There’s a new children’s act on the scene with a mission to change the game entirely – Mr. Ages, whose debut album, Quality Music Intended for Children, dropped in February of this year. Packing eleven snappy Americana tracks into less than 30 minutes, this album promises a positive shift away from your usual, aggravating children’s tunes as Mr. Ages attempts to create a true work of art sparkling with morals, humor, and nuance.
Any parents out there are likely dreading the thought of having a brand-new set of mind-numbing nursery rhymes destined to be looped ad nauseam. But this album is anything but that. Rather than bore parents to death with irritating simplicity and assume kids can’t do better than sing along to short, simple lyrics, Mr. Ages draws rich inspiration from adult genres including jazz, folk, Americana, rock, and orchestral traditions, crafting an album that instantly stands out from the crowd and introduces children to true music while celebrating a child’s love for storytelling and discovery.
It’s totally refreshing to have a children’s album that doesn’t condescend to its tiny listeners or irritate their parents. And it all stems from the mind of LA-based songwriter, producer, and doting father Sage Price who, after the birth of his daughter in 2020, was stunned to find a lack of children’s music that “offered beauty, substance, and human connection,” soon setting out to create the type of music he couldn’t find.
He tells us, “Mr. Ages is built on the belief that now more than ever, families thrive on stories and music rooted in the full human experience. Children deserve art that embraces a complete moral universe—where nature, love, humor, and friendship exist right alongside grief, fear, and mortality. By preserving irony, metaphor, and nuance, Mr. Ages invites children to rise to the beauty of what they are given. In a digital age, creating something fully human, tangible, and real is a radical act.”
We’ve listened to this album from top to bottom and were stunned by “Big Bad Wolf” – a stellar retelling of Little Red Riding Hood crafted from the wolf’s perspective. Practically every song on the album reinvents a classic children’s story or song with a fresh and artful twist, from “The Gingerbread Man” to “Humpty Dumpty,” or from the many tales of “Jack” to the “Spider and the Fly”.
Mr. Ages’ genre choices illuminate each song with an emotional depth almost unheard of across the spectrum of children’s music, while opening the doors for kids to enjoy a world of contrasting sounds, experiences, and flavors ready to set them on the right path as music listeners for life. Our final verdict? Recommended.
BELOW: Listen to Mr. Ages and check out their music online. Please support Mr. Ages by visiting their website and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing their music. And, as always, thank you for supporting real music.
Follow, stream, download & connect with Mr. Ages online:
Website · Stream · Purchase/Download · Facebook · Instagram