I received a complimentary Music with Ms Carissa CD for the purpose of this review. All opinions expressed below are my own and the absolute truth, friends!
There’s one scene I absolutely love supporting: Local musicians — especially during the holiday season.
Our family loves traveling around to attend kid-friendly concerts for a variety of reasons — there is nothing as entertaining as watching kids bop around to music {seriously, there is nothing cuter!}, and as a lifelong music lover, I think it’s extremely important to expose my kids to music of ALL kinds.
So when metro Detroit gal Carissa Knoles of “Music With Ms. Carissa” reached out to me to review her latest CD release, Not So Elementary, I jumped at the chance.
I have never been to one of her shows, but I had heard great things about her and the music she plays. I loved learning that she writes her own music, her CD was recorded by DreamTown Media out of Royal Oak, and it was printed in Detroit. It’s 100% local, friends!
When her CD arrived in the mail last month, I immediately popped it in our player and the girls started dancing around. After all, they are the TRUE test if the music is any good. By their spinning and marching, I could tell it was an immediate hit. Since then, we have rocked out to it MANY times, and it has quickly become one of our favorites.
I absolutely love cool kid music. Ms. Carissa’s album is no exception. Not only are the beats fresh and fun for kids and adults alike, I love the messages included in her songs.
One of my favorite songs on the album is “I Love Me.” Some of the lyrics: I am who I am, I’ll always be, and the good thing is that I love me. What an awesome message for impressionable young kiddos, right?
Each song is truly unique sound-wise, too. Makes listening to it extremely fun. She totally rocks! {Selfishly, I love that her voice is in my range so I can easily sing along 
}
We truly loved every song, but the girls seemed to love “Happy to be Here”, “Thomas the Train,” “Shakey Egg” {so fun if you have a shaker at home!} and “Dreaming Monster.”
About Ms. Carissa
Carissa Knoles has been strumming to the beat of her own guitar since the young age of 14. When a guitar playing crush said, “girls don’t really play guitar,” she went out and bought one the very next day and has been rocking ever after!
Since graduating with a Bachelors Degree in Children and Families from the University of Michigan in May 2010, Carissa has combined her knack for music and her passion for Early Childhood into the Music with Ms. Carissa program.
Working with children and families for over 7 years, Carissa has written original songs for the imaginative minds of the young and the young at heart.
Book a session of Music with Ms. Carissa today to be engaged, inspired and entertained! Send inquiries to carissaknoles{at}yahoo.com or call/text 313-575-6916.
I highly suggest you check out Music with Ms. Carissa, and consider purchasing her album as a gift. I promise your kids will LOVE it, and you may even find yourself singing along too with the catchy tunes.
Learn more at http://mscarissarocks.com/ to check her calendar of performances, buy her “Not So Elementary” CD {just $15 shipped}, give her some love on Facebook, and follow on Twitter.
Who are your favorite local musicians to support?
