Coco’s Lunch for Kids has been igniting the hearts of children around the globe and enjoyed a cult following amongst grown-ups for over fifteen years! Renowned for their award-winning songs, brilliant harmonies and stunning live performances for children, these five women inspire young audiences to shuffle, clap, dance the mambo, snap their rat traps and sing in all kinds of creative ways! Their rhythmic vitality, humour, onstage synergy and musical sophistication sets them apart from most children’s performers. The songs of Coco’s Lunch incorporate jazz, world music styles and vocal soundscapes with originality and inventiveness, exploring an exotic palette of percussion, improvisation and vocal sounds that fire the imagination in every listener!

cocos lunch i wanna be a mermaid

In 2012 Coco’s Lunch went underwater with the release of their brand new EP for children, featuring songs from the hit show I Wanna Be A Mermaid that has inspired young audiences around Australia and SOLD OUT several seasons at Sydney Opera House. Coco’s inspired little people around Australia to explore their inner mermaids, pirates, seagulls & surfers in a magical seaside vocal experience – featuring Do The Goofy Foot, Paradox, I Wanna Be A Mermaid, She Sells Sea Shells and It Will All Be There Tomorrow (adapted from the children’s picture book & audio CD I’m Still Awake, Still!, Allen & Unwin)… as well as bringing new sparkle to classic Coco’s Lunch songs Wally Wombat Shuffle and Lunch Box Rap!’

‘This CD hit the right spot with my girls, who were won over from the start by the mermaid theme and the silliness.’ Lisa Blackman, Web Child

‘Coco’s Lunch have a talent for crafting beautiful harmonies that possess sophistication and sass…introducing kids to the wonders of jazz, African rhythm, swing and more.’  Wellbeing Magazine 2013

In 2015 Coco's Lunch were invited to take their I Wanna Be A Mermaid show to the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, curated by Barry Humphries.

'The hottest ticket in town for 2-7 year olds!’  Channel 7, Sydney

cocos lunch

Coco’s Lunch received an Australian Recording Industry Award (ARIA) nomination for Best Children’s Albums 2007 for their CD release Rat Trap Snap!

‘Coco’s Lunch incorporate such variety and quirkiness into their original music that even in recorded form their songs come across as lively and entertaining…these are clever and funny songs for children and in terms of showcasing the range of the human voice, they’re a great education.’ Melbourne’s Child 2006

‘What more could a parent want from a kids CD?’ (4-stars). A-Cappella.com, USA

For years, Coco’s Lunch were a favourite at the Sydney Opera House, where they have performed their magical interactive shows for the Babies Proms program to sell-out audiences in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009 & 2011. Their show Sounds of the Sea was described as the ‘HIT OF THE FESTIVAL’ at Queensland Performing Arts Centre’s ‘Out Of The Box’ Festival in 2008. Coco’s Lunch were also festival favourites at the Capital E National Arts Festival NEW ZEALAND with their 2009 show Rat Trap Snap!

‘Truly inspirational! I would have no hesitation recommending them on any stage around the world.’
Sydney Opera House. Noel Jordan, Young Audiences Producer

In 2008 Coco’s Lunch packed out the ADELAIDE FESTIVAL CENTRE for the Something On Saturday program, and in 2007 performed spellbinding children’s concerts for Chookahs Festival at the Victorian Arts Centre. Their interactive music/theatre show ‘A Frog In My Throat’ sold out at the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Babies Proms program in 2006 and went on to enjoy a successful season for the Powerkidz festival at Brisbane Powerhouse. In 2004/05 they performed seasons at the Famous Spiegeltent and the Victorian Arts Centre in Melbourne, as well as two seasons at the Sydney Opera House.

‘The music is sophisticated and young at the same time; Coco’s Lunch has put together a CD for kids that won’t drive their parents to distraction, a rare pleasure.’ Mainely A Cappella USA

Aside from performing for the SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE Babies Proms and House Ed programs, Coco’s Lunch have been the only ensemble to be invited by the Opera House to perform for 2 consecutive years for the Utzon Room Music Series for grown-ups! Coco’s Lunch spent 10 years performing interactive educational shows in schools and concert halls throughout Australia and Asia with the Musica Viva In Schools and Export programs. They have conducted workshops and performed in Indigenous communites in regional and remote areas around Australia, and in 2005 were invited to perform concerts and workshops at the Australian Society for Music Educators conference in Melbourne. Coco’s Lunch compositions are used as resources in classrooms, universities and by choirs all over the country, and Coco’s Lunch sheet music is now purchased and performed by professional choirs and vocal ensembles around the world.

‘Not a typical children’s album…I’m often left behind walking like an Egyptian Pharaoh, long after the children have gone outside!’  The Music Circle

In their contemporary adult work, Coco’s Lunch were 1 of 12 international ensembles invited to perform for the 2010 POLYFOLLIA 4th WORLD CHORAL SHOWCASE in FRANCE to over 100 festival directors from around the world. In 2006 the group headlined at Tasmania’s Festival of Voices and performed headlining concerts for the the 7th International Taipei Choral Festival at the Taipei National Concert Hall in Taiwan. In 2004/05 They performed to standing ovations across Europe and Canada and their concert for Festival Vancouver at the University of British Columbia was given repeat national broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Commission.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • ARIA NOMINATION 2007: Best Children’s Album (Rat Trap Snap!)

  • 3 critically acclaimed albums for children: I Wanna Be A Mermaid, Rat Trap Snap! & Wally Wombat Shuffle

  • Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2015 - Adelaide Festival Centre

  • Melbourne Recital Centre 2011

  • Child Friendly Cities Symposium - Queensland Performing Arts Centre

  • Children's Book Week 2011 - State Library, Melbourne

  • Something On Saturday - Adelaide Festival Centre

  • Season for Sovereign Hill Music Festival

  • Brisbane Powerhouse

  • Songs commissioned for Chookas at Victoria Arts Centre

  • Children’s Book Council National Conference at Melbourne Convention Centre

  • NEW ZEALAND – CAPITAL E NATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL: 2009 Season at Paramount Theatre

  • 14 YEARS with MUSICA VIVA AUSTRALIA touring for Countrywide, In Schools and Export programs including concerts throughout Asia

  • Sydney Opera House – sell-out seasons for Babies Proms & House Ed in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008 & 2011

  • VICTORIAN ARTS CENTRE – 2005 Arts Education Program & Chookahs Kids Festivals (2003, 2007)

  • Port Fairy Folk Festival (1995, 2000, 2008)

  • Glen Street Theatre shows

  • Casula For Kids Festival at Casula Powerhouse, Sydney

  • 7 ACCLAIMED ALBUMS of original works for both adults & children, funded by Australian grant bodies

  • RECIPIENTS of numerous AUSTRALIA COUNCIL & ARTS VICTORIA grants since 1994

  • DOCUMENTARY soundtracks ‘Conversations with Women Writers’ screened on SBS & ABC

  • AUSTRALIAN short film soundtracks, countless CD compilations & anthologies worldwide

  • THE FAMOUS SPIEGELTENT (2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 & 2008)

  • The Music Show ABC Music Radio National Live at the Spiegeltent

  • Australian Society for Music Educators (ASME) International Conference, Melbourne University