Remember - Uncle Rock tomorrow! Plus upcoming shows and a family music festival announcement!

[Bill Childs]

Hi everyone,

We've had some great turnouts at the shows we've had recently, and
they just keep on coming...most importantly for right now, here's
tomorrow's show:

Saturday, January 17 at 2:00pm: Uncle Rock at Northampton Community
Music Center - $5! (net proceeds to NCMC's scholarship fund) Long
time Hudson Valley friend of the show and favorite visitor returns to
town to rock out. Uncle Rock will appear on tomorrow morning's radio
show (93.9 The River, 101.5 in Brattleboro, also on 103.3 Valley Free
Radio). NCMC has highly functional heat, so we'll keep you warm.

Some other upcoming stuff to note on your calendars is below,
including a big announcement of a kids' music festival in the end of
March. You can also follow our calendar at http://sparetherock.com
(which is also on our page at http://WRSI.com) or listen to the show
every Saturday morning from 7 to 9.

Saturday, January 24 at 1:00: Harmonica Pocket at Mass MoCA (we'll
have them on our show either that morning or the following week, btw)
(this is not a show we're putting on, but it'll be fun) Fun indie pop
for kids.

Sunday, February 1 at 1:00pm: Secret Agent 23 Skidoo at Lyman Hall,
First Churches - $7! (a portion of proceeds to the church's capital
campaign) - positive hip hop for kids with a sound that's all grown
up. SA23's show last fall was a highlight of the year, and this will
be a great pre-Super Bowl show for the whole family. We'll have you
home in plenty of time for the game, I promise.

February 11 (and March 11) - Marcy Gregoire returns to Cup & Top for
after-school shows; 3:00 face painting, 4:00 music.

Saturday, February 21 at 2:00pm: Elizabeth Mitchell at Northampton
Community Music Center - $5! (net proceeds to NCMC's scholarship
fund) Can't tell you how excited I am for this show.
http://youaremyflower.org/home.html if you don't already know about
her.

And now, for the festival announcement --

We'll have lots more details and announcements to come, but on
Saturday, March 28, from 10 am to 4 pm at the JFK Middle School, we're
super excited to be presenting the inaugural River Family Music
Meltdown and Book Bash.

We'll have:

• Two stages of music (one more rocking, one mellower)

• Some of the most exciting children's book authors working today

• Story time with River DJs

• Great activities - not just the same old stuff you see at every
kids' event; promise

• Local food

• Wonderful local groups and businesses

On the music side, here's just some of who we've got lined up (all
subject to change, and there's more to come):

The Nields (full band show!) - local heroes, national following, great
new two-disc record

Deedle Deedle Dees - from Brooklyn, longtime friends of Northampton
and the show, fantastic historical rock

School for the Dead - more local heroes doing a rare family show

Aric Bieganek - You know him from the Northampton Parents Center; the
Gazette calls him the "Jack Black of kids' music," and his shows are
great fun

Uncle Rock - Long-time friend of the show, former Fleshtone, rawk.

Marcy Gregoire - newcomer to our happy valley, quickly becoming a big
part of the area, including a fun series of shows at Cup & Top

Dennis Caraher - one of the first guests we ever had, and still a
favorite with a fun new record

Laura Cayer - Formerly of the Juice Pops and Pop Rockets, now doing
solo stuff, along with shows with Marcy Gregoire

And for the authors, we've got:

Anna Alter - Anna's work is reminiscent of a modern day Bread and Jam
for Frances. Her work is beautiful! She is the illustrator for the
lavishly illustrated chapter book The Purple Ribbon and she is the
author/illustrator for Estelle and Lucy and Francine's Day. Her
upcoming book (which should be here in time for the festival) is
called What Can You Do With an Old Red Shoe? (A Green Activity Book).
It's a craft book on recycling and Anna will work with kids at craft
table.

Timothy Basil Ering - Tim is the illustrator of the award-winning
Tales of Despereaux and the author/illustrator of Frog Belly Rat BoneI
and Necks Out for Adventure! He's the biggest kid you'll ever meet.

Jane Yolen - Jane really needs no introduction. Jane has been called
the "Hans Christian Andersen of America" by Newsweek and "the Aesop of
the 20th century" by the New York Times. She has countless books to
her credit -How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight, the immortal Owl Moon.

And then there is our friend Jarrett Krosoczka, who's putting together
the book side of the event. Jarrett used to be a goofy kid that liked
to draw. Now, he is an award winning published author/illustrator with
many books to his credit, including the Punk Farm series and, coming
this summer, the graphic novel Lunch Lady. (You can hear our visit to
his studio on this show.

How much would you pay for all of this? $20? $30? Nope. It's free,
folks. Free! Put this down on your calendar. Now.

If you're a business or organization interested in becoming a sponsor
of the inaugural Meltdown, get in touch with me (show AT sparetherock
DOT com) and I'll get you a sponsorship package. We're hoping to get a
ton of folks from the community involved and would love to work with
you to get you involved