Astrograss is:
Jordan Shapiro - guitar/vocals, Sarah Alden - fiddle/vocals, Dennis Lichtman - mandolin, Jonah Bruno - banjo, Tim Kiah - bass/vocals
Astrograss is NYC's only bluegrass band for kids and their families. Formed in 2003, the band has released 3 CDs and played hundreds of shows for families around the Northeast.
Astrograss gets kids and their parents dancing together, with a unique blend of bluegrass music and down-home humor. Astrograss concerts feature sing-a-longs, dance contests, and high-energy fiddle hoedowns. Their original songs cover topics like spelling, whether Pluto is a planet, bedtime and the many neighborhoods of Brooklyn. Working on the success of their 2008 CD, "Let Me Stay Up All Night", Astrograss appeared at the world famous South By Southwest festival in Austin, TX in March 2009, performing in the Family Music showcase. The band sold out the prestigious Joe's Pub in New York City for the CD Release Party and has been touring the Northeast, from a home base in Brooklyn, New York.
Astrograss has been performing shows for families since 2005, and has since become a mainstay in the NYC family music scene. Since then the band has played the Madison Square Park Kids music series for 7 years in a row, in addition to regular performances at Symphony Space, 92Y Tribeca, and Joe's Pub.
In 2006 they won the TimeOutNY Kids' Battle of the Bands contest at the Knitting Factory, and later recorded with Dan Zanes, as his backup band for the benefit album, Bright Spaces 2. Zanes produced their first album, "Astrograss for Kids", a collection of poems set to music, released in 2006. Since 2007, the band has appeared yearly at the legendary Greyfox Bluegrass Festival in upstate NY, performing on the Family Stage. Since 2009, the band has been a featured band with Lincoln Center's "Meet the Artist" series, performing for schools throughout the five NYC boroughs.
In December 2011, the band begun recording its followup to "Let Me Stay Up All Night". The new CD, currently untitled, will once again feature new songs from the songwriting team of Jordan Shapiro/Joe Grossman, along with Appalachian folk songs, bluegrass standards and some special surprises. The band is looking at an early fall 2012 release date.
Watch the band's video of "This Land Is Your Land":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESToX47kwRI
"BAM Harvey Theater" montage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKQ7ResI_XE
"Old Joe Clark" from Madison Sq. Park: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6wJN00rzwA&feature=related
Listen to mp3s at:
http://www.astrograssmusic.com/kids/listen.htm
In their "for-grownups" format, Astrograss is one of the New York area's premier acoustic acts and has toured extensively throughout the Northeast, playing clubs, theaters, private parties, weddings and festivals.
