Hullabaloo Raises a Ruckus

“The best thing about performing for kids is how much pure joy we see on a daily basis,” says Steve Denyes of children’s music duo Hullabaloo. “Kids are so free and uninhibited, they just dance and sing because it’s fun. They don’t get hung up on whether they look cool or not. The hardest part is choosing the right song at the right moment, to keep kids engaged in the music. Kids’ attention spans are short, so you’ve got to work hard to keep them with you.”

Denyes (who lives in Del Mar) and bandmate Brendan Kremer (an Encinitas resident) met in kindergarten and started playing music together in fifth grade. The release party for their tenth CD, Raise a Ruckus, happens September 22 at the Hullabaloo Family Arts Festival at the Liberty Station NTC Promenade. “It’s a full day of music, dance, art, and storytelling, all for kids. We’ll open the festival and also play the final slot with special guests Shawn Rohlf [7th Day Buskers] and baby sign language expert Joann Woolley [of Sign4Baby].”

Lest you think performing for kids is easier than playing bars, Denyes says, “Once, we were playing on a street stage downtown, and some Civil War re-enactors came marching around the corner with a cannon, aimed right at us and the families we were singing for. We had to stop mid-song and evacuate the stage and the crowd before we took on cannon fire.”