“To have fun and rock your face off” are the goals of Rocking Puppies, the father-daughter punk duo of Michael and Pema Crigler of Greenfield.

Rocking Puppies will perform at Peskeompskut Park in Turners Falls on Saturday, Aug. 12, at 6:30 p.m., in a free all-ages show that the event’s headliner, the electro-pop band Home Body, is curating.

Adelle and Lou Barlow are also part of the “Home Body and Friends” lineup and will bring their Raw Impressions podcast to the stage. The show is presented by RiverCulture with support from Greenfield Coop Bank and the Mass Cultural Council.

“Performing music is an energetic exchange, and through the years, we’ve come to really appreciate the raw joy and unfiltered curiosity that young people bring to our shows,” said vocalist Haley Morgan, who, along with her husband, synthesist Eric Hnatow, make up the fever-pop band Home Body.

“For Home Body’s third annual takeover of Peskeompskut Park, we wanted to build a bill that offered something juicy for the whole family,” said Morgan. “These three eclectic local acts in this year’s lineup are all duos who offer listeners more than just catchy songs, but dynamic sonic exchanges that are fueled by curiosity, creativity, and a deep familial understanding of their co-collaborator.”

That description certainly applies to Rocking Puppies. Their music is loud, fun, catchy, and appeals to listeners of all ages.

Michael Crigler, guitarist, and his daughter Pema, the band’s vocalist, started making music together when they were stuck at home due to COVID lockdowns.

“It was early in the pandemic,” said Crigler, who is also the guitarist and vocalist for the local punk band Power Trousers. “Originally we just started as a way to have fun and play music together. Pema would write some lyrics the I would write a cool punk guitar part. We started making videos and putting them on Instagram. The response was great – people were really into it.”

The success of those videos led to the Rocking Puppies being asked to play their first gig at the Nice Snack Parlor in Turners Falls. “It was super fun and awesome,” said Pema, who was only six years old at the time. Asked if she had been nervous she said, “Yeah, I was nervous – but excited too!”

The show was a hit, and more gigs followed. To date, the duo has played Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield, The Marigold Theater in Easthampton, Ten Forward in Greenfield, First Night Northampton, and even the Center School in Greenfield, where Pema will enter third grade this fall.

Pema has proven to be a natural punk rock singer, screaming and hopping about as she belts out songs about a T-Rex, sugar rushes and ice cream. She writes the lyrics with help from her dad. Her favorite Rocking Puppies song is “Ice Cream,” inspired by Ice Cream Alley, one of her go-to spots in Greenfield.

“We have some new songs – our newest one is called ‘Cuddles the Cat,’ a metal song about our cat,” said Michael.

“And we have another one called ‘Clumsy Crow’ and we have another new song called ‘Have Fun’ that my Dad wrote when I was one,” added Pema.

“Yeah, I wrote that song when she was a baby and went back and listened to it,” added Michael. “It wasn’t bad, so we are playing that now too.”

The duo looks forward to playing these new songs for the crowd at Peskeompskut Park and are happy to be a part of this lineup as they are friends and fans of the Barlows and Home Body.

“We have the Home Body LP that we put on often and dance to,” said Michael. “Haley is such an amazing performer that I have taken Pema to some of their shows because I like her to see other strong female performers. And they put on such a great show.”

“Yeah, I’m a really big fan,” said Pema. “My dad plays them a lot.”

And they aren’t the only band that Pema is a fan of.

“There is this band called The Toilet Bowl Cleaners, and they make really funny music about poop and toilets,” she said with a laugh. (Pema is not their only fan as their “Poop Song” has over five million streams on Spotify). Queen and local band Bella’s Bartok, which is led by her Uncle Asher, are some of her other favorite bands.

Pema, who is eight now, has no plan to stop rockin’ as she is taking piano lessons and her dad is teaching her some guitar. She is even considering voice lessons in the near future.

The Rocking Puppies plan to head to the studio this fall to record their debut album. Once the album is released they hope to embark on a mini-tour of the east coast, probably in the spring of next year. They are serious about putting in the work, but their priority is having a good time.

“We are going to do this until it’s not fun anymore,” said Michael. “Maybe once you become a teenager and you want to start another rock band.”

“I will never!” shouted Pema.

So pack a picnic, grab your lawn chairs and blankets, and BYOB (bring your own bubbles) and get there early to see Raw Impressions with Lou and Adele Barlow. Lou is the co-founder of Dinosaur Jr. and Sebadoh, and his wife Adelle is a fiber-artist. They have lived in Greenfield for the past eight years and about a year ago launched a podcast called Raw Impressions where they casually talk about music, life in Greenfield, and so much more.

The Barlows plan to perform a live version of their mini-music episodes which are approximately 15 minutes in length. Here Lou and Adelle pick a song for Lou to sing acoustically, either a cover or one of his own, and they chat about it. We should also mention that Dinosaur Jr. is playing a local show at Tree House Brewing Co. in South Deerfield on Monday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m. Tickets are on sale now.

Rocking Puppies will follow the Barlows, and the night will end with what promises to be another visual and sonically exciting show by Home Body. Look for new music from this creative duo from Greenfield as they have a new album coming out later this year.

There is a rain date of Sunday, Aug. 13 at the same time and location. This is a free show but donations will be collected on behalf of the Nolumbeka Project.

Peter Mulvey and Robin Lane at Pulaski Park in Northampton

Singer songwriter Peter Mulvey will perform a free show at Pulaski Park in Northampton at on Friday at 6 p.m. He will be joined by Paul Kochanski on bass and Jason Smith on drums. Opening the show will be Robin Lane, who has been performing in support of her excellent latest album, “Dirt Road to Heaven.” If you can’t catch this show, drive up to Brattleboro on Saturday and catch him playing at the Retreat Farm at 7:30 p.m. This is a ticketed event.

Reggae Band EarthKry at Hawks & Reed

Earthkry, a four-piece roots reggae band from Kingston, Jamaica, will take the stage at the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield on Friday at 8 p.m.

The band formed in 2013 when they were students at the Edna Manley College of The Visual & Performing Arts in Kingston, Jamaica. Inspired by Bob Marley and The Wailers, The Beatles, John Holt, Peter Tosh, Jacob Miller, Black Uhuru and Steel Pulse, the group blends Roots, Reggae, Soul and Rock genres to create music that is fresh yet universal. The band chose its name, EarthKry, to signify its mission to voice the grievances of the downtrodden through the vibrations of their music. The band has toured extensively, collaborated with many notable artists, and produced several EPs. Their most recent, “Dandy Shandy,” was released earlier this year.

Tickets are $20 in advance and available at hawksandreed.com, $30 day of show.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at soundslocal@yahoo.com.

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