The Laurie Berkner Band
Part of The Family Friendly Series presented by
Sunday March 11 Content Guidelines: FAM
1:00p $22.50-$32.50 (Reserved Seating)
DeVos Performance Hall
“If you think the Beatles made a splash in ’63, wail ‘till you see the mayhem caused by this woman.” – Good Morning America
“Her music is distinctive because it speaks to kids without talking down to them, charming youngsters without boring grown-ups” – The Wall Street Journal
Laurie Berkner has been a professional musician since 1992, but her success as a children’s recording artist was a surprise to her. “It was so unexpected,” says Laurie. “I’d been performing in rock bands (including Lois Lane, an all-female cover band, as well as her own original rock band, Red Onion) and struggling to write original music. Writing music for kids has not been a struggle at all. The more I started working on material for children, the more I realized that it opened up creativity in me that I never knew I had.”
These days critics widely acknowledge Laurie’s major contribution toward launching what is now dubbed the progressive “kindie rock” movement – i.e. less saccharine, more rocking music that is not dumbed down for children. But it wasn’t simply an enormous amount of talent that helped create an entire genre and skyrocketed Laurie to her current position as “the queen of children’s music” (People Magazine). It was an ability to gain parents’ enthusiasm for the songs as well. According to Laurie, “When I’m writing a song, I’m thinking about whether the kids will like it and whether I’m going to connect to them through it. I’m also thinking about whether I want to sing it over and over again, so I guess that’s the part that connects with adults. ‘Old MacDonald Had A Farm’ is a great song for kids, but I couldn’t sing it 100 times!”
Part of The Family Friendly Series presented by
