Justin Roberts & the Not So Ready for Naptime Players

Plenty of indie rockers have recorded children’s albums. But you can’t accuse singer-songwriter Justin Roberts of jumping on the bandwagon. After playing in a Minneapolis-based indie-rock band during the early ’90s, Roberts made his solo debut with 1997’s Great Big Sun, his first album of tunes geared toward tykes. The former pre-school teacher was so successful, he ditched the indie-rock gig and moved to Chicago, where he spent a couple of years in graduate school and honing his G-rated songwriting craft. “I wrote a song before I knew it was children’s song back when I was in college,” he says in reference to his tune “Giraffe Nightingale.” “After graduating from college, I started working as a pre-school teacher and I started playing songs for kids and I didn’t think they would like that song because it doesn’t have a catchy chorus. The next day someone wanted to hear it again.” At that point, his career as a guy who can play to both parents and kids was born. Roberts and his band, the Not Ready for Naptime Players, haven’t been to Cleveland and this marks a welcome return for the family friendly band. (Jeff Niesel)