With five Parents Choice® awards to their credit, Ben Rudnick & Friends have what it takes to make recordings families love. Families also love their live shows, where the band s unique dynamic transforms a concert into an event. The events are celebrations.

On July 11, 2008, the band set up at one of their favorite venues, the town green of Lexington, MA. The same green that saw the beginning of the Revolutionary War. Flying high from the string of shows that comes with summer, saying goodbye to their accordion player Mark Yacovone who was moving to Mississippi the next day, and joined by Rob It s Saturday Night Lee on saxophones, the band turned in an unforgettable performance.

Featuring songs from their first six recordings and some favorite cover tunes, Live in Lexington fills every available second on the CD with good time tunes as only they can deliver.

Album Description

Blast Off has received a NAPPA Honor award and has been Recommended by the Parents' Choice Organization.

THE FUN IS CONTAGIOUS on Ben Rudnick & Friends latest recording, Blast Off! Whether hanging out in your family room or hitting the road, you and your family will soar the skies in a rocket ship, meet new alien buddies and ponder that eternal question: "Why DID the chicken cross the road??!"

Continuing in the tradition of their award winning CDs, Emily Songs and Fun and Games, Blast Off! goes where no family record has gone before, giving you music you’ll be happy to listen to, even after the millionth playing on that long ride to the relatives. The band continues to mix originals with classics done a whole new way, all on a foundation of adventurous musicianship and a healthy sense of humor, a formula that succeeds every time.

Blast Off! is acoustic music featuring guitar, mandolin, accordion, sax (Don Davis of the Microscopic Septet – highlighted on the theme music for WHYY’s "Fresh Air with Terry Gross"), harmonica (Jeff Bird of the Cowboy Junkies) and an endless array of percussion. Smoothly slipping in and out of musical genres from bluegrass to swing, rock and folk to jazz Blast Off! will find a spot in your CD player and stay there like favorite records of old.

Blast Off! will make your family feel like you’ve done just that: rocketing on a musical adventure that’ll have you laughing, dancing, and asking for a replay.

Winner of Parent's Choice Silver Honor, Children's Music Web's Best Recording for Toddlers (3-5) and Best Recording for Young Children (5-8) and discovery.com's Award of Excellence.

"Fun and Games," continues in the tradition of Ben Rudnick & Friends’ award winning "Emily Songs," providing great music for kids of all ages and their parents. Happy bouncy rhythms and some real silliness are mainstays; now they’re joined by the sounds of the islands as well as fun spins on some old classics. Not only does Jeff Bird (the Cowboy Junkies) again grace the CD with his harmonica and range of percussive talents, Margo Timmons brings her Cowboy Junkies trademark voice to the lullaby "Everything is Alright."

It’s not hard to figure out why this CD is called "Fun and Games." Songs like "Spin" and "Macaroni & Cheese" will have kids (and adults) laughing out loud as they recognize themselves in the lyrics. "Hopscotch" is, naturally, about that classic game, while "Sally Salamander" weaves a tale that keeps kids guessing about what will happen next.

But the real story behind the "Fun and Games" name is the attitude; this CD is so positive, you can’t help but feel good listening to it.

Winner of Parent's Choice Silver Honor, Children's Music Web's Best Recording for Toddlers (3-5) and Best Recording for Young Children (5-8) and discovery.com's Award of Excellence.

"Fun and Games," continues in the tradition of Ben Rudnick & Friends’ award winning "Emily Songs," providing great music for kids of all ages and their parents. Happy bouncy rhythms and some real silliness are mainstays; now they’re joined by the sounds of the islands as well as fun spins on some old classics. Not only does Jeff Bird (the Cowboy Junkies) again grace the CD with his harmonica and range of percussive talents, Margo Timmons brings her Cowboy Junkies trademark voice to the lullaby "Everything is Alright."

It’s not hard to figure out why this CD is called "Fun and Games." Songs like "Spin" and "Macaroni & Cheese" will have kids (and adults) laughing out loud as they recognize themselves in the lyrics. "Hopscotch" is, naturally, about that classic game, while "Sally Salamander" weaves a tale that keeps kids guessing about what will happen next.

But the real story behind the "Fun and Games" name is the attitude; this CD is so positive, you can’t help but feel good listening to it.

"Emily Songs" is happy, bouncy, bluegrassy music for kids and their parents. Winner of a Parent's Choice award, a Dr. Toy Best Vacation Product Award and a John Lennon Songwriting Award, "Emily Songs" features Jeff Bird of the Cowboy Junkies, and blends great, upbeat music with healthy doses of silliness and messages that ring true for kids and parents alike.

Conceived while creating music for a kid's birthday party, the tunes are fun and engaging for children of all ages. "I Like Silver, I Like Gold" blends children's love of colors with rhymes and an infectious rhythm. Children and parents alike will relate to "I Need a Hand," a song that has some serious fun with what it means to cross the street and to just get through the day.

Mixed with the originals are classics such as "Skip to My Lou", done as you've never heard them before: kids will be unable to resist singing along. A couple of good old-fashioned fiddle tunes round it all out; if they don't get you dancing, nothing will!