Lisa Loeb’s hit “Stay (I Missed You)” is one of the most recognizable songs of the Gen X era.
But the bespectacled singer isn’t just singing to Gen Xers anymore, she’ll be singing to their kids as well at some of her upcoming Southern California concerts.
“They can all expect to be very satisfied…I really hear from the audience that they enjoy that I play a lot of songs from my older records that they remember but then I also bring people up to date with newer songs, including some family-friendly songs from my Grammy-winning record,” Loeb said, jokingly emphasizing the word Grammy.
The shows begin at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano April 25, then she’s off to Saint Rocke in Hermosa Beach April 26 (this one is for the 21 and over crowd) before ending the local run at The Rose in Pasadena April 27.
“It’s a lot of variety and a lot of stories,” she said of the upcoming concerts.
And that Grammy she mentioned? The singer won it for her record “Feel What U Feel,” which earned the 2018 award for Best Children’s Album.
The collection of a dozen mostly original tunes is one of several children’s albums Loeb has recorded since 2003 when she started in the genre with “Catch the Moon” (recorded with Elizabeth Mitchell).
Her other children’s records include 2008’s “Camp Lisa,” and “Nursery Rhyme Parade,” and the picture book-CD “Lisa Loeb’s Songs for Movin’ and Shakin,’’ which was released in 2013.
She followed “Feel What U Feel,” with last year’s “Lullaby Girl,” an album meant to appeal to both kids and adults with covers of songs like The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Don’t Stop.”
For the singer and mother of two young children, the transition to singing for kids felt natural because it was inspired by the music and shows she liked growing up in the 1970s. It’s all music she thinks her adult fans can relate to as well.
“I think it’s more about my love for the entertainment that I liked in the ’70s: variety shows, the soft pop from the ’70s on the radio, you know, before there was a real delineation between kids and grownups,” she said.
“There were certain songs and shows that had certain images, melodies that really resonated with me. So like a lot of other kids’ artists I really focus more on just making records, regular records, but kids enjoy them,” Loeb added.
And as far as her breakout hit, Loeb still feels a lot of loyalty to that song from the “Reality Bites” soundtrack even two decades later, so expect to hear it at her shows.
“I always sing the song at shows. I tell different stories about it. I do have a strong connection to it. I know it’s taken me all over the world and that because of the success of that song I’ve been able to meet a lot of musicians I respect and just had an amazing life,” she said.
If You Go:
The Coach House
When: 6 p.m. April 25.
Where: 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano.
Cost: $20.
Saint Rocke
When: 6 p.m. April 26.
Where; 142 Pacific Coast Highway, Hermosa Beach.
Cost: $20.
The Rose
When: 6 p.m. April 27.
Where: 254 E. Green St., Pasadena.
Cost: Tickets are $24, $28 and $34.
Information: lisaloeb.com
