A Few Things...

Hi Everyone!

Just want to point out a few things that are new here. First off, you can now add yourself to our mailing list by filling in the Mail Chimp box to your left. (If you are already on the list, you can also update your profile. We highly recommend this since we don't have full names for a lot of our peeps.)

Second, we created an Opinion Survey and would love it if you'd take a few minutes to share your thoughts. Click here to take survey! We'll share the results once they are in!

Finally, we added a donate button up there on the top left for those of you who would like to help us ensure that the 2009 season is as rockin' as ever. Unfortunately we are not a 501(c)3, so you can't get a tax break, but you can rest assured that 100% of your donation will go towards putting on future shows. We've been operating on a shoestring budget for three years, and we're proud of what we've done, but it would be nice to not be sweating before every show wondering if we're going to cover our costs! It's also important to us to keep Rock-n-Romp affordable to everyone, so we want to avoid raising the "$5 suggested donation" in the future. Every little bit helps, so please make a donation!

Thanks in advance for your support of Rock-n-Romp!

November 1st Recap-o-rama

Saturday was our last show of the 2008 season and if I do say so myself, it was badass. It was the first time that we skipped sign-ins and just had people read a disclaimer, so I can't tell you how many people were actually at the Metal Museum, but it definitely looked like our largest crowd ever.

The Metal Museum was a really awesome venue and I want to thank the Ferrymans for hosting us. It was great having the Mississippi as a backdrop and the kids loved having so much space to run around in...and sculptures to climb on!



First up, we had the Nellie Olesons. They came dressed to the nines and had the best face paint I have ever seen. They played old-time country music mixed with some 70s and 80s covers and were very rockin. Two of the Nellies are former teachers and one is also a parent/RnR regular. I thought they did a really nice of job of trying to involve the kids.



The Barbaras always put on a good show and Saturday was no exception. They definitely got the kids' and parents' attention. Bennett Foster, who was singing lead, was super high energy and I think the kids could really relate to him!



The True Sons of Thunder were a little more hardcore than the Nellies and the Barbaras, so we had to break out the earplugs. They came to rock, and rock they did.



There was at least one romper, however, who wasn't deterred by the volume.



Harlan T. Bobo and the Luv Clowns definitely stole the show.



We've probably never had an act geared so much towards the kids, and I think they really enjoyed it. (However, there was definitely a "I'm too cool for clowns and puppets" contingency!) To me, the best part about the Luv Clowns was that it was fun for the adults too. (Although I'm sure there were some parents who wanted to see plain ol' Harlan.) I especially liked the way they ended the show with Bob Dylan's "Everybody must get stoned" but with the lyrics "Everybody must have kids."



As an organizer of RnR I couldn't help feeling awfully proud of what we've accomplished.



Three years ago, eight parents banded together to produce a kid-friendly outdoor concert series for rockin' parents who didn't get a chance to see live music very often. We relied on the musicians to play for free, people to open up their houses and yards, and for guests to spread the word.

We've had 15 shows at 12 different locations and had 34 bands/DJs play to hundreds of Memphis families. The price has always been a very reasonable $5 per adult and since our second season we have been able to pay all of the bands as well as provide our hosts with a $50 restaurant gift card.

Thanks to everyone who has helped make Memphis Rock-n-Romp such a smashing success! We'll be sending out a survey soon to get your feedback and ideas for 2009!

To see more pictures from the show(s), visit our Flickr Pool. If you took pictures, please add them!)