Up and Up is due on November 1st
Author, advocate, speaker and three-time Grammy-winning musician of the Zac Brown Band Coy Bowles is set to release his sophomore children’s album Up and Up on November 1st. The collection of 11 songs, all written by Bowles and Carlos Sosa, captures the silliness of being a kid as well as providing a permission slip for kids to express their emotions. With jammable beats, catchy lyrics and infectious melodies, Bowles uses his musical superpowers to provide teachers, parents and children with a creative way to learn and grow. His knack for turning everyday tasks and emotions into danceable tunes creates the perfect soundtrack to both education and childhood, keeping kids movin’, groovin’ and learnin’. Whether it’s a horn section leading the charge to end the day, an air horn to signal it’s cleaning time or lyrics that give a reassuring hug, Up and Up is an album that’s sure to play on repeat. The album’s first released track “The Clean Up Song” is available now with a boisterous music video featuring kids boogying while they tackle cleaning up.
“Part of my growth as a human has been asking myself, ‘What do I do to give back when so much has been given to me?’ And that’s really turned into helping kids,” Bowles says. “So many studies show that the most powerful way to impact the future is by investing in early education. So much happens from birth to seven years old, so if you’re trying to aim for making a change or a brighter place, there’s nowhere better to start.”
A teacher friend, exhausted from hearing the same “clean up song” in her classrooms, implored Bowles to write a new one. Bowles cheerfully accepted the challenge and composed “The Clean Up Song” with his friend, the songwriter/producer/multi-instrumentalist Carlos Sosa. Due to the isolation of the pandemic, Bowles and Sosa solely shouldered the entire load of the album – writing, arranging and recording Up and Up, all in Bowles’ basement studio in Atlanta.
“‘The Clean Up Song’ started with Carlos and me talking about ‘It’s Tricky’ by Run DMC, and how infectious it is, and how modern it sounds. When you play it, it just rocks. It’s so unbelievably well-produced, and it stands the test of time,” Bowles adds. “We thought, ‘What if we borrow some Rick Rubin-style, AC/DC guitar things that are punctuated over a big drum beat, and do our best to come up with hooks that are from that era of earworms? Rap music in the ‘80s and ‘90s was something that you heard once or twice, and that was all it took to know the song.”
Up and Up follows the release of 2020’s Music for Tiny Humans, which have each been key components of the two SEL and STEAM Kits Bowles has released with the leading provider of educational products, Lakeshore Learning. Through Bowles’ work, he always seeks to highlight the indelible impact teachers have on children. Whether it’s a catchy melody, uplifting literature, or inspirational speech, these creative initiatives are giving kids a further understanding of self-worth and confidence.
1 . Dance, Dance, Dance
2 . Can You Touch A Color?
3 . Everything’s Gonna Be All Right featuring Justin Roberts
4 . How Do You Feel
5. I’m Hungry
6 . Forever Friends featuring Gene Moore
7 . Washa Washa
8. The Clean Up Song
9. Ride On
10. See The World In Color
11. No One Like You
