Panelists:

• Dan Zanes (Dan Zanes & Friends)
• Kathy O’Connell (WXPN Kids Corner)
• Stefan Shepherd (Zooglobble.com)
• Peter Wright (Virtual Label)
• Mindy Thomas (Sirius/XM)
• Jeff Bogle (Out With The Kids)
• KC Mancebo (Clamorhouse)
• Darren Critz (Symphony Space)
• Rebecca Shapiro (Shorefire Media)
• Beth Blenz-Clucas (Sugar Mountain PR)
• Christina Refford (Cool Mom Picks)
• Melissa Levis (Moey’s Music Party)
• Jeff Giles (Dadnabbit, Popdose)
• Roland Stringer (Secret Mountain)
• Nerissa Nields (The Nields)
• Keli O’Neill Wenzel (Jiggle Jam)
• Rudy Trubitt (Sippy Cups, Patchwork Series)
• Audra Tsanos (AudraRox)
• Amy Otey (Miss Amy)

Performers:

• Dan Zanes
• Moona Luna
• Alastair Moock & Friends
• Gustafer Yellowgold
• Bari Koral Family Rock Band
• KBC Kids
• Renee & Jeremy
• Mista Cookie Jar
• Caspar Babypants

Note that some performers will be at the separately-ticketed Sunday music festival.

More to come!  Space is limited, so register now!

(As always, everything is subject to change.)

All you have to do is to create a profile on kinDIY and then fill out a quick form.  All the details are right here — and be sure to read the requirements carefully to make sure you have everything in the profile we’re looking for.

We can’t wait to hear what we get this year!

And registration is open now.

KindieFest is the world’s first-ever family music conference that fully embraces today’s market in all its diversity. Focusing exclusively on music for kids and families, KindieFest is back this spring for a packed weekend centered around the fastest growing aspect of the music business: family entertainment.

KindieFest offers a unique opportunity for industry members, musicians, kids’ promotion and media professionals and talent buyers to learn, grow and play together. Get on the inside track of this growing corner of the music industry.

KindieFest attendees will benefit from an exciting, broad agenda, including: panel discussions, small group conversations, networking opportunities, an industry-only showcase and a public music festival.

KindieFest changed my life. I’ve been playing kids’ music on the radio for almost 30 years, and attending KindieFest excited me about the next 30 years of this musical genre that grows better every year. The camaraderie of artists and others, the sharing of information and ideas, and the panels bringing experts and newbies together combine to create an inspiring and valuable experience. It’s more than a networking event. KindieFest is an inspirational weekend dedicated to the artists creating tomorrow’s music today. It’s the showcases that changed my life, though. I returned to WXPN from KindieFest with renewed enthusiasm for my mission to share great music with my family audience. KindieFest is networking heaven for artists, presenters, and people like me who share the music. Attending could change your life.

- Kathy O’Connell, WXPN Kids Corner

KindieFest was a great experience for us. Kindie bands working together and playing together was inspiring. All for the benefit of our future rockstars!

- Brian Vander Ark, The Verve Pipe

I look forward to KindieFest every year. We’ve discovered some of our core artists through the showcases, we’ve learned [and laughed] a ton during the honest and insightful panel discussions that focus on issues unique to the world of family music, and we’ve met some amazing people who have become colleagues that I can’t even imagine not working with on a regular basis. Did I mention that it’s also like going to a Class Reunion Summer Camp with all of the people you wish you had gone to high school with? The whole atmosphere is so welcoming, casual, and fun, that I recommend it to anyone even thinking about getting involved in this nutty business.

- Mindy Thomas, Program Director, SIRIUS/XM’s Kids Place Live

KindieFest 2011 will take place from April 27 to 29, 2012, at Littlefield NYC in Brooklyn, New York. Littlefield is located at 622 Degraw Street between 3rd and 4th Avenue in the Gowanus (Park Slope) neighborhood.

Friday night, April 27: We’ll have an opening networking reception and a keynote address.

Saturday, April 28: We’ll have panels throughout the day. Subjects will vary and cover a wide spectrum of topics related to the kindie industry, including how to make your own scene, the intersection of children’s literature and family music, building a two-tiered career, empowering your fans, collaboration, and much more. That night, we’ll have an industry-only showcase and party — with pizza! — another great chance to network and discuss what you saw throughout the day!

Sunday, April 29: We’ll have a separately ticketed public family music festival with some of the best in the family music world!

Panels, panelists, and performers will be announced soon.  If you want to learn how to apply to perform in the showcase or festival, click here.

For $95 you’ll be able to attend our Friday evening reception and keynote, the panels at the conference on Saturday and the Saturday evening industry-only showcase.  (We’ll also serve pizza during the showcase; that’s included in your registration.)  This fee does not include the Sunday festival, which will be separately ticketed.

Register now!

In the meantime, check out the consensus best of 2011 over at the Fids & Kamily Awards, and create a page (or edit one or just check out) kinDIY.org.

This year’s KindeFest was, simply put, magical. Until I got there, I had forgotten how powerful it is when a group of like-minded individuals get together to commune and share experiences. It feels like a family reunion, the most wonderful family you never met. That’s what the Kindie movement is all about. Shared passion and community building are the seeds from which a new genre is being born. I came out of this year’s fest with a grand realization; not only that we’re all in this together, but that we’re making history. Years from now, people will look back and say “remember when…” …and we will …and we’ll smile and know that we were part of something great.

From Steph:

This year’s Kindiefest was a tremendous experience for me. The energy, the smiles, the thank yous and everything in between kept me soaring through the weekend. Our panelists and performers put so much heart into their work for the fest and their openess to share was unbelievably rewarding. Personally, I came out of the weekend feeling like a million bucks. For 5 years now we have been developing this community event in some form or another but at Kindiefest 2011 it seems we passed community and became a family. I treasure this experience and cannot wait until next year.

Thank you!

From Mona:

KindieFest 2011?  An experience that took my love of family music to a whole other level.  Not only did it reinvigorate my passion, it gave me a newfound sense of excitement knowing that this movement is developing and growing in a direction that is full of pleasant surprises!  I couldn’t pull myself away from the panels.  The live music was thrilling.  The conversations I had with you all were inspiring.

Thank you, Kindiefesters, for an incredible ride.  I am truly honored to be part of this community – we are at the source! I look forward to seeing you all next year.

And from Bill:

I admit that I’ve had some fatigue around some parts of what I’ve done in family music in the last year, but KindieFest 2011 totally refreshed me and reminded me of what it is I love so very much about this little neighborhood in the world of music.  So much love, support, enthusiasm, good humor, and encouragement.  You all rock.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

• We’d really appreciate your feedback.  We’ve got a group set up on our Ning site, or you can post on our Facebook page, or just send us an e-mail at info AT kindiefest DOT com (that will go to all four of us).
• Speaking of the Facebook page, that’s where we’re posting a lot of links to videos, etc., for now.  We’ll embed the ever-growing video playlist at the end of this post, too.
• We’ll also link there to blog posts about the event, but for now, you can visit Zooglobble’s and producer Bill Childs’s.
• Oh, and here’s another one from Zooglobble.
• And a great overview from Jeff Bogle of Out With The Kids.
• You free April 27-29, 2012?  (Dates aren’t quite rock solid yet, but pretty close.)

Check out the full schedule to see how things are proceeding!

Industry Showcase (Saturday, April 30 – register now for the conference!)
6:00 Billy Kelly & the Blahblahblahs
6:20 The Pop Ups
6:45 The Not Its!
7:10 Shine and the Moonbeams
7:35 The Board of Education
8:00 Cat and a Bird
8:25 RhymeZwell
8:45 Candy Band

Public Festival (Sunday, May 1 – get tickets now)
12:00 Oran Etkin’s Timbalooloo
12:40 Heidi Swedberg & the Sukey Jump Band
1:20 Aaron Nigel Smith
2:00 Tim and the Space Cadets
2:40 Elizabeth Mitchell & You Are My Flower
3:20 The Verve Pipe