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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Live in Lexington: Under the Copper Beech CD by Ben Rudnick & Friends Review + {Rafflecopter Givaway - Ends 11/24} (CLOSED)

This giveaway is closed. Congrats to the winner listed below!

We love a variety of music. So finding a children's band with a nice blend of musical flavors that everyone can enjoy together is a great thing. Live in Lexington Under the Copper Beech is a children's music CD by Ben Rudnick & Friends. This is a fun energetic CD that has rock and other flavors of music expertly mixed in.

Jamming for the Next Generation …

‘LIVE IN LEXINGTON: UNDER THE COPPER BEECH’
with
BEN RUDNICK & FRIENDS
AWARD-WINNING BAND 
BRINGS LIVE CONCERT EXPERIENCE TO FAMILIES ON NEW CD

“The words catchy and irrepressible just begin to describe the string-band music uncorked by a quintet of gifted instrumentalists.” –DownBeat 
“Sophisticated melodies, precise instrumentation and witty lyrics that delight the entire family." – The Washington Post


"Little Deadheads!  The tracks from the Grateful Dead-influenced kiddie jam band are groovy.”– Parenting magazine 

BOSTON, MA (July 20, 2011) – With legions of devoted fans throughout the country, FIVE Parents’ Choice® Awards in their hip pocket, and a tsunami of critical praise, Ben Rudnick & Friends stand in the front row of the best of today’s family music performers. With yards of acclaim for their studio recordings, it’s easy to forget that Ben Rudnick & Friends is first and foremost a live band!  In the spirit of sharing a Ben Rudnick & Friendslive concert of historical significance, Ben Rudnick announces the August 30 release of his ninth album, Live in Lexington: Under the Copper Beech. (Bartlett Ave. Records, $14.99, for all ages, run time 78 minutes).

Affectionately nicknamed “the Grateful Dead for kids,” Ben Rudnick & Friends create a jam band dynamic that transforms their concerts into events. The band’s stratospheric level of adventurous musicianship brilliantly beams across a spectrum of bluegrass, light folk, calypso, country, second-line New Orleans jazz, and the many flavors of rock. The result: kids and grownups dance together, older folks happily recognize many songs, and a sense of community fun dominates the scene.

On July 11, 2008, Ben Rudnick & Friends set up at one of their favorite venues, the Town Green in Lexington, Massachusetts, site of their very first gig, where they’d played every summer since 2001. Flying high from a string of summertime shows, poignantly saying goodbye to Mark Yacovone,the band’s accordion player who moved to Mississippi the next day, and joined by Rob “It’s Saturday Night” Lee on saxophone, the band turned in an unforgettable performance.  Happily, for music loving families everywhere, this musical slice of family apple pie was recorded. The result is Live in Lexington: Under the Copper Beech.
 
 Notes Ben Rudnick, “The Lexington Friday Night Concert Series has been going on for quite awhile, and we are by far the biggest draw. When we play, there are upwards of 2,000 people on the historic Green with chairs and blankets and food and kids and balloons, and it's just a great atmosphere. We like to say it’s ‘America at its best on a Friday night.’ If you can picture a sort of hip Norman Rockwell image with a little tie-dye thrown in for good measure, that's Lexington when we play. With 2,000 people out there and everyone in a good mood, it transports the band to another zone, and we feel great ourselves, which comes through in the music.”
Ben Rudnick & Friends take great pleasure in introducing kids and families to music that is an important part of America’s cultural fabric. Ratherthan playing down to kids, Rudnick assumes that children enjoy listening to a variety of music, much of which would not necessarily be labeled as “kids’ music.”  When performing for children in a family audience setting, Ben Rudnick & Friends do so in a thoroughly honest way, bringing in music from many sources: folk tunes, cowboy songs, bluegrass melodies, and songs made popular by great singers of the 1950s like Hank Williams and Buddy Holly, in addition to Ben Rudnick originals. 
Putting a live concert ambiance behind repertoire heard on Ben Rudnick & Friends’ first six recordings and mixing in some of the band’s favorite cover songs, Live in Lexington: Under the Copper Beech fills every available second of its CD with good-time tunes as only Ben Rudnick & Friends can deliver.  Highlights include “I Like Silver, I Like Gold,” which incorporates clave rhythms of South America in much the same way as did the great Bo Diddley, a lively treatment of the traditional “Skip to My Lou,” Hank Williams favorites “Hey, Good Lookin’” and “Jambalaya,” Buddy Holly’s “Oh Boy!,”  a joyful instrumental rendition of “Hava Nagila,” Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life,” “When the Saints Go Marching In,” and many more.  



The Live in Lexington Under the Copper Beech CD by Ben Rudnick & Friends is perfect listening for the whole family. My son enjoys this CD. He likes to play it on his CD player when he's playing or cleaning in his bedroom. Ben Rudnick & Friends have a bunch of other family/kids albums that look like just a much fun. We have the "It's Santa Claus" CD and it's great for this time of year too! You can see all of them plus sample songs on their website- http://benrudnick.com.

This CD is available for purchase on their website and Amazon.com too. I also have one copy to giveaway. Just enter in the Rafflcopter form below.



4 comments:

Krystal Larson said...

I love the popular children's songs I recognize.

lisa said...

it sounds like so much fun, that my kids would enjoy!

Heather said...

The songs sound silly I like it. I especially like Macaroni and cheese.

SavingsInSeconds said...

Music is such a wonderful experience, I love that this is just so different.