Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion in Concert. This, er, Weekend.

I tend not to talk too much about my work bringing kids music to the Phoenix area here on the site, except in the occasional post-concert summary. After all, most of my readers are, well, not here. But I'm still putting together kids shows for the Children's Museum of Phoenix and the Church of the Beatitudes. (I'm working on other stuff, too -- perhaps one day I'll get to tell you about those as well.) So even though my friends and associates here in Phoenix are aware of this show, I just wanted to note that I'm super-geeked about the concert I've helped bring to the Church of the Beatitudes this weekend as part of their Not Just for Kids concert series. It's Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, and they'll be doing a special family show this Sunday, April 11th at 2 PM. Tickets are just $10/person; $32/family. It'll be lots of fun, I promise. (And hopefully there will be video to share...)

Stream Sarah Lee Guthrie / Johnny Irion's "Go Waggaloo" For Free

You know the deal. I really like Go Waggaloo, the first kids' music album from Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, but, then again, I'm biased. Anyway, the Smithsonian Folkways album is officially released next week, but for the next two weeks (through Nov. 3rd) you can stream the album in its entirety here. Just click on the pop-up player. But hurry, it'll be gone on Nov. 3rd. (Also, for you Facebook folks, comment here and get a free song download code from Folkways.)

Video: "If Mama Had Four Hands" - Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion (Live at Spare the Rock)

It's going to be a while before I get to see Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion perform music from the upcoming Smithsonian Folkways disk Go Waggaloo live, so I'll just have to do with the occasional YouTube video... I'm sure the audio from this recording of the duo performing for Bill at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child will be up some Saturday morning in the near future. For now, enjoy the harmonies and the amusing lyrical imagery. Sarah Lee Guthrie & Johnny Irion - "If Mama Had Four Hands" (Live at Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child) [YouTube]

Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion (and kids) Talk "Go Waggaloo"

I'm obviously biased when it comes to Go Waggaloo, the kids music album from Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion, since I have liner notes in the release. But I like the way this slickly produced electronic press kit has the occasional sound of Sarah Lee and Johnny's kids screeching in the background. If you like the sound of the clips (the songs, or the kids) in the piece below, you can go to Folkways' album page and preorder the album, which will not only get you the album early (it'll ship around Oct. 1, nearly a month before it's officially released), but also, if you're one of the first 100 pre-orders, get you an autographed copy.

But there's more...

Listen To This: "'Cuz We're Cousins" - Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion

I mentioned earlier this week how I've got some liner notes in Go Waggaloo!, the kids album Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion recorded for Smithsonian Folkways. I knew that there'd be some fun stuff posted in run-up to the album's Oct. 27th release, and the first stuff o' fun is now available -- a streaming preview of "'Cuz We're Cousins." Musically, it's right in the Smithsonian Folkways folk wheelhouse, but lyrically, I'm pretty sure it's the first time the Xbox gets a line in a Folkways song. Listen here. So, yeah, it's clearly not one of the 3 songs Woody Guthrie wrote lyrics for on the album, but he totally would've made an Xbox reference if he were still alive... Oh, and folks in New York and San Francisco can see Sarah Lee and Johnny play a couple kids' related shows -- a fundraiser for Clearwater September 11 in Tarrytown, NY and a -- here, I'm looking at you, Deb -- a benefit concert with Pete Seeger and The Waybacks for The Center for Steinbeck Studies September 18 in San Francisco. And more family shows are on their way...

So, the New Sarah Lee Guthrie / Johnny Irion Kids' CD Is Pretty Good...

Aside from a few scattered mentions, there's been relatively little news regarding Go Waggaloo!, the upcoming kids' album from Sarah Lee Guthrie and Johnny Irion. Well, now that the album's got an official cover (there to the left in near thumbnail sizing), a press release, and a release date (October 27), you're probably going to hear quite a bit more about it. Still not impressed (many albums, after all, are released with, you know, an album cover, press release, and on an official date)? Well, it's being released on Smithsonian Folkways (perhaps you've heard her labelmates such as Ella Jenkins, Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, or Elizabeth Mitchell?). Oh, did I mention Sarah Lee Guthrie is Woody Guthrie's granddaughter, and she records new music for three of her grandfather's lyrics, a la Mermaid Avenue. Did I mention that Pete Seeger plays on the album? Well, there's another reason I'm particularly excited...