Recently , Justin Roberts, one of the most celebrated artists performing pop music for kids, appeared in concert in Fort Myers, Florida. Though it would have involved a drive of approximately two hours south for Bay Area residents to catch the show, Justin, if anyone, promised to be worth it.

Roberts has recorded seven CDs of family/kid friendly original songs starting with his first CD, “Great Big Sun” in 1998. The first CD and each subsequent release have strengthened Roberts fan base. With lyrics that seem to capture not only the themes but feelings and viewpoint of childhood and music that is clever, catchy and hypnotic enough to keep you coming back for more, Roberts has also wowed the critics.

I have learned, over the years of attending concerts that great record albums or CDs don’t always translate into a great show by the performers. I have attended very disappointing concerts by the likes of some of my favorite artists like Bob Dylan and the Eagles. The fact that my wife and kids (two sons 10 and 7) were going to attend the concert with me along with visiting family (one aunt and two cousins, girls 14 and 10) made me hope that the show would be a knockout. My wife and kids would know every lyric to every song sung because we have all of Justin’s CDs, and he is one of our favorite artists. My biggest fear for us was that the show would be a letdown because our hopes were too high or the cousins wouldn’t enjoy it as much as we were, which would put a damper on the event.

I have followed Justin’s concert schedule for the last year or so hoping for a chance to see him live and had noticed over that period of time that he sometimes performed with a full band and sometimes without. I was very hopeful that this concert would involve the full band. I was disappointed to learn that it would not. My apprehension increased.

The concert was held in an auditorium on the Cypress Lake High School campus. The concert was a benefit for an a cappella group from the high school to help with costs towards a trip they would be making. As the concert began I noted that the crowd was as diversified age-wise as you could get, with toddlers, young children , parents and grandparents all in attendance. Justin took the stage with Liam Davis, a performer and producer that Roberts has worked with extensively, including a collaborative effort on a two CD project called “Why Not Sea Monsters” with songs covering respectively the old and new testaments. They began the concert’s first song “I Chalk” from his most recent release Meltdown and it was immediately apparent that the two performers were going to do quite all right without the full band. They produced a full sound which reproduced, unbelievably well, the layered sound of the songs from the studio CDs. During the course of the afternoon’s show Roberts played guitars and sang with Liam accompanying him on everything from guitars (electric and acoustic) to many percussion instruments and a small versatile travel piano. He also pitched in vocally and with a surprisingly effective kazoo replication of the horn arrangements from the CDs.

By the second song, “Meltdown,” small children were filling an impromptu dance floor in front of the stage and older kids, including our cousins, were clearly enjoying the music as well. As the concert proceeded adults of all ages sang along and joined in hand gestures that Justin prompted the crowd to do. They also smiled at the kids enjoying the show and the lyrics to the songs. Well-crafted songs like “My Brother Did It,” a tune about a sibling confessing that it was his brother’s entire fault played well to all ages. Beautiful, slower songs like “Giraffe & Nightingale” played well with the crowd as well, although he never slowed the pace for too long showing an understanding of his youthful audience members’ fragile attention spans.

Robert’s showed me that he is not only a great singer/songwriter, but also a gifted performer who can engage and communicate with an audience of varying ages. How many performers of any genera can effectively entertain such a wide age spectrum? In short Justin Roberts from what I saw was not only worth the two-hour drive but one much longer. If you have the chance to see him in the future, take it! You won’t be disappointed.