Recording: Lido Pimienta

Artist: Lido Pimienta

Song: Los Pollitos Dicen

Recorded at The Great Hall ("Long Winter KIDS"), December 28, 2013.

Lido Pimienta - Los Pollitos Dicen

Full review to follow. Pushing its all-ages mandate even further than usual, the Long Winter team put together this special afternoon edition aimed at the "0 to 12 set". Besides mixing kids' entertainers with indie rockers, the off-stage component was very well programmed to keep even the fussiest tykes and toddlers engaged, including: getting a chance to bang away on real instruments in Ben Cook's Rock Box; making buttons with the Girls Rock Camp crew; drawing pictures of mystery smells; exploring gloopy science; or grooving out at John Caffery's dance workshop. The day also raised awareness and funds for the End Immigration Detention campaign.

Singer Lido Pimienta has been a vocal supporter of that cause, and returning to Long Winter, she set up down on the floor to get close to the littler audience members, who were given shakers and encouraged to dance along. Her pointed political commentary was given a kid-friendly spin, focusing on the messages of sharing and togetherness, so maybe it makes the most sense here to share her opening number, a lullabye that tells about a mother hen providing food and warmth for her chicks.

Looking back on a joyful and inspiring day, Lido made the point chatting after her set that in her native Columbia (and in many other places in the world), this sort of concert — inclusive, participatory, multi-generational — is the rule rather than the exception. We get so used to the arbitrary, booze-sales-driven rules of separation that define most live music, so it felt quite liberating for mums, dads, aunts, uncles and grandparents to share space, music and culture with kids. A fantastic success that we can only hope gets a sequel.