Last Sunday we had a fantastic time singing our food and gardening songs at the Old Capitol. Thanks to everyone who helped us set up that appearance! We can’t wait to give the songs another spin this coming Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Senior Center. Read more
The Iowa Music Showcase did a podcast on the recently-released “For Kids, By Kids” album, and one of the featured songs was “Rocky Road,” sung on the album by FFM’s Caleigh, Greta, and Claire. Here’s the link:
http://iowamusicshowcase.blogspot.com/2015/04/episode-8-iowa-city-childrens-album.html
Thanks, Dan, for including our song!
Here’s an article Jean Littlejohn just posted yesterday about our upcoming concerts – tomorrow and next Sunday! Read more
The Family Folk Machine will present its spring program, “Blooming Where You’re Planted: Songs from Farm to Table,” at two upcoming concerts. On Sunday, April 12 at 2:30 p.m., we will perform at the Old Capitol Senate Chamber as part of the University’s “Food for Thought” theme semester and in conjunction with the excellent exhibit at the Old Capitol Museum called “The Land Provides: Iowa’s Culinary Heritage.” On Sunday, April 19 at 3:00 p.m., we will perform on our home turf at the Senior Center in downtown Iowa City with special guests from Table to Table and Local Foods Connection. At this concert we’ll be collecting canned food donations for the Crisis Center.
Here’s our last highlight on our songs for our April 12th and 19th concerts! According to Wikipedia, Dan Zanes moved to New York City after he and his wife had their first baby. Read more
Bill Staines is well known as a traditional folk singer and song-writer and has been performing for over 50 years. He has many children’s songs to his name, and if you listen closely to Sweet Potato, you will hear that it is the perfect song to sing to get a baby to fall asleep. One particularly interesting thing about Bill is that he is left-handed, but plays a right-handed guitar – upside down with the bass strings on the bottom – therefore he has developed his own fingerings and picking style. Here’s Bill singing Sweet Potato:
*featured photo is a screenshot of this YouTube video.
What could be more nutritious than a plate of greens? May Erlewine was asked to write a song about a local food and calls this “a different kind of love song.” When we started practicing this song, Jean wanted a show of hands on who actually did love greens. I can’t say I’m a fan, but this song could probably make almost anyone want to give greens another chance! Check out May as she shares her love for greens!
*featured photo is a screenshot of this YouTube video.
I had to look up a translation of this song since it is written in a Scottish English dialect by Robert Burns (1759-1796): Ca the Yowes to the Knowes – but whether you understand the words or not, it’s a beautiful love song. What does this have to farming and gardening, you might ask? It’s about a shepherd lad herding his sheep, which is an important component to many types of traditional farming practices. Alastair McDonald brings Scottish flair to his version of the song:
Once you hear this song, you will never think of a potato or a baby in quite the same way. Malcolm Dalglish’s song brings a new view to the table by combining vegetable gardening with becoming a new parent. Read more
Who is going to come to the rescue when kids (and maybe even adults) have chosen unhealthy things to eat? Captain Vegetable, that’s who! This song was written by Jeff Moss for Sesame Street and helps kids learn about choosing healthy vegetables to eat. Read more
