The Grumpytime Club, a new album from award-winning singer-songwriter Carrie Ferguson, offers children and families welcoming and inclusive messages about accepting feelings, celebrating differences, and loving themselves exactly as they are.“As a queer and gender nonconforming artist, I’ve learned that inner strength derives from knowing, accepting, and loving yourself. I know how important it is to use that strength to celebrate and show up for other people and the world in general,” says Carrie Ferguson. “I hope this album will give young people and all listeners a boost of love and confidence on their own journeys.”
The songs on The Grumpytime Club focus on the different building blocks of confidence, from accepting “grumpy” feelings without judgment to working through obstacles with persistence and enthusiasm. The album’s catchy melodies and sing-along choruses, enhanced by plenty of vocal harmonies and brass, showcase Carrie Ferguson’s versatility in traversing musical styles as eclectic as rollicking ska, bluegrassy folk, thoughtful adventure ballads, and tender lullabies. The Grumpytime Club inspires silly dancing one minute and contemplative stillness the next.
“Tavi’s Song,” the emotional center of the album, is a particularly special recording. Carrie Ferguson wrote the song 19 years ago to honor the birth of her dear friends’ son. Tavi grew up to become a musician himself, and both he and his brother Aza came into the studio to sing harmonies with Ferguson. She says, “Singing this song with Tavi and Aza, now that they are young adults, was an honor, and a high point in my life as a songwriter.”
Other album highlights include “Cat and Piggy,” with its acoustic, upbeat, bluegrassy feel, featuring a cast of quirky animals and a robust sing-along chorus. Replete with klezmer touches and even a hint of Kurt Weill, the album’s title track is set in a magical place where it’s completely acceptable to be grumpy. “The Puppy Song (You and I)” is whimsical and buoyant, with an infectious chorus about the joys of friendship, loving puppies, and just being yourself. “Do It Again,” a terrific classic rock bop, is all about enthusiasm for life, while “Up and Down” is a playful romp into NOLA-style jazz territory, with horns and chorus in ¾ time.
Carrie Ferguson’s numerous awards include a Gold Award in the 2020 Mid-Atlantic Songwriting Contest and First Place in the 2020 New England Songwriting Competition for “Tavi’s Song.” The New England Songwriting Competition honored “Cat and Piggy” as a finalist in 2019, and “Wooden Nickel” from Ferguson’s Americana album, The List of Whales, was a finalist in the New England Songwriting Competition in 2017.
Ferguson has opened for Patty Larkin, Catie Curtis, Charles Neville, Cheryl Wheeler, Livingston Taylor, Chely Wright, Jill Sobule, and Laura Love, among others.
The Grumpytime Club will be available digitally at Apple Music, iTunes, Spotify, Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and other online platforms. Physical CDs will be available at Carrie Ferguson’s live shows or through her website: www.carriefergusonmusic.com.
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