The kindie queen of children’s music Laurie Berkner is hosting two live virtual concerts on Sunday, June 20 to celebrate Father’s Day. As a special perk, one $20 family ticket grants admission to either (or both) the noon and 5 PM ET livestream events. Expect to hear her family-centric “I Love You Daddy” and “My Family,” as well as tracks from this year’s recent album, Let’s Go! and a selection of greatest hits.
Even as COVID restrictions are starting to dissipate, Laurie reminds people that this is also the first anniversary of her livestream concerts. While fully vaccinated adults are planning to see live music shows, things are still in flux for kids’ artists. Laurie Berkner Band keyboard player Susie Lampert is slated to be a special guest at this show (other band members will also drop by).
Laurie went to great lengths this past year to ensure that her virtual family concerts are comparable to her in-person events. The interactive nature is a little different but as coronavirus has shown, kids are adaptable to extenuating circumstances.
The “virtual lobby” for each Father’s Day concert opens one hour prior to showtime (11 AM for 12 PM ET, 4 PM for 5 PM), featuring pre-show music, video, games, and an arts and craft activity. One-on-one Meet-and-Greets with Laurie are available for super-fans after the shows ($80 package). Click here for ticket information.
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This spring’s April showers led to May flowers, cherry blossoms, and the full force of nature coming into its own (not to mention pollen and seasonal allergies, but let’s stay positive). A member of the Laurie Berkner Band, Long Island’s Brady Rymer (and the Little Band That Could) have released “Happy Birthday, Trees,” a new song and video to help foster arbor (forest) awareness. The song was originally conceived for a concert the Jewish Museum in New York City based around the holiday of Tu B’Shevat, or birthday for trees.
The closest comparison to “Happy Birthday, Trees” may be Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree,” about a growth so generous that it gifts every part of itself to a young boy, until they are rejoined as a stump and an old man. Brady envisions a similar symbiosis, albeit one without the grim finale of Silverstein’s tale:
May you swing from my branches
Rest a while in my shade
Climb up high to the tallest limbs
And hear the treetop serenade
Grab “Happy Birthday, Trees” from Amazon, Spotify, Deezer, and Apple Music.
Here is the video for “Happy Birthday, Trees”:
