Really Important Stuff to Know:

BOULDER, CO – Can a concert tour truly be “environmentally responsible” when the performers travel the breadth of the country with entourage and instruments in tow via a caravan of big honking buses? That’s why so many musicians attempt to rationalize their actions by fueling their tour vehicles and/or generators with sustainable biodiesel. And they hawk trinkets – tshirts, tote bags, water bottles, CO2 offset stickers, and the like – with “proceeds benefiting renewable energy projects.” Harrumph!

Jeff Kagan, a noted Boulder-based environmental educator and children’s musician, will truly (but not literally!) put his feet where his mouth is this summer as he hikes the Colorado Trail and performs his original mountain-inspired music for children of the Rocky Mountains at 9 different venues along the trail. Since Kagan will hike from town to town and carry his instrument/props along the way, this children’s music tour promises to be a genuine carbon-neutral event!

Of course, it could easily be dismissed as a stunt if the music and performance itself wasn’t so engaging. A Mom who attends Kagan’s regular “Meadow Music” concerts in Boulder said, “I was singing your praises to a mom I met when we were camping up in Redstone and I tried to think of a description for your music – which is really more than music… your Act. I said that you were a cross between: (1) John Denver – Almost Heaven, Rocky Mountain High, nature loving, feel-good, joyful music, (2) Dan Zanes – totally hip, fun, down-home, family music, hangin’ out and singin’ with the peeps, and (3) The Wiggles – silly, creative, super engaging for kids, wildly popular, and, well, wiggly! This is an amazing and totally unique combination, and I for one am truly grateful that it ’s right here in my backyard.”

During the school year, Kagan teaches environmental education with the Thorne Ecological Institute in Boulder, CO. The common thread through his teaching is the use of music to enhance appreciation for and educate about the natural world including Colorado wildlife and ecological conservation. Commenting about music as a teaching tool, Kagan said, “It is the most genuine means I have found to express my appreciation for the life-changing landscapes of the Rockies. And I” am so eager to spend my time this summer immersed in the mountains that I love, playing my mountain-inspired music for the kids who live there.” Kagan also leads programs as a Naturalist for the Open Space and Mountain Parks Dept. of the City of Boulder, CO.

In April 2008, Kagan released his first CD, “Rocky Mountain Tunes for Rocky Mountain Kids.” “Indeed, the Rocky Mountains are the source of my music and the majority of the 12 tunes were written on my solo hiking excursions through the foothills of the Rockies,” Kagan said. He added, “I hope to live and create nature-based music in the Front Range for a very long time.” The disc is available for purchase at www.rockymountainmusic.info.

Tour Specifics are as follows:
July 22nd -------- Waterton Canyon, CO - Audubon Center at Chatfield, 5:30pm
August 2nd ------ Breckenridge, CO - Summit Co. Public Library, 2pm
August 8th ------ Leadville, CO - St. George's Episcopal Church, 5:30pm
August 10th ----- Twin Lakes, CO - Inn of the Black Wolf, 5:30pm
August 15th ------Buena Vista, CO - Buena Vista Public Library, 10:30am
August 20th ------ Salida, CO - Bongo Billy's Salida Cafe, 10:30am
August 30th ------Lake City, CO - Historic Armory Building, 6pm
September 6th ---- Silverton, CO – Silverton Public Library, 1pm
September 14th ----- Durango Nature Studies' WildWords Concert Series, 4:30pm

For more information, email Sally or call us at 970-382-9244, ext 3