HFVS Tips its Hat to the Pop Rockets

This week’s episode of the HFVS was an encore presentation of the episode, King of the Insects. It was a big hit with all our budding entomologist so we thought we’d play it again … But mostly because we needed a little R&R following the HFVS 1st Annual T-Shirt Review Mini-Fest & Ice Cream Social that happened this weekend in West Chesterfield, MA.

The review/fest/social was a big success and as far as I could tell everyone had a blast. I’ll be posting more updates and photos from the review, but first I wanted to thank the Pop Rockets for their “Blast Off” performances during the event. They were a big hit!

POP ROCKETS CD RELEASE PARTY

I first saw the Pop Rockets at Cup & Top in Florence this past spring. This four-piece band rocked the house. The place was packed. Moms and dads got jazzed up on fresh cups of joe, as the music pulled kids off laps and onto the dance floor. They had their waist high audience jumping up and down, twirling in circles like spinning tops. (OH!!! I get it … Cup & Top … duh!) I recall one parent referring to their performance as “a rock concert for kids.” That it was!

This summer we saw them perform again in Deerfield and were very excited to learn they had a new CD coming out. So we invited them to be our featured band during the HFVS’s 1st Annual T-Shirt Review Mini-Fest & Ice Cream Social. And once again they rocked the house, er, lawn. More on that to come.

On Sunday they were back at Cup & Top for their new CD Release Party, pictured above with Hilltown Families and friends. They performed all their new songs including “New Sneaker Jive,”which I now consider one of may favorite shoe songs, along with “Where’s My Shoes Blues” by AudraRox, “Shoe Bandit” by Uncle Rock (all artists that have also performed at Cup & Top with in the last year). Here’s a video from their recent Cup & Top performance:

POP ROCKETS AT THE T-SHIRT REVIEW

Back in West Chesterfield, during the T-Shirt Review, they sang songs from their new album, Blast Off. Their songs tell of the experiences that their eight and under fans can relate to, while testing the agility of parents to balance ice cream cones and plates of pizza with infections rhythms and melodies.

For many families this exposure to rockin’ kids music was a new experience. CDs from Music Together classes from when their kids were toddlers, and maybe a Dan Zanes and Raffi album for some might have been their exposure to quality kid’s music. One parent remarked they had no idea there were rock bands that catered solely to the booster seat crowd. The Pop Rockets brought a live performance aspect to the event that the t-shirts were mere representations of … great kids music!

The purpose the the HFVS’s T-Shirt Review was three-fold: empowering kids, bringing community together and introducing new music of independent bands from across the country. The Pop Rockets are an excellent example of quality kids music available right here in Western Massachusetts.

Thirty-five artists submitted their t-shirts to the review. The results of the HFVS T-Shirt review will be released in the next few weeks. Check back for a full report. In the meantime, be sure to tune in to next weeks episode of HFVS to find out how you can win the Pop Rocket’s new CD and T-SHIRT!