Dan Zanes & friends Concert – February 5

Who’s this goony-looking dude with the big poofy hair and the guitar? Kids and parents love Dan Zanes, and since he’s playing a show at the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square on February 5, we figured we’d check him out.

It turns out that Dan Zanes, formerly of the Boston rock band the Del Fuegos*, is a cottage industry unto himself, the founder and king of the “kindie rock” scene. He’s been producing his own soothing, folksy style of music since his debut solo kid-album in the year 2000, and has been releasing satisfying musical soul-food for families ever since. His 2006 album, Catch That Train! won a Grammy, and his latest, Little Nut Tree, provides the same seamless combination of musical styles. Really, we’re not sure how he fuses musical styles as disparate as reggae, bluegrass, country, and rock, often in one song, but we’re just glad that someone figured it out.

And the Dan Zanes experience translates well in real life, too: the Zooglobble kid music blog says that “The wonder of a Dan Zanes concert, then, is that he produces a very communal experience that isn’t so focused on him. Instead, the community itself is the communal experience.” Singing, dancing, and other audience participation is not just encouraged – it’s a must! You can even get in some practice ahead of time with the interactive features on Zanes’ website.

Tickets for Dan Zanes and Friends are available at www.worldmusic.org, or by calling 617-876-4275, or visiting the Somerville Theatre box office at 55 Davis Square in Somerville. Shows are at 11am and 3pm, and tickets are $25 – all patrons must have tickets, including babies.

* If you haven’t heard the Del Fuegos but the name sounds familiar, you’re probably thinking of the catchy 1993 rock hit “My Sister” by Juliana Hatfield – before you click on this link for some ‘90s nostalgia, though, be aware that it includes some iffy language.

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