Jessa Campbell & the Saplings Release First Family Music Album on June 7th

Jessa Campbell, a golden-voiced singer whose musical career spans from "Dragon Tales Live" to opera to theatrical pop, will release her first album of songs for young people: Can You Feel It. Two years in the making, this 10-song album explores nature and science concepts with story-based lyrics and sing-along refrains. The album will be available via CD Baby and other music outlets on June 7th. An album release concert is planned at the Secret Society in Portland on June 9th.

Jessa Campbell is a Portland-based performer who sings with LDW, the popular Talking Heads tribute band. Together with her band The Saplings, Campbell bridges the worlds of music and ecology by enchanting young audiences with the wonders of nature through her songs. Educators, caregivers and parents can expect a blend of familiar folk children's songs mixed with original tunes written about what it's like to grow up in the Pacific Northwest, or anywhere where nature is around us.

"Can You Feel It," the first track, is a story-song told from the perspective of a young salmon, whose upstream urges and growing struggles - transforming from a wee alevin to a small fry and then to a swimming smolt - evoke the irresistible power of nature. The "Waltz of Trillium and Ant" tells the tale of the symbiotic relationship between the flowering plant and the little insects helping them spread and germinate. The anthemic "How I Love the Sun" (just released as a single) offers facts about our solar system's star. A rousing, bluegrassy arrangement of "Mole in the Ground" is a crowd favorite at Jessa Campbell & the Saplings shows, and the "Shadow Doo Dah" takes a familiar folk song and turns it into a magical exploration about how our shadows change through the day. Dinosaur obsessed kids will be entranced by "T-Rex in the Forest," and "Fractals" reflects on the recurring patterns in the world around us. The song "Great Happening" inspires an apathetic world to get back to nature for inspiration and connection. Various musician friends contributed to the album, including the slick steel guitar licks by Oregon Music Hall of Famer Paul Brainard.

"Kids can learn a lot from nature, starting with the trees in their own backyard," says Campbell, who is mom to a 3-year-old son and who likes nothing better than to walk in the woods exploring the Cascadia bioregion. "People won't protect what they don't know and love, and I hope these songs help young people notice things and to learn what's really important."

Can You Feel It? began as a commissioned project in 2017 when Campbell wrote songs for a "Wonders of Nature" class at the Village Home learning center in Oregon. The science-focused class incorporated music, creative play and movement. Donned in masks and colorful tree-themed costumes, Campbell and the Saplings have since been performing their interactive show at schools, libraries, theaters and clubs around the Portland. Kids will be flapping their wings and stomping like ants at performances planned for this spring and summer. Visit www.jessacampbellsaplings.com and join the Facebook page for the latest updates.

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