Booking A Children's Music Performer For Library Family Night

A family night at the library brings in a different crowd than a weekday morning program. Parents come straight from work, older siblings tag along, a grandparent brings the baby, and some families are walking into the children's room for the first time.

When you're picking a performer for a night like that, the question is usually whether they can keep all of those people involved at once. Here's what we've learned from playing library programs, and what to think about as you plan.

Plan For Every Age In The Room

At a morning storytime you can aim at one age group. At family night you'll likely have infants on laps, toddlers who want to walk around, school-age kids who think they're too old for this, and adults who are tired and still in their work clothes.

A good family night performer plays to all of them. We start with the smallest kids in mind and work the crowd from there, so the parents, the big kids, and the babies all have a part in it. By the end, families are clapping, singing, and moving together.

We've written before about live music at the library for every age. This post is more about the evening event itself and how to set it up.

What Kids Get Out Of It

A family music night covers a lot more than songs. In one program, kids are practicing:

• Social-emotional skills, like taking turns, waiting, and joining a group.
• Dramatic play, acting out songs and pretending along with the performers.
• Music and movement, dancing, clapping, and keeping a beat.
• Instrument discovery, seeing, hearing, and often touching instruments they haven't met before.

There's an early literacy piece too. The ALSC blog points out that singing slows language down so children can hear the different sounds that make up words. The same post encourages librarians to tell caregivers it's okay to sing no matter how well they sing, because children want to hear their grown-ups' voices. Family night is a good place to get those grown-ups singing. If you want more on this, we wrote about how music builds language and literacy in babies and toddlers.

Picking A Format

Most of our library programs run about 45 minutes. Here are the options librarians usually choose from:

• A smaller performance with one or two performers. This fits most children's rooms and community rooms.
• The full band show with Michael & the Rockness Monsters. That's three to six performers and about 60 minutes. It works well for a bigger room or a special event night.
• STEM Music Lab for ages 2 to 12. A good choice if your family night leans toward older kids or ties into a STEM theme.
• A grown-up-and-me library class for ages 0 to 5, with caregivers taking part the whole time. This one suits a night aimed at families with little ones.

If you're not sure which fits, think about who usually shows up to your evening events and how much space you have. You can hear what the band sounds like on our Our Sound page.

Setting Up The Night

A few practical things make an evening program go smoothly:

• Clear a floor area. Little kids do best sitting on the floor close to the performers, with grown-ups right behind or beside them.
• Say "all ages" in your listing. Some parents assume a children's music program is only for toddlers and leave the older siblings at home.
• Think about the start time. Early enough that babies and toddlers aren't past bedtime, late enough that working parents can get there.
• Leave room for strollers. Evening families often bring them, so a spot near the door keeps the walkway clear.
• Tell us who's coming. If you expect a lot of babies or a lot of school-age kids, let us know when you book so we can plan for your crowd.
• Keep families together. Encourage grown-ups to sit with their kids instead of along the back wall. They'll join in more when they're close.

How To Book

You can see all of our library options on the children's performers for libraries page. When you know your date and roughly what you want, fill out the show registration form and we'll follow up with you.

👉 Planning a family night this season? Send us your date or call 732-205-1971, and we'll help you pick the format that fits your crowd.

Thanks for reading,
The Rockness Crew
Rockness Music