Holiday Show

Austin songwriter Joe McDermott has spent 40 years making music that children love. With nine albums of original songs, he is one of the most honored family entertainers in Texas, and whether he performs solo with his guitar or with his full band, he brings the same warmth, wit and spark to every show.

Joe’s stage is wherever the kids are: school assemblies, libraries, festivals, theaters, family concerts and outdoor events. He is a regular on public library summer reading tours. With more than 15 years on the Texas Commission on the Arts Touring Roster, he has played numerous TCA rural tours that bring his shows to communities across Texas throughout the year. He has performed with the Austin Symphony Orchestra and has scored his songs for large and small ensembles, making him a natural fit for symphony family concerts. In his video workshops, elementary students write, record and produce their own music videos. For the holiday season, Joe and his full band present a special holiday music program and singalong that brings the whole family together.

Joe won the Grand Prize in the children’s division of the 2006 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, and his recordings have earned a NAPPA Gold Award and multiple Parents’ Choice Awards. The Texas Library Association named him a “Texas Treasure,” and Stan and Jan Berenstain chose him to set ten Berenstain Bears books to music. Stan Berenstain called him “an absolute wizard at communicating with children through music.”

His songs are clever, funny and easy to sing, built to get Pre-K and elementary audiences laughing, moving and joining in on every chorus. This isn’t just educational music for kids. It’s genuinely great music, the kind parents enjoy listening to as much as their children do. His shows are also welcoming to audiences with disabilities.

A born teacher as well as a performer, Joe earned a fine arts degree from UT Austin, taught Montessori and founded a preschool in Austin. Today he is a professor at Austin Community College, where he teaches songwriting and commercial music arranging and composition.