Best Kids Music
Time for indoor dance parties! Here are a few of our favorite local bands with kid-friendly content to tunes that rock for all ages.
Many are hosting interactive online concerts (see a complete list compiled by Mil's Trills). Rock out to our playlist and see our podcast & audio books guide for more listening pleasure.
The Laurie Berkner Band
Catchy tunes and clever lyrics from the queen of kindie rock compel all ages to stomp like dinosaurs and brush their teeth like goldfish. Other favorite danceable tunes from her 20+ year career include Victor Vito and I'm Gonna Catch You and so many more.
Lucy Kalantari & The Jazz Cats
Upbeat ukulele ditties by this Grammy-award winner evoke the jazz age with swinging beats (but with uplifting, kid-friendly lyrics). Sing/scat along and smile to Fantastic or make a bilingual salad with La Cosecha.
They Might Be Giants
The quirky band that taught the 90s that Istanbul once was Constantinople also made fantastic, educational kids albums about science, letters and numbers (plus the catch Mickey Mouse clubhouse soundtrack. Lean more geography in the Alphabet of Nations, rock out to I Am a Paleontologist or set goals to I Never Go to Work.
Tim Kubart
The retro pop songs of this cutie Grammy winner celebrate everyday moments like family breakfasts and backyard swinging - perfect for latin-tinged Dancing in the Kitchen.
GUSTAFER YELLOWGOLD
Meet a friendly creature who came to Earth from the sun and is living out an explorer’s life in a slightly psychedelic version of the Minnesota woods. Meet bizarre characters from a snake who loves socks and a monster cake with hand-drawn animations and a rocking sound.
Annie & The Natural Wonder Band
These creators of catchy interactive songs about the wonders of nature (whim we first discovered at the Bronx Zoo) have been around so long that a track on their beloved On Safari album instructs listeners to turn the tape to side 2. But their tunes are timeless, fact-filled and encourage moving like like hip hippopotamus, county frogs and bitter butterflies.
STREAMING CONCERTS
Carnegie Hall Music Explorers
Learn about musical culture and tradition around the world – African-American Freedom Songs, South African Zulu songs and many more – with lessons plans, music and video featuring global artists. The well-designed site features a world map to explore. Also Learn about symphony orchestras in an animated adventure in Carnegie Hall Listening Adventures.
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Jazz Academy
Watch curated educated videos on the from Jazz at Lincoln Center’s educational programs and learn about it’s roots in African-American traditions and communities. WeBop instructors demonstrate fun activities to get families swinging and singing, members of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra share performance secrets, and Middle School Jazz Academy instructors break down jazz techniques.…
Lincoln Center At Home
Watch short #concertsforkids recorded (at home) by world-class artists including musician Etienne Charles celebrating a cross-section of cultures from the African Diaspora, Soul Science Kids weaving soul, funk, hip-hop and educational themes and many more diverse voices.
Learn puppetry, dance, songwriting and other art forms with simple materials found at home with Lincoln Center Pop-up…
Little Orchestra Society
Find interactive videos on writing melody, making pitched percussion and more musical topics plus musical storytimes and short funny features with Professor Treblemaker, the star of one of our favorite kids concert music series (available virtually this year).
Carnegie Hall Listening Adventures
Learn about symphony orchestras in an animated adventure through The jungle based on Benjamin Britten’s The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. Play digital games about instruments to journey through the jungle.
Kennedy Center Education
Explore music, dance, theater, opera, visual and media arts through informative and engaging Kennedy Center Education interactive lessons with music videos. Learn about African-American History, US President’s Favorite Music, all sorts of dance, popular American songs and more.
Designed for grades K-12.
Met Opera Streams
See daily Live in HD screenings of the Metropolitan Opera’s legendary repertory. Not all shows are kid-friendly (watch out for murder/rape/etc), but the music and visuals are always stunning.
Classical Kids
Explore classical music with dramatic stories based around works by Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi and other great composers. My kids especially love Mozart’s Magic Fantasy: A Journey Through ‘The Magic Flute’ about a girl and a dragon’s journey through the Queen of the Night’s realm to Sarastro’s castle featuring dialogue mixed in…
Ear Snacks
Kindie musicians Andrew & Polly and their friends consider music, science, art and culture in a fun-filled family-friendly podcast enjoyable for kids and grown-ups. Developmentally appropriate & absurdist but never untrue.
Noodle Loaf
Explore music in an interactive podcast and video series born from the brain of a music education teacher and his goofball kids. Each approx. 10 minute episode features inventive sing-alongs and activities. Geared for kids 3-9 years old but all ages get into it.
The Yo-Yo Mo Show: Musical Doodling
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Mo Willems, author/illustrator the beloved Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Knuffle Bunny, and the Elephant and Piggy series, offer a series of playful experiments that show how art and music inspire each other. Watch, listen and join in from home with paper and doodling implements.
Also…
Mozart for Munchkins: Astoria
Dance and clap to a mix of classical, jazz, and sing-along favorites while meeting the clarinet and cello at an outdoor, socially distanced interactive concert curated for little ones and their grown-ups.
Attendance is very limited. Bring your own blanket and park it 6 feet from your neighbor.
More ideas for at-home fun coming soon, subscribe to our email list for updates.