We have breaking kids’ fall music news to share with you! Two-time Grammy nominated Justin Roberts, a leading independent family music artist, and “hands-down the best songwriter in the genre” (according to USA Today), will release a new album of original songs for families called Lemonade coming up on October 14.
Lemonade is Justin’s 13th album for families, and it contains 12 new original songs. As Roberts says, “It’s the musical equivalent of an impromptu lemonade stand popping up in the summer heat.” Featuring dynamic performances by Chicago-based Robbie Fulks on lead acoustic guitar and banjo, Gerald Dowd on cardboard boxes, paint cans, salt shakers, and other homemade instruments, and John Abbey on upright bass, Lemonade is like no other Justin Roberts recording. The fresh, clean sounds are diversely dotted with ukulele, piano, cello, fiddle, marimba, and harpsichord, along with lovely harmonies by Nora O’Connor (Neko Case, The Decemberists), Anna Jacobson, and others.
Hailed by fellow family music artist Dan Zanes as “super soulful music that speaks to the wide-eyed years of childhood,” Lemonade sounds like a live Justin Roberts concert on a perfect summer day. In fact, children’s album GRAMMY winners The Okee Dokee Brothers got an early listen, and commented, “It’s like getting invited to a back porch music party with Justin and his friends. So relaxed and easy.”
The engaging sing-along arrangements remain true to the artist’s ability to capture moments of what it’s like to be a kid in a way that is both poignant and fun. People of any age can find delight and wonder in the sunny, danceable music. Roberts composed several of these songs with a ukulele which he received from Grammy-winning artist Marcy Marxer as a gift.
For nearly 20 years, Roberts has been weaving the soundtrack to families’ lives, helping kids navigate the adventures and the perils of growing up, and allowing parents to remember their own childhoods. Along with his band, The Not Ready for Naptime Players, Justin has traveled the globe, entertaining kids from Hong Kong to New York, and Miami to Seattle. Justin has performed in front of millions of people on The Today Show, he’s been featured on Nick Jr. TV, and his song “Get Me Some Glasses” was on a World Series broadcast. He’s received two GRAMMY nominations, for Jungle Gym in 2010 and Recess in 2013. Recent appearances include performances at NYC’s New Victory Theater, DC’s National Geographic Live, LA’s Getty Museum, Seattle’s Moore Theater, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, and Chicago’s Ravinia.
In 2014, Roberts wrote his first musical, based on Hansel & Gretel, produced a cast recording, and published his first picture book, The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade (illustrated by Christian Robinson), published by Putnam. In 2015, Roberts created a concert/theatrical experience entitled “The Mysterious Hat,” which debuted off-Broadway at the New Victory Theater in New York City. In 2017, Valley Performing Arts Center in Northridge, California will be remounting “Hansel and Gretel” for a national tour, and Putnam will publish his second book, The Great Henry Hopendower.
Justin and his band, The Not Ready for Naptime Players, plan several fall and winter family concerts to celebrate the release of Lemonade, including a show at Symphony Space in NYC on December 10. Visit justinrobertsmusic.