiwi Kids Music association from New Zealand and Movimiento Canción Infantil Latinoamericana y Caribeña, a biannual meeting which gathers children's music artists from all over Latin America.^[39][40]

Media support[]

Blogs[]

The kindie movement has received much support from blogs based on reviewing and discussing kindie music, most notably Zooglobble, which was founded in 2002.^[41]

Radio shows and podcasts[]

There are numerous radio shows and podcasts that mainly feature kindie music, some of the most prominent of which are Kids Corner on WXPN in Philadelphia (which has been broadcasting since 1988 and has won the George Peabody Award^[42]), Spare the Rock on KUTX (broadcasting since 2005 and syndicated nationally^[43]) and the OWTK Kid's Music Monthly Podcast (since 2012).^[44] Most of the existing kindie-based radio shows and podcasts have a music-based freeform radio format, although some, like Kids Corner, adopt more of an education-based, variety show format.^[42] In addition, the majority of kindie radio shows are based in public or community radio stations, such as "Radio Active Kids" on Asheville FM in North Carolina^[45] and "The Children's Hour" on KUNM-FM in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which has been syndicated to hundreds of public radio stations in the United States, and airs globally through multiple streaming stations^[46] Other stations that predominantly feature kindie music include Sirius XM's Kids Place Live in the United States/Canada, which has several top kindie artists and their works on rotation, as well as other special features and programs, some of which are hosted by top kindie artists.^[47][48][49] There are also some online stations devoted to the genre, such as "WEE Nation Radio", which plays kindie music with a much broader worldview putting into focus family-friendly jazz, reggae, R&B, and world music that have been overlooked by other children's radio stations.^[50] In addition the station runs a podcast^[51] and a weekly show on WPFW in Washington DC^[52] with interviews and features highlighting the station's core artists and causes. Another podcast that celebrates the genre is "Ear Snacks", created by kindie artists Andrew & Polly, which puts out "Roadtrip Mixtape" selections of top kindie songs^[53][54] as well as an annual tribute to Grammy nominees in the Best Children's Album category featuring interviews with the year's nominated artists.^[55][56][57]

International kindie music[]

Although the majority of bands who call themselves "kindie" are from North America,^[58] there exists a large amount of kindie-esque music from around the world. If one looks solely at music that is created by non-anonymous musicians who use sophisticated musical styles, it is possible to view many artists from different cultures as fitting into the kindie realm. Most of the prominent kids' musicians from around the world use European-influenced music styles, although many artists from Latin America include locally influenced music as well.

Latin America[]

There are many different children's music scenes throughout Latin America, encompassing Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico, to name some of the most prominent. A notable feature of Latin American kindie music, unlike artists from the United States, Europe, or Oceania, is the prevalence of musical theater as a format for their concerts.^{[citation needed]}

Oceania[]

Australia has a popular and internationally recognized kindie scene, although there are not as many artists in Australia as in other countries. There are also many artists from New Zealand, which are gaining international recognition in both hemispheres.^{[citation needed]}

References[]

External links[]

• Playtime Playlist, a database of new kindie music releases
• Zooglobble, a blog about kindie music