About Judy

JUDY PANCOAST, M. Ed.

BIOGRAPHY

Back in the 70’s, when all the “cool” teens were listening to heavy metal and alternative rock stations, Judy was listening to Top 40 bubblegum pop.  The infectious melodies, the catchy hooks….the kind of songs you can’t get out of your head.

Flash forward several years and Judy is a parent, playing her records and tapes (cassettes…not 8-tracks!)  for her own children and watching them dance and sing along to those great songs.  Today she makes exactly that kind of music for kids all over the world whose parents value the innocence and joy of childhood: totally terrific tunes with timeless lyrics about childhood experiences that resonate across the generations. Oh…and beats that make their feet dance!  She calls it “Bubblegum Pop for Sweet Kids!”

Judy makes kids comfortable.  She’s every kid’s “favorite Aunt.”  From her clever songs to her uninhibited stage presence, she's a natural at entertaining children.

Judy’s outrageously fun performances have created a ruckus from Boston to Los Angeles and Minneapolis to New Orleans at festivals, performing arts centers and wherever children and families gather.  She’s even performed twice in concert at the request of President Clinton.  The organizers of the New York City fundraiser for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric Aids Foundation and Robert DeNiro’s Tribeca Family Street Fair know the effect she has on audiences and have asked Judy to return year after year to create a ruckus in their neighborhood. 

Kenyan kids experienced the joy of working with Judy when she traveled twice to Nairobi for week-long songwriting workshops with the children at Nyumbani Orphanage.  The songs are available on a fundraising CD for the orphanage. 

Judy’s innovative song writing won her the coveted Children’s Music Web “Best Song for Young Children” award three times… for her songs “Swimming in Jello,” “ The Potty Dance” and “One Big Eyeball.”  Boston Children’s Music.com says her fifth CD, Weird Things are Everywhere, “skillfully weaves story and song together...for a unique reading adventure across the United States.”  Paula Slade of Examiner.com said, “All in all, Weird Things are Everywhere is a very special trip for children ages five through 10 that offers plenty of entertainment and packs an educational punch perfect for classrooms and home school families.

 The title song of Judy’s family Christmas CD, "The House on Christmas Street," is a holiday hit which can be heard each Christmas season on radio stations across the country.   She has also been featured on NPR's "Day to Day" and "Marketplace." 

Judy is featured on the Arts in Education Roster of the New Hampshire State Council for the Arts and the New England Foundation for the Arts.  She lives in New Hampshire with her husband, Philip and daughter Louisa (16), while eldest daughter Emma is a student at NYU.  She is active in supporting many organizations dedicated to helping children including the Optimist Club International and the Children’s Music Network.