Ben Rudnick & Friends has been bringing families together through their unique style of music since 2000. With 6 Parent Choice Awards and a hit theme song on the Emmy Award winning TV Documentary Route 66: The Mother Road, their music has been inspiring families for over 12 years.
Affectionately nicknamed “the Grateful Dead for kids,” Ben Rudnick & Friends create a jam band dynamic that takes their concerts and recordings to a stratospheric level. The band’s instantly identifiable brand of adventurous musicianship soars across a spectrum of bluegrass, western swing, reggae, country, folk, and the many flavors of rock. Kids’ music authority Stefan Shepherd (Zooglobble.com) enthused, “The band just sounds GOOD.”
Love is a Superpower actually features some very amazing special guests including master bassist M’talewa Thomas (Entrain, Greatful Dread), fiddler Kenny Kosek (James Taylor, Jerry Garcia, Willie Nelson), trombonist Jon Garniss (Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, The Four Tops), trumpet player Rick Hammett (Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, The Temptations), and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Bird (Cowboy Junkies). It’s a very sophisticated musical compilation for a children’s album!
Their nickname hits it right on the mark with ‘the Grateful Dead for kids’, although there is a lot of funk and 60s pop to it. Some of the songs seem inspired by bluegrass with twangs of country. If I were to describe it fully, I would say it really embraces the various American music styles. There are a lot of layers to the music, a coming together of various musical heritages with the sincere message to ‘love each other’.
I love the positive message of this album. It has a great beat to it and my tot calls it ‘the love CD’, he’s pretty cute. His favorite song is “Wheels”, are you surprised? He’s a little boy in love with wheels. The other songs on Love is a Superpower are:
- A Little Boogie
- Love is a Superpower
- Where are the Dragons?
- Wake Up Happy
- Ray
- Chicken Soup Ballad
- Prime Time
- Wheels
- My Horse
- Swingin’ Along
- Scribbling
- Here Comes the Sun
- Jenny Jenkins
Ben Rudnick & Friends is also currently halfway through their tour, but you can see the upcoming dates below!
- October 7: Warner Fall Foliage Festival Warner, NH
- October 20: World Caf? Live at The Queen Wilmington, DE
- October 21: World Caf? Live Philadelphia, PA
- December 1: Coolidge Corner Theatre Brookline, MA
- December 15: Regent Theatre Arlington, MA
- December 28: Port Washington Library Port Washington, NY
