Fans flock to Justin Roberts

Justin Roberts is beloved by children and their families, and is serious about reaching them through his trademark, whimsical musical style. This is a hometown-kid-made-good story. “He has a remarkable ability to see through a child’s eyes… the Judy Blume of kiddie rock.” The New York TimesReaders of this column were able to spend an hour with Justin on Monday, to learn how he evolved from a teenage rocker at Roosevelt High School, to a Montessori teacher in Minneapolis, and ultimately stumbling into a successful career delighting kiddos through his songs and performances. In this podcast, we open with a refrain from one of his many popular songs, “Yellow Bus,” and he closed the show with a song he dedicated to his mom, Dawn Roberts, who was on the call, beaming.So was Laura Belin, our indefatigable political analyst with the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, and a longtime Justin Roberts fan. I don’t see her smile a lot, as her topics don’t warrant much laughter, but Laura was all grins as she confessed to being a Justin Roberts fangirl in our conversation Monday. Musicians today must adapt to a changing business model, where traditional ways of earning a living have shifted since music is now consumed digitally through downloads, not record/cd sales. Throw in a Covid quarantine period when live performances came to a screeching halt, and a whole new level of creativity has to happen to sustain a musical career. He’s doing just that. Justin has collaborated with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (an idea for the Des Moines Symphony, perhaps?) and his upcoming performance schedule is on his website. Enjoy the podcast! Enjoy Justin. Share this with those who have young ones in their household. Okoboji Justin Roberts will be teaching songwriting workshops during the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat, and performing along with our other musicians, (including Dartanyan L. Brown, and Jason Walsmith, fellow Iowa Writers’ Collaborative members) on Monday, September 23, at the Season Lakes Art Center in Okoboji. Just sayin. You’ll love it. https://okobojiwritersretreat.comIowa Writers’ Collaborative RoundupIf you have an interest in reading commentary, feature stories, sports coverage, and information about what’s up in the local dining scene, check out the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Roundup. We are linking readers and writers who share an interest in Iowa. In just two years, this group has grown to include 60 professional writers who live in various towns throughout Iowa. It’s a slice of life you can’t find anywhere else. NEW!Political analysts within the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative have created a podcast called: Iowa Down Ballot. They will produce the third episode next with Iowa Capital Dispatch’s Kathie Obradovich moderating the show. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit okobojiwriters.substack.com/subscribe