The Blippi: Join the Band Tour, which is hitting almost 60 North American markets, launched a few weeks ago. Billboard Family has put together a complete guide for families hoping to see the show, which is a mix of live music and theatrical performance.
With parents surely curious to know more about the Blippi tour as it heads to their town, we met with Jonathan Linden and Stephen Shaw, founders of the tour’s production company Round Room Live, to gather details about the live music and theatrical tour based on a popular children’s brand that started as a YouTube channel.
“Sometimes it’s the kids that are explaining Blippi to their parents,” Linden says of the brand, which is relatively new in comparison to household names like Sesame Street, which Round Room Live also has on its touring roster.
Coming from a background in concert touring, and looking at the landscape from the eyes of parents, Linden and Shaw saw an opportunity to create a better experience for families seeking live entertainment. Eight years ago, they launched Round Room Live, the producer and promoter that now puts on several live theatrical tours, including Blippi: Join the Band and Sesame Street Live! Say Hello.
“There wasn’t much for the parents,” Linden tells Billboard Family of the live children’s entertainment options he saw on the market at Round Room’s start. “There wasn’t always that much of a wider appeal. And so we felt like we could create something that was going to be interesting and dynamic, take some of our concert touring experience into it.”
“It wasn’t high energy,” says Shaw. “The music wasn’t quite there. The production values weren’t quite there. And so we took a long look at the industry and the sector of live entertainment of kids and family, and really put our attention into the producing of the shows: great script writers, great choreographers, great costume designers and fabricators, a great soundtrack and music, and high production value that would keep kids engaged and entertained. As you know very well, it’s difficult [for kids] to sit through 90 minutes of a production, and so, if we could keep them engaged, the parents would also be engaged and happier, and everyone would sort of leave the theater thinking that was a great, great event.”
One of their key initiatives, he adds, was “having music be the driver of the production.”
That’s exactly what they’re doing with the Blippi: Join the Band Tour, with its music being “the forefront of the show,” says Shaw. “We’ve got a live band on stage that includes guitar, bass, drums, keyboards. We’ve sort of moved it into, ‘Hey, this is a concert experience for young kids.’”
Read through our Family Guide for tips about attending the Blippi: Join the Band Tour. Plus, get a first look at live footage from the tour below:
