Ziggy Marley at Club Nokia

Having just walked out of Club Nokia for an Erykah Badu concert nearly twelve hours earlier, I headed back there the following morning for an entirely different event: The GRAMMY Museum's "Music Explorations" family program featuring Ziggy Marley. Same venue, different cast.

Those who have probably been at Club Nokia for a "way over the age of three" event, are probably wondering how a family program might fare in the same space. It does very well actually.

The general admission area provides ample room for kids and parents to go up near the stage. The outdoor balconies are perfect for setting up places with kids crafts (a bunch of little kids making drums). And - perfect for any kid event - plenty of room for them to run around...with instruments in hand.

The event opened up with Rhythm Child warming the audience up with songs that reminded me of modernized versions of my Wee Sing tape cassette days (I'm sure all the kids there would be "tape cassette, what's that?"). Their songs included a seven-year-old on vocals and a three-year-old "rocking it out guitar".

Ziggy Marley and his band followed - continuing the family fun atmosphere - with songs from his new children's album. His songs were about trains and his own alphabet song, sure to not only teach a thing or two but to provide a great reggae-flavored musical experience. His set also included songs by his famous father, much to the delight of parents who were sporting Bob Marley-friendly shirts and the like.

While all the kids may not have been paying attention and might not have truly grasped what reggae is, the purpose of educational programs like these are at the heart of this blog/website - the experience. Maybe one of them, running around with his or her self-made (Mom or Dad helped!) drum will be citing Ziggy has an early influence.

-Charity Tran

Photo Credit: Flickr - Eric Richardson of Blogdowntown.com