Laurie Berkner to Perform at Capitol Center for the Arts Next Month

Award-winning children's recording artist Laurie Berkner comes to the Capitol Center for the arts for one performance on Saturday, January 10, at 11am. This all-ages show is sure to be one of the top family events of the year.

Best-selling, award-winning children's recording artist Laurie Berkner has been a professional musician for more than 20 years, releasing five hit albums. Nicknamed "the queen of children's music" by critics, she is widely acknowledged to be the modern matriarch of "kindie" rock-music enticing for kids and adults alike. According to Laurie, "When I'm writing a song, I'm thinking about whether the kids will like it and whether I'm going to connect to them through it. I'm also thinking about whether I want to sing it over and over again, so I guess that's the part that connects with adults. Old MacDonald Had A Farm is a great song for kids, but I couldn't sing it 100 times!"

Fans will recognize Berkner from music videos on television channel Nick Jr. and the network's series "Jack's Big Music Show." Most recently, she created an animated television show for Sprout called Sing It, Laurie!. With popular hits "Bumble Bee (Buzz Buzz)," "Victor Vito," "We are the Dinosaurs" and "Rocketship Run,"

While Laurie never planned to be a children's performer, looking back on her career it almost seems inevitable. While growing up in Princeton, New Jersey, Laurie was always involved in music, whether singing in choirs, playing in bands, or performing in musical theater. Laurie recalls enjoying Gilbert and Sullivan operettas and Broadway musicals as a young child, as well as Simon & Garfunkel and Marlo Thomas' Free To Be You And Me album. In high school and throughout college (at Rutgers University), she toured Europe with several choirs and orchestras as a soloist and guitarist. After graduation, Laurie worked at summer camps and then spent several years as a children's music specialist at New York area preschool and day care centers. Working with children became the perfect creative outlet for Laurie to express her talents and create something that, she says, "has turned out to be incredibly rewarding."

Laurie has released five CDs, Whaddaya Think Of That? (2007); Buzz Buzz (199); Victor Vito (1999); Under A Shady Tree (2002); and Rocketship Run (2008) as well as a greatest hits collection. Her Two Tomatoes Records has also co-released (with Razor & Tie Entertainment) two DVDs, We are . . . The Laurie Berkner Band (2006) and Party Day! (2011). Laurie recently authored Barnes & Noble's first-ever original NOOK Kids Read and Play NOOK Kids Book, based on the title track from Party Day!.

Laurie continues to be inspired by her audience. "I want to create songs that matter for children," she says. "I was singing once and saw a four-year-old girl shut her eyes and start swaying to the music. I thought, 'That's the reason I got into music.' It keeps me wanting to do more."

Tickets for Laurie Berkner's performance on January 10 are available now by calling 603-225-1111, online at www.ccanh.com, and at the box office, located at 44 South Main Street, Concord, NH 03301, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Saturday hours after Labor Day) Tickets: $35, $50 VIP (includes Meet & Greet and photo), and $100 for family 4-packs. Kids under one free.