Album Notes

Arlo Leach and Anna Belyaev combine a little social consciousness, a lot of humor, and a natural affinity for children in live performances and on two albums, A Day at Honey Creek and Holiday Mornings.

Arlo and Anna met while working at a software company in Madison, Wisconsin, where the two liberal arts graduates became fast friends in the relatively foreign business environment. As Arlo spent his evenings performing and releasing CDs he describes as "rocket-fueled folk music," Anna began helping him promote his shows.

It all came together in the spring of 1999, when Arlo, looking for a way to renew his enthusiasm for songwriting, asked Anna to join him in writing a collection of children's songs. Anna, a former grade school teacher and closet piano player, was perfect for the task. The two quickly knocked out the dozen songs that make up A Day at Honey Creek, which eventually outsold all of Arlo's solo recordings and earned national recognition from the media.

The duo teamed up again in 2001 for a follow-up album celebrating the winter holidays. Holiday Mornings adds more sophisticated arrangements and ethnic flavors to their distinctive writing style.

Much of the pair's personalities shine through on both albums. Feminism, multiculturalism, and a love of nature are just a few of their not-so-kidlike themes. But they also leave plenty of room for the silly, innocent fun that they believe the world can never have too much of.

Arlo and Anna currently live, work, and make music in and around Chicago, Illinois.