St. Augustine said, “Song is prayer twice, once with words and once more with the heart.” So, we guess there will be a lot of praying as Kid Pan Alley celebrates the 2nd anniversary of its free Because We Have Music livestream concert series on May 1st at 7pm EDT with a concert of world-class songwriters—Willy Porter, Natalia Zukerman, Justin Roth and Kid Pan Alley hosts Paul and Cheryl Reisler.“

Willy Porter can captivate an audience as completely as can an entire rock band,” said the Washington Times. Or as Tori Amos put it, “Willy plays rhythms that make me want to crawl inside his guitar and sleep there forever.” His songs weave a universal perspective about the questions, struggles, and triumphs of human existence. His shows are guitar-driven grit, soul, silence and muscle– at times electrifying, dynamic, and unique in the way that Porter’s voice blends and fuses with his fret work. He’s opened for artists including Tori Amos, Paul Simon, Jethro Tull, Sting and Jeff Beck.

Thirty years after his solo recording debut, he continues to reach further into his guitar & pen while stretching the form of what his own music can be. He’s currently working on his 13th album for release in 2022.

The New Yorker Magazine said, “Natalia Zukerman’s voice could send an orchid into bloom while her guitar playing can open a beer bottle with its teeth.” While the Philadelphia Daily News said, “If you’re a fan of Madeleine Peyroux, Bonnie Raitt or even Amy Winehouse, you’ll find stuff to connect with here.”

Musician, painter and educator Natalia Zukerman grew up in a very musical family in New York City. The daughter of classical music royalty, Pinchas and Eugenia Zukerman, one could say that music courses through her veins. She’s released eight albums and has toured internationally as a solo performer since 2005 and performed, opened for and recorded with some of Folk music's greatest legends such as Janis Ian, Holly Near, Tom Paxton, Ani DiFranco, Richard Thompson, Garnet Rogers, Susan Werner, Willy Porter and more.

Justin Roth is a nationally touring singer/songwriter/acoustic guitarist based in Colorado. His brilliantly inventive fingerstyle guitar arrangements define his unique mix of indie folk and instrumental guitar music. Justin has toured with David Wilcox and John Gorka and opened for some of the finest singer/songwriters on the acoustic music scene, including Shawn Colvin, Lucy Kaplansky, Darrell Scott, and Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul and Mary). Maverick Magazine (UK) called Justin “a superb guitar player, singer, songwriter well worth seeking out…exquisite, emotional and powerful!”

Paul Reisler is the founder of Trapezoid and Kid Pan Alley as well as a few other bands along the highway of his 45 year career in music. These days, his passion is writing songs with kids because as Tom Waits said, “Children make up the best songs, anyway. Better than grown-ups. Kids are always working on songs and throwing them away, like little origami things or paper airplanes. They don't care if they lose it; they'll just make another one.”

Reisler, Zukerman and Roth all work as songwriters in Kid Pan Alley and they plan to prove Tom Waits’ point by performing a bunch of fantastic new KPA songs in the concert.

Visit KidPanAlley.org to learn more about Kid Pan Alley and our mission to inspire creativity, build confidence, and foster community among children of all ages through the group songwriting process.