Every two months local radio station PBS 106.7 FM put on Rock-A-Bye Baby Music Sessions at Fitzroy Town Hall. It is a widely anticipated event in the community – lots of parents I know in the area put the dates in their diary well in advance.
The concerts are unique because they feature local musicians who don’t ‘dumb down’ their music just because they’re playing to an audience of mainly kids. The one hour concerts have had music ranging from blues and roots, pop, rock and Afrobeat. I think it’s a fantastic way to expose children to a variety of sounds and to enjoy what it’s like to see and hear live musicians. The only concession to the youthful audience is that there are balloons, cushions are placed in the ‘mosh pit’ and it is absolutely fine to move about, dance, crawl, breastfeed or not pay attention at all.
With so many children and babies in the audience the noise levels (beyond the music) are pretty astronomical – it’s playgroup turned up to 11. I sat up the front on the floor with Lady AB on my lap and she was absolutely mesmerised by the musicians. I was expecting her to get up and bop up and down (as she does when we put on music at home) but she sat stock still, mouth agape, for a good 20 minutes, before clinging onto me for hugs.
I think after a while it was all too much for her – too loud, too noisy, too many people. In the second half of the concert she enjoyed running up and down the side corridors more, occasionally breaking out into a dance. Hence I think the concerts are better for a slightly older age group (3+) and definitely not for babes in arms and crawlers – it’s much too stimulating and they’ll get run over by the older kids.
The concerts are $5 per adult and free for students, kids and the first 50 concession card holders. They occur the first Thursday every second month at 11am. You can keep up to date via their Facebook page.
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