Portland Rocks with City Dads Playing ‘Kindie’ Children’s Music

Portland Dads Group member Aaron Canwell and his then 6-month-old son, Micah, were wandering around their Oregon hometown looking for family-friendly things to do when they stumbled on a group of musicians playing children’s songs with a rock ‘n’ roll beat.

Quickly, two new “kindie” music fans were born.

“This performance engaged children young and old to sing and dance,” Canwell said. “I got hooked. I decided I wanted to take my love of music and movement to share with children just like these people did.”

And soon was born a new band.

Micah and Me, composed of Canwell and three other members of our Portland Dads Group, has become popular playing toddler parties and other kid-centric events for the past four years in and around Portland. This includes a monthly gig at the local children’s museum our Portland Dads Group helps sponsor. As a result, readers of PDX Parent magazine earlier this month selected Micah and Me a Top 5 Best Kindie Musician/Performer in Portland.

Now the band is trying to raise money to finance its first album.

“After almost every show we are asked if we have a CD and the answer is always ‘sorry we don’t!’ So to remedy that we are recording our first album,” the band wrote on its Kickstarter page. They hope to raise $6,000 by Father’s Day, June 18.

Aside from Canwell, who sings and plays ukulele, the band includes: Ryan Chouinard (guitar, bass drum, vocals), Justin Deckert (bass) and, National At-Home Dad Network President, Portland Dads Group organizer and blog contributor Chris Routly (percussion, ukulele, vocals).

** Contribute to the Micah and Me album fund **