Children's Music Duo Andrew & Polly to Perform in Little Rock
After Andrew & Polly take the stage, the kids will look forward to going home and eating some grapes, as their hit song suggests. Their Little Rock show is at 1:30 p.m. on Sun., Sept. 11 in the Murphy Theater at Pulaski Academy.
Polly Hall, a 2000 graduate from Central High School in Little Rock, and husband Andrew Barkan make up the duo of Andrew & Polly. The two have composed music for Nickelodeon's Wallykazam!, Sesame Studios and the score for Welcome to the Wayne. They have also composed scores for "grown-up" movies, TV and commercials.
Andrew & Polly are on YouTube, where their song Grapes has amassed over 100,000 views. The song was SiriusXM’s #1 kids song of 2015, according to AndrewAndPolly.com.
In addition to performing children's music, Andrew and Polly produce a podcast together called Ear Snacks. A podcast for children can be more challenging than a podcast targeted at adults, Hall says.
"Most podcasts for adults are about conversations between people," Hall says. "All you really need for that are a couple of good-sounding microphones and some people talking, but adults are patient. Kids are not the same way. When we're making our podcasts for kids, it's almost like making a 20-minute TV show for kids, but without anything to look at."
Hall and Barkan met at Amherst College in Massachusetts. Hall was recording a folk album and Barkan played keyboard on some of the tracks. Now, the two are married with a two-year-old son named Izzy. His favorite song of his parents' is Dancing Pants and Hall says there is nothing surer to make him dance! It doesn't hurt that the song is a collaboration with one of his favorite artists, Mista Cookie Jar.
Ear Snacks: Songs from the Podcast will be released on Sept. 30 and the duo will be on tour until the middle of Oct., at which point they will begin work on season two of their podcast.
Tickets for the Sept. 11 show are $10 for adults and $5 for kids ages 3 to 10. Proceeds benefit Congregation Agudath Achim, which Hall was a member of during her time in Arkansas.