KindieComm is one of the main conferences for American kindie musicians and was formed by Kathy O'Connell and Robert Drake of WXPN's Kids Corner radio show in 2013. [1] Begun as an annual conference, but since moved to a biennial status, [2] it is held in Philadelphia and serves to further the communal and collaborative aspect of the kindie music industry while advocating for independent children's music. [3]
O'Connell and Drake decided to form the conference after KindieFest, the first ever kindie music conference that took place annually in Brooklyn, [4] shut down following the 2013 conference due to organizers' conflicting schedules, despite that year being their most widely-attended festival yet. [1]
KindieComm events include workshops, debates and networking opportunities as well as the KindieComm Industry Showcase and Kids Corner Music Festival, both of which feature musical performances by kindie musicians and the latter of which offers tickets that are open to the public. [5]
The first KindieComm was held on June 28, 2014. The Kids Corner Music Festival took place on the following day and included headliner Trout Fishing in America along with musical performances by Barry Louis Polisar, Dan Zanes and Lucky Diaz. [3]
The 2015 conference was held March 21–22 and the line-up for the Kids Corner Music Festival included the Pop Ups, the Not-Its! and Joanie Leeds and the Nightlights. [6] [7]
The 2016 conference held April 2–3 featured talks by Bob Dorough and Robbie Kumalo as well as musical performances by Sugar Free Allstars and Lucy Kalantari, while the Kids Corner Music Festival included headliner Tim Kubart and performances by Duke Otherwise and Laura Doherty and the Heartbeats. [5] [8]
On August 18, 2016, O'Connell and Drake announced that KindieComm was changing to a biennial gathering with the next conference scheduled for Spring 2018 in order to help ensure that artists who were interested in attending could work it into their budget and schedule. [2]
KindieComm 2018 was held April 20–22 and included talks by Dr. Demento and John Cafiero. [9] [10] The Kids Corner Music Festival included headliner Trout Fishing in America and performances by Billy Kelly, Lard Dog and the Band of Shy and Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale.
On March 10, 2020, O'Connell and Drake announced that there would be no KindieComm in 2020 due to restrictions resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and that they would be issuing refunds to those who registered, with the next conference scheduled to occur in April 2021. [11]
Summerfest is an annual music festival held in downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin. First held in 1968, Summerfest is located at Henry Maier Festival Park, adjacent to Lake Michigan and Milwaukee's central business district. Summerfest attracts approximately 800,000 people each year, promoting itself as "The World's Largest Music Festival", a title certified by Guinness World Records in 1999, but has been surpassed in attendance by Donauinselfest with over three million in 2015. While Summerfest has one of the highest aggregate attendances in the world, the daily attendance of Summerfest is lower than other major American music festivals. In 2022, the daily attendance of Summerfest was 49,500.
The Philadelphia Folk Festival is a folk music festival held annually at Old Pool Farm in Upper Salford, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia.
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, and many years later, Chicago became its permanent location. Music genres include alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock, hip hop, and electronic dance music. Lollapalooza has also featured visual arts, nonprofit organizations, and political organizations. The festival hosts an estimated 400,000 people each July and sells out annually. Lollapalooza is one of the largest music festivals in the world and one of the longest-running in the United States.
The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970.
Coachella is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. It was co-founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen in 1999, and is organized by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Presents. The event features musical artists from many genres of music, including rock, pop, indie, hip hop and electronic dance music, as well as art installations and sculptures. Across the grounds, several stages continuously host live music.
WXPN is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format shows. WXPN produces World Cafe, a music program distributed by NPR to many non-commercial stations in the United States. The station's call sign, which is often abbreviated to XPN, stands for "Experimental Pennsylvania Network". The broadcast tower used by WXPN is located at, in the antenna farm complex in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.
Trout Fishing in America is an American musical duo from Houston, Texas. The members are Keith Grimwood and Ezra Idlet. Both musicians were previously members of the folk rock band Wheatfield, also known as St. Elmo's Fire. They took their name from the novel Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan. The duo has released 24 studio albums through their own label, Trout Music. Trout Fishing in America is known for varied musical styles, with albums alternating between folk rock and children's music, as well as the contrast between Grimwood's and Idlet's stage presence. In addition to their music, Trout Fishing in America holds songwriting workshops with children. Four of their albums have been nominated for Grammy Awards.
Franklin Music Hall is a concert venue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is in a converted building once part of the General Electric Switchgear Plant and opened in 1995. It has a capacity between 2,500 and 3,000 people. It is owned and operated by The Bowery Presents.
WXPJ is a non-commercial radio station owned and operated by University of Pennsylvania.
Primavera Sound is an annual music festival held at the Parc del Fòrum in Barcelona, Spain, during late May and early June. It was founded in 2001 by Pablo Soler as "a showcase for Spanish noise bands", originally held at the Poble Espanyol before moving to the Parc del Fòrum, a much larger site on the seafront, in 2005. It is one of the largest and most-attended music festivals in Europe and the biggest in the Mediterranean.
Terri Ann Hendrix is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and independent artist who has been writing and performing an eclectic mix of Americana genre, encompassing folk, pop, country, blues, and jazz, since 1990. Since 1988 Hendrix has been based in and near San Marcos, Texas, living as of 2017 in nearby Martindale, after growing up in San Antonio, Texas.
The Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival was an annual one-day festival held the first Saturday in June at Appel Farm Arts and Music Center located near Elmer, in Salem County, New Jersey, United States. Appel Farm's signature concert event featured a juried crafts fair, a Children's Village with games and activities, and beer and wine tents. The festival's draw extended beyond New Jersey, attracting audiences of up to 10,000 from the entire mid-Atlantic region and beyond.
Philadelphia Folksong Society (PFS) is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to preserving the past, promoting the present, and securing the future of folk music and related forms of expression through education, presentation and participation. It is perhaps best known for hosting the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the longest continuously running outdoor music festival in North America, and has been held every single year without pause since its 1962 inception.
Kids America was a 90 minute syndicated public radio show for young children. It was broadcast from 1984 to 1987 on weeknights on public radio stations in the United States by American Public Radio, the forerunner of Public Radio International. First produced by WNYC in New York City as Small Things Considered, it won a Peabody award in 1984. In October 1985 the show's name was changed to Kids America. At the time of its 1987 cancellation, the program was carried by 26 stations.
Riot Fest is an annual three-day punk rock music festival based in Bridgeview, Illinois, at SeatGeek Stadium. It is known for booking reunions, guest performances, and full album performances. Riot Fest remains one of the largest independently owned music festivals in the United States.
Firefly Music Festival was a music festival produced by AEG Presents that was first held on July 20–22, 2012, in Dover, Delaware. Firefly takes place in The Woodlands of Dover Motor Speedway, a 105-acre (42 ha) festival ground, over the span of three days. Many nationally known musical acts have performed at the festival, with over 100 performances held over the course of the festival in 2016. The festival producers had worked together to establish the event at the current venue with the hopes of having "an open-air festival on the East Coast with plenty of outdoor camping". In past years, the festival has included up to seven stages: The Porch Stage, The Lawn Stage, The Backyard Stage, the Treehouse, The Coffee House, The Pavilion and The Firefly Stage. In 2019, the festival had six main stages, two sponsor stages, and one stage in each camping hub. Firefly offers three different pass options; general admission, VIP, and Super VIP.
Made In America Festival is a two-day music festival held every Labor Day weekend on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was first announced by entertainer Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter at Philadelphia Museum of Art on May 14, 2012.
The Las Vegas Festival Grounds is an open-air venue on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Phil Ruffin. The venue is located at the north end of the Strip, north of Circus Circus Las Vegas. It is 26 acres (11 ha) and has a capacity of 85,000 people.
The Roots Picnic is an annual music festival created and hosted by hip hop group, The Roots. Co-founder, Shawn Gee, and manager of The Roots serves as executive producer of the festival. The festival is held in Philadelphia, their hometown at the Mann at Fairmount Park. The first festival was held on June 7, 2008.
Kindie rock, kindie or family music is a style of children's music that “melds the sensibility of the singer-songwriter with themes aimed at kids under 10.” Many popular kindie rock artists first gained fame as adult performers, including Dan Zanes and They Might Be Giants. The term was first coined by Salon.com writer Scott Lamb in 2006, and has gained in popularity since. 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.” 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. It is also defined by its opposition to "mainstream" or commercial children's music. Community is also an important part of the modern kindie scene, as exemplified by the biannual KindieComm conference and the yearly Hootenanny gathering.