America's Top 5 Children's Music Festivals

Summertime is America's music festival season. All across the country, there are fun events to look forward to--including, of course, the Second Annual HillTop Records Online Music Festival for Songwriters!

However, it can be difficult to attend these crowded, open-air festivities with small children in tow. Luckily, we've found a list of great music festivals that cater specifically to your little ones! These family-friendly events make it easy to combine the best things about summer--the warm weather and sunshine, live music and fun, and spending time with the entire family.

1. The Houston Children's Festival (3/31/2012 - 4/1/2012) in Houston, Texas
Proudly billed as the largest children's festival in the United States, The Houston Children's Festival is not to be missed. The most recent installment gathered over 50,000 families, friends, volunteers and sponsor partners in downtown Houston for days of live music, face painting, inflatable bounce houses, sporting events, refreshments, etc. The music came from Radio Disney, Nickelodeon and independent performers--and there was no shortage of special performances and celebrity appearances! While the 2012 event has already passed, don't worry--the next one is already in the works. It is scheduled to take place April 6-7, 2013--and it will be the 25th anniversary of the festival!

2. The Austin Family Music Festival (4/21/2012) in Austin, Texas
Also in Texas, at North Austin's Pioneer Farms, is the annual Austin Family Music Festival. The lively event combines children's music and activities on the farm to raise funds for Pioneer Farms and the Biscuit Brothers Television Project (both non-profit organizations in the area.) A major highlight is always the Musical Hayride events, led by the festival's star: Tiny Scarecrow.

3. The Kids Corner Music Festival (3/10/2012) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
This new event was first founded in 2011, when organizers of Philadelphia's Kids Corner (with support from The Franklin Institute) saw a need for better family entertainment in the area. They launched the first Kids Corner Music Festival at the city's World Cafe Live--and the response was overwhelming! The festival completely sold out, prompting the organizers to beginning planning the next festival immediately. The second event attracted over 800 people, and there is no doubt that the festival will continue to grow. Stay tuned as the 2012 Kids Corner Music Festival series promises to establish a long-running tradition.

4. Fiddlekids (6/23/2012) in San Francisco, California
Now over a decade old, fiddlekids is actually a unique summer music camp for children ages 7-13. During the two-week-long camp, young musicians are introduced to a variety of traditional fiddling styles: bluegrass, American old-time, Appalachian, Celtic, jazz, swing, Klezmer, and more. The camp combines these fiddling lessons with song, dance and art workshops to provide a wonderfully creative, interactive and fun experience. The culmination is an annual violin concert that allows fiddlekids campers to show off their new-found skills. Of course, due to the nature of the concert, children are welcome to attend--and who knows? It just may inspire your own little one to participate the following year!

5. Jiggle Jam Family Fest (5/26/2012 - 5/27/2012) in Kansas City, Missouri
Jiggle Jam, the nation's largest independent family music festival, takes place every year over Memorial Day weekend. Its purpose is (taken from the festival's official website) to bring "generations and communities together to experience live music and educational activities in a fun and positive atmosphere that the entire family can enjoy." The "jiggle" in the event's name refers to the dancing and the "jam" refers to the three stages of live music--you can expect to enjoy the sounds of over two dozen local, regional and national bands. On top of all that, the festival also includes a gigantic Children's Area filled with activities and workshops to keep your little ones entertained all weekend long.

If you've got kids, put one of these Festivals on your calendar for 2013. Can't make any of these festivals? Don't worry--you can always attend the HillTop Records Online Music Festival for Songwriters! The event is free to virtually "attend" and participate in online, from anywhere in the world and at any time of day!

WHO WE ARE – HILLTOP RECORDS STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

To help acquaint Festival-goers with HillTop Records, we thought we would publish our statement of purpose for those of you who want to learn more about us. HillTop Records is an independent record label incorporated in 1993 in California and dedicated to promoting America’s songwriters. Instead of signing and promoting artists (singers and bands), HillTop contracts songwriters and promotes their songs.

All HillTop contracted songs are arranged and recorded by award-winning musicians who have worked with some of the biggest names in Pop, Country, Rock, R & B, Latin and Gospel music.  This approach gives songwriters from all across America access to some of the professional arrangers and musicians whose talents have helped to create chart-topping recordings for the stars.

HillTop has also joined forces with gifted executive producers, most notably Roy Stuart (b: 1927; d: 2005) and Carole Ita White. Mr. Stuart starred on Broadway in musicals, appeared in night clubs and in motion pictures, filmed over 100 TV commercials and guest appeared on more than 30 TV shows including Bewitched, Golden Girls and General Hospital. Perhaps best known for creating the role of Corporal Boyle on the hit TV show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., Mr. Stuart also wrote and directed his musical, The Gym, which opened for a brief run in Los Angeles. Roy Stuart executive produced three CD album projects for HillTop: On Broadway in 2002, New York, New York in 2003 and Broadway Melodies in 2004.

Carole Ita White created the role of Big Rosie on the hit TV show Laverne & Shirley. To date, she has appeared in more than two dozen TV shows, and her many motion picture credits include The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Witches of Eastwick and Grand Canyon. She has written for television and produced Books on Tape for Dove Audio. As an executive producer at HillTop, she released two CD album projects, ShowBiz in 2008 and On Stage in 2010. 

Many of HillTop’s music production services are fee-based. Available services include lead sheets, piano arrangements, band arrangements, full scores, recordings and recorded background tracks.

Songs recorded by HillTop and slated for commercial release are packaged, distributed and promoted. CDs, songbooks and single songs are sent to both land-based and Internet stores and radio stations. Press releases go to newspapers and Internet news sites. Sales are realized, and songwriters are paid.  

As the buying trend in America shifts away from brick and mortar stores to online music purchases, HillTop continues to increase its online presence. The company’s official website is designed to promote HillTop songwriters and achieve sales of their songs. Songs under contract are released on CD albums, in songbooks and, in some cases, as single song mp3 files; since 1998, all of these have been made available for sale on HillTop’s website. The website features one or more HillTop songwriters, Featured Songwriter and up to 18 new, recently recorded songs every month.  A weekly blog covering subjects ranging from how to use new media to brief bios of famous songwriters appeared on the website beginning in 2009. Internet Radio was added in 2010. 

 

With the promotion of America’s songwriters as its primary goal, in 2011, HillTop Records launched its First Annual Online Music Festival for Songwriters. The Festival brought in award-winning professionals to judge each of the song categories – Pop, Country, Gospel, Rock and Urban/R&B.

The First Annual HillTop Records Online Music Festival for Songwriters was open to any American songwriter whose earnings from songwriting totaled less than 10% of their annual income.  Both festival-goers and songwriters participated for free, and dozens of songwriters from all across America entered songs. Thousands attended the Festival and clicked to “like” their favorite songs. 

Steve Euto-Mullis took home $1000 and the first Festival Blue Ribbon for his song The Master of the Sky.  His composition also won the Best Country Song prize and was the most “liked” song in July; it won total cash awards of $1500.  Read more about the late, great American songwriter on Steve Euto-Mullis' HillTop Songwriter Page. 

As My New Life Begins by Chris Blackmore earned $500 as the most “liked” song of the Festival in 2011 as voted by festival-goers. It also won the HillTop Award – the one song chosen for recording by HillTop. Chris is an aspiring singer/songwriter from Indiana who released his first CD in January 2012.

Marx Clark’s song, I Give It Back To You, won the 2011 Best Gospel Song Festival prize. All of the Best of Genre songwriters received a Winner’s Certificate and a cash award of $250.

The Best Pop song in the 2011 Festival was Full Moon by Chuong Duong and Hai Pham. Chuong is a musician and poet from Massachusetts.

The winning Festival 2011 song in the Rock category was HillTop Rock by G. Milton Luttrell. Mr. Luttrell picked up the saxophone in the 6^th grade and has been making music ever since.

The 2011 Festival song judged as Best in the Urban/R&B category was Mystical Lady by Perlie Oliver. Perlie loves all styles of music including R&B, Country, Gospel and Jazz. 

Joseph A. Data won a special cash award of $250 for All The King's Horses, which received the most “like” votes in the Festival in June 2011.

The Second Annual HillTop Records Online Music Festival for Songwriters runs from July 2, 2012 through Labor Day, 2012, with even more cash awards than its predecessor. The goal of HillTop Records and its Online Music Festival is to promote America’s songwriters, giving them access to an ever-expanding audience, and to reward some of the best of those songwriters.

HillTop has worked with songwriters from every state in the United States as well as Canada, Australia, Russia, Mexico, Guam and Puerto Rico.  

HillTop Records Remembers Steve Euto-Mullis, American Songwriter

In May of this year we learned that last year's Music Festival Blue Ribbon winner had passed away. Steve Euto-Mullis, the award-winning talent behind "The Master of the Sky" and "Drive a Mile a Minute," died on May 15, 2012.

HillTop Records is dedicating the opening week of the Festival to Steve. While Steve Euto-Mullis led a full and multi-faceted life, we at HillTop best knew him for his contributions as a songwriter--and a great one, at that. After retiring from teaching composition at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, Steve devoted his time to songwriting, recording and performing. He wrote dozens of songs at Birdie In A Cage Music Studio, and recorded at Studio G and Log Cabin Productions. His first love was Gospel music; however, Steve also wrote and recorded wonderful songs in his own style of Americana/Folk/Country. He was inducted into the Carolinas Country - Bluegrass - Gospel Hall of Fame, and he was also a member of the Charlotte Folk Society.

HillTop Records is honored to have been a part of Steve Euto-Mullis' songwriting process. Last year, at our First Annual HillTop Records Online Music Festival for Songwriters, Steve's song "The Master of the Sky" won multiple awards: It was the Most Liked Song in July (thanks to participating voters) and it also won the Best of Genre in the Country Music category. Best of all, "The Master of the Sky" took home the Festival Blue Ribbon and the Grand Prize of $1000 for being the Best Song of the Festival. After the prizes were awarded, we received a heartfelt letter of thanks from Steve Euto-Mullis; we remember well what a kind and eloquent writer he was.

Of his signature song, Steve Euto-Mullis said: "The morning that I sat down with my guitar in hand to write 'Master' still lingers in my heart as a significant emotional event for me. I started the song with the intention of writing a Folk or Country piece about home; however, by the time I'd reached the second verse, the real 'Master of the Sky' evinced a subtle but meaningful shift away from the secular to a Gospel message."

We at HillTop Records are so proud to be able to work with gifted songwriters like Steve Euto-Mullis. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones, and we know that his legacy will live on in his beautiful music. Please take the time to visit Steve's HillTop Records Songwriter Page, and listen to some of his incredible songs. They have been Featured many times on our website. Last year's Industry Professionals page on our Music Festival website featured his signature song - "The Master of the Sky." All of his HillTop recorded songs are available for purchase on our official website at http://www.hilltoprecords.com/. Steve was our Featured Songwriter for the month of May 2012.

Steve Euto-Mullis is survived by his wife Chris Stoner-Mullis, daughter Jennifer Capousis and her husband Gavin, five grandchildren, and his brother Dillon Mullis and his wife Margaret. Although we never met Steve in person, we knew him well through his eloquent letters and his great songs. All of us at HillTop feel that we have lost a dear friend, but we know that Steve has gone home to be with the Master of the Sky.