Free music is always a good thing: at the very least, it gives you the chance to explore a genre or artist you might not have listened to before, and at most you might just discover a diamond in the sky. San Francisco's Charity Kahn inaugurated her "Song of the Month" series in December with her own personal take on "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." January's freebie is a sweet ballad called "The Bird," a "dreamy reflection on the cyclical nature of day and night, dark and light, sunrise and sunset." Cool.

Listen up, Harmonica Pocket fans! You could win two concert tickets and a copy of their latest kids' CD, Ladybug One, by leaving a comment on the KidCity blog. Harmonica Pocket will be performing this Saturday, January 17, at 2:00pm at Symphony Space in New York City, so if you're in the area and would like to attend for free, give it a shot!

The editors of Booklist have included two children's albums on their annual Booklist Editors’ Choice: Media, 2008 list. The honorees include a couple of CDs from long-time kids' music artists, Beethoven's Wig 4: Dance Along Symphonies by Beethoven's Wig, and Bill Harley's Yes to Running: Bill Harley Live.

Atlanta-based kids' band The Baby Grands recently released their self-titled children's music debut on Backspace Records. Ben Rowell, Marc Castelo, and Donny Todd collaborated to create a great collection of tunes for the whole family. Check out the full review of The Baby Grands' debut album for full details.