New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Latin GRAMMY Award winner and four-time Parents' Choice Gold Award recipient Mister G (Ben Gundersheimer) calls upon his musical roots to celebrate children's wonder for the natural world with the release of his ninth album for families, Fireflies, on
September 28, 2018.
Fireflies marks a return to Mister G's beginnings as a songwriter and musician. Quintessentially American, the album draws from a rich tapestry of roots influences including folk, bluegrass, soul and vintage country. The music reflects the freedom and excitement of exploring the outdoors in summer, celebrating such iconic pleasures as eating s'mores by the campfire, 4th of July fireworks, paddling a canoe, and family cookouts. Mister G's original songs also encourage children to see themselves as budding eco-activists who are connected to all beings on the planet.
Co-produced, recorded, and mixed with Grammy-winner Dean Jones,
Fireflies recalls a simpler, more optimistic era when children spent hours of unstructured time playing outdoors. Recorded with a small group of friends and collaborators, the album is a testament to the organic beauty of hand-played instruments, including fiddle, pedal steel, mandolin, banjo, upright bass, and acoustic guitar. One would be hard pressed to say whether this masterful collection of exquisitely rendered songs will be cherished more by kids or their parents.
Much of the album was written and recorded in Mister G's studio in western Massachusetts, including a memorable session with Charmaine Neville. Neville's gospel-infused vocals on the songs "Sweet Summertime" and "S'mores" provide a link to her hometown of New Orleans and her direct lineage to The Neville Brothers. Award-winning children's musician Lucy Kalantari contributes lovely harmonies to "Fireflies," "Me and You," and "Moonbeams," while acclaimed Americana performer Ruth Ungar unleashes her fiddling prowess on "Together as One" and "Big Old World."
A superstar in the children's music world, known for his eclectic musical tastes spanning genres from bluegrass to bossa nova, Mister G's dynamic, original music has won praise from The
Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times,
Chicago Sun-Times, People magazine, New York Post, Parents magazine, and more.
Drawing on his previous career as an adult musician as well as his background as a teacher with a Master of Education degree, Mister G's songs are immediately engaging for children, instructors, and parents while seamlessly melding lessons in ecology, creativity, literacy, and multiculturalism.
Mister G has released one album a year since entering the children's music field in 2010;
Fireflies is his ninth album. His previous releases include
Pizza for Breakfast (2010), Bugs (2011; Parents magazine and People magazine top children's album), Chocolalala (2012; Parents' Choice Gold Award), ABC Fiesta (2013; Latin GRAMMY nominee, Parents' Choice
Silver Award), The Bossy E (2014; with GRAMMY winner Charles Neville), The Mitzvah Bus (2015; Parents' Choice Gold Award, PJ Library selection), Los Animales (2015; Latin GRAMMY Award, Parents' Choice Gold Award), and Mundo Verde/Green World (2017; Parents' Choice Gold Award).
Mister G tours internationally, headlining such major venus as Lollapalooza (Chicago), SummerStage in Central Park (NYC), Hard Rock Café (Philadelphia), Wolf Trap (Washington, DC), Austin City Limits, the Getty Museum (Los Angeles), and JazzFest (New Orleans). He recently performed on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC for a major national environmental rally and began the year with shows in
India and Mexico. Some selected dates from his fall tour include concerts at the Pilgrimage Festival in Tennessee; the Academy of
Music Theatre in Northampton, MA; Freight & Salvage in Berkeley, CA; and Lincoln Center in NYC.
Moving from the stage and recording studio to the printed page, Mister G recently signed a multi-book deal with Penguin
Random House to transform several of his songs into children's picture books. The first of these, Señorita Mariposa, illustrated by Marcos Almada Rivero, will be published in early 2019.
Fireflies will be available at iTunes, CDBaby, Amazon, and the Mister G website.
Album Details: Fireflies
Label: Coil Records
Release Date:
September 28, 2018
For all ages, and especially enjoyed by ages 3 - 8
SRP: $14.99 CD; $9.99 digital download
Run Time: 28 minutes
Mister G - Performance Highlights - Fall 2018
Sept. 22/23 - Pilgrimage
Music & Cultural Festival - Franklin, TN
Oct. 28 - Academy of
Music Theatre - Northampton, MA
Nov. 11 - Freight & Salvage - Berkeley, CA
Nov. 26 - Winter's Eve at Lincoln Center - New York, NY
Dec. 9 - Mayerson JCC - Cincinnati, OH
