Suzi Shelton has carved out a unique space in the world of children’s music, where she seamlessly blends entertainment with education. Her warm and engaging personality shines through in every performance, making her a beloved figure among families who crave heartwarming and interactive musical experiences. Suzi’s ability to connect with young audiences, encouraging them to sing, dance, and explore, has earned her a special place in the hearts of both children and their parents.

Suzi understands that music is a powerful tool for learning, and she uses it to help children develop early language and literacy skills. Through repetition and song, children are introduced to concepts that are essential for communication and self-expression. This process of learning through music has a profound impact on their daily lives, fostering a love for language and a foundation for future learning.

Her performances are infused with charm and energy, leaving her young audience smiling and inspired long after the music has stopped. Whether it’s through a live performance or one of her recorded songs, Suzi has a way of making every child feel special, valued, and loved. This is no small feat, and it speaks to her deep understanding of the needs and desires of young children. Suzi’s music is a reflection of her belief that every child deserves to experience joy, laughter, and the freedom to express themselves.

One of the standout features of Suzi Shelton’s work is her regular weekly series on YouTube called "Sing with Suzi." This series has become a staple for many families, offering a consistent source of entertainment and education. Each episode of "Sing with Suzi" is a carefully curated experience, featuring not only Suzi’s musical talents but also a diverse array of guests, including musicians, puppeteers, dancers, artists, bubble makers, and young activists from around the globe. This variety ensures that there is something for everyone, and it keeps the content fresh and engaging for both children and their parents.

"Sing with Suzi" is more than just a show; it’s a community. Suzi offers a sense of belonging where everyone feels welcome, regardless of their background or abilities. She introduces children and differently-abled learners to special guests from a wide variety of experiences, fostering an environment of inclusion and understanding. Through this, children learn the importance of kindness, empathy, and the celebration of diversity and equality. Suzi’s platform becomes a space where children can see themselves represented and where they can learn about the world in a way that is both accessible and meaningful.

Music is a multisensory experience that engages multiple areas of the brain simultaneously. When children listen to and participate in music, they are activating areas of the brain involved in language, memory, motor skills, and emotion. Beyond the tangible benefits of music, Suzi Shelton’s work also offers something less measurable but equally important: a sense of joy and belonging. In a world that can often feel chaotic and overwhelming, Her songs are filled with messages of love, acceptance, and kindness, reminding children that they are valued just as they are. This message of unconditional love and acceptance is a powerful one, and it has the potential to shape the way children see themselves and others.

Suzi Shelton is not just a singer/songwriter; she is a happiness-maker, a community builder, and an advocate for children’s emotional and intellectual development. Her music is a gift to families, offering joy, education, and a sense of belonging to all who listen. Through her performances, her YouTube series "Sing with Suzi," and her unwavering commitment to inclusivity and kindness, Suzi Shelton continues to make a lasting impact on the lives of young children and their families. She is a shining example of how music can be used as a tool for connection, growth, and, most importantly, happiness.

Sing with Suzi is filmed and produced from Suzi’s living room in Brooklyn and includes viewers not only in the US, but in over 70 different countries (and counting), and was recently featured in the NY Times as a highlight for families with young children. Suzi’s livestream show is featured along with her multiple music videos, on her popular Youtube Channel, which to date has over 20,000 subscriptions and over 11 million views. 

“The best thing to hit the children’s music market since Raffi.” – The Nashville Parent

Originally from Chesterland, Ohio Suzi grew up taking dance classes at her local dance studio where at age 16 she became a member of their Fairmont Dancin' Jazz Company touring schools and performance venues.  Suzi went to college at Ohio University where she received a BFA in Dance and Certification in Early Childhood Education.  Suzi moved to NYC soon after graduating and had aspirations of becoming a professional dancer.  She began to find odd jobs to help pay for her dance classes, and landed a job at The Children's Museum of the Arts in Soho where she started to sing and perform with their house band for families.  The popularity of the band quickly grew and she became a founding member and lead singer of The Imagination Workshop Band (IWB) which performed in local museums, libraries and parks around NYC.  IWB brought live music and theatre to families with young children from 1996-2002 and consisted of founding members Albert Elias, Lou Gallo and Shlomo Pestcoe, and is likely best known for their "Dragon Hunt," which is an original take on the popular "Goin On A Bear Hunt." IWB created two albums: Subway Train (1997) and It's A Kids Life (2000) both produced by Tom Conway in NYC.  

Suzi started writing her own songs soon after her first child was born, and began to perform them on her guitar a few years later at his preschool.  She then went on to record her first two solo albums with producer Dan Siegler, Simply Suzi (2005) and No Ordinary Day (2007), which along with her live DVD Suzi Shelton Live At Southpaw, put her on the map as an award-winning songwriter and landed a record deal with an independent record label.  While those albums were never released under this label, Suzi gained national acclaim during this time and was able to fine tune her vocal and performance skills.  Suzi’s popular version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” from Simply Suzi, and fist pumping original song “Goin’ On A Road Trip,” from No Ordinary Day are still two of the most requested songs to date. 

 “It was a kiddie Woodstock … the crowd went nuts for Suzi Shelton singing “Road Trip!” – The Brooklyn Paper

In 2007 Suzi took home a NAPPA Gold Award as the host of two musical DVD's produced by Gymboree Play & Music entitled The Very Brave Elephant and His Friends, and Let’s Get Moving! Trains, Cars and Planes, which included a very popular rendition of "Wheels on the Bus," that maintains over 9 million views on YouTube. 

Suzi has since created two more award-winning solo independent albums; Smile In My Heart (2014) produced by Marc Bazerman including her popular song “Go, Fire Truck, Go” co-written by Henry Rivetti and co-produced by GRAMMY Award winner Jon Samson and percussionist Dan Weiner, and her most recent album Hand In Hand (2018) produced by Greg Mayo (Jon Bon Jovi, Blood, Sweat & Tears) and Dan Weiner (The Cher Show, STOMP, America’s Got Talent Band) including the hit song “Raindrop” which is continually spinning on Sirius XM Kids Place Live and streaming on Apple Music , Pandora, Amazon Music and Spotify. Hand In Hand is filled with upbeat, inspiring, and powerful songs about believing in yourself, and shows off Suzi’s new sound which is a mix of eclectic-pop with a more modern edge. This latest album is all about inclusion and uses socially conscious messages to remind everyone that they can be comfortable in their own skin and express themselves joyously! You can hear her songs playing not only on Sirius XM, but also WXPN Kids Corner, Imagination Parade on WFDU FM, Kids Crossroads, KDHX Musical Merry Go Round, Radio Active Kids in Asheville, and many more radio stations across the country and throughout the world. 

“Suzi Shelton is a Brooklyn treasure, entertaining our kids all over the borough. Musicians like her are one of the reasons to love Brooklyn. Her new album, Hand-in-Hand, is an upbeat tribute to enjoying childhood.” ~A Child Grows In Brooklyn

Suzi and her band have performed in such prestigious local venues including Just Kidding at Symphony Space, Madison Square Park, Union Square, The Jewish Museum, The Lincoln Center Tree Lighting Ceremony, Tribeca Film Festival, Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAMKids), Brookfield Place, Brooklyn Public Library, The White House Easter Egg Roll (2007), and Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook (her local favorite hang), just to name a few.  Suzi also frequently takes her music to the road and has performed in Washington, D.C, San Francisco, Cleveland, St. Louis, Boston, Westport, CT, Philadelphia, Denver, Portland, Madison, WI, The State Theatre in New Jersey, and most recently The Chicago Cultural Center, Garfield Park Conservatory, Beat Kitchen and LOLLAPALOOZA in Chicago, IL.

If you have never experienced Suzi's live shows, they are a perfect match for preschools, elementary schools and family performances, as they are high energy, engaging, musically exceptional, and inclusive of all families with a wide variety of backgrounds. Her band consists of some of the finest musicians in NYC, who are not only amazing musically, but are incredibly kid-friendly and fun! ​MomTrends​ called Suzi “one of our favorite musicians,” and the ​Brooklyn Spectator​ noted, “When Suzi Shelton takes the stage with her guitar and her band, you know that something special is about to happen.”

When Suzi isn't writing or performing, she is teaching. Suzi teaches music and movement classes and workshops in various elementary schools and preschools throughout NYC and most recently spearheaded an in-school folk music program called "​Community Through Music​," where lower income schools can experience live music complete with instruments including the banjo, guitar, ukulele, bass and drums.  CTM aims to reinforce inclusion, respect and kindness towards each other, to improve listening skills and group participation.  This unique program exposes children to American folk and world music and allows them to gain knowledge and appreciation for different musical styles and instruments. 

Suzi is also recently curating a family concert series at Jalopy Theatre in Red Hook, BK called Uncle Shlomo’s Family Concert Series in honor of her mentor and friend Shlomo Pestcoe who passed away in 2015. This monthly concert series features a diverse array of top notch musicians and performers from around the country who will share their backgrounds and talents with us. Nestled in the heart of Red Hook, Brooklyn, Jalopy Theatre and School of Music is a home for music and music-makers: a multifaceted arts space celebrating traditional folk music through live performances and communal learning. This concert series is generously funded by Uncle Shlomo's Brooklyn Kids Music Fund. Proceeds from the door will go to the Jalopy Scholarship Fund.

During the pandemic, Suzi went remote and implemented some of her school programs virtually, teaching over a dozen classes per week. Suzi brought her special guests to the children via Zoom, and allowed for the children to experience and learn about the various instruments and songs first hand with time for questions and answers.  Each class includes Suzi's original material, traditional songs, dancing, story time and even a brief break for meditation and reflection. Suzi has recently launched Suzi’s Classroom, a playlist of handpicked videos for young children teaching colors, numbers, crafts and simple activities in efforts to help parents and teachers incorporate the arts into their child’s day while stuck at home. 

In addition, Suzi started teaching her own online music program called Suzi & Me where she offered two programs: one for her earliest learners and one for older students. Music Time is geared for children ages 1-5 years and incorporates call and response songs and finger-plays, creative movement, stories and mindful meditation moments. Children are always encouraged to shake or strum along on their instruments at home and Suzi provides lots of energy and encouragement! The second program, Music Enrichment is for children K-3rd grade especially tailored for homeschoolers and online learners.  Each music enrichment class offers original and traditional songs to engage, inspire and get the children up and moving while also allowing for much needed sharing time for socialization and connection.  All of Suzi's music classes encourage self expression, enhance development and offer a sense of community. At this time, Suzi is focusing on her in-school and in-person performances and is taking a pause on her remote classes.

“Suzi is the Mr. Rogers of Kids Music!” Susan Fox - founder of Park Slope Parents

In 2020, Suzi teamed up with independent music company Modern Sky Kids in China in the hopes to create music and perform for their global audience in the coming year, and is thrilled to be a part of the Modern Sky Family including GRAMMY Award winner Tim Kubart, Parent’s Choice Award winner Lard Dog, as well as the well-known sound workshop School of Noise. Together, they aim to bring more interesting and diverse content and experiences to families in China. 

Suzi is continually creating new material and is finishing up a brand new song and music video collaboration to be released very soon, and hopes to start on a new recording project in winter of 2022.  She plans to continue to produce her live “Sing with Suzi” show twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays at 4pm (EST). Along with many of her colleagues, Suzi stands with a newly formed organization called Family Music Forward (FMF) which is committed to transforming family music by supporting Black artists, children and communities and dismantling individual, institutional and systemic racial bias within the industry. 

While Suzi runs her one woman business SuziMusic, LLC single handedly,  she is first and foremost a proud mother of two adult children (ages 24 and 18) and an extended family of two step-children (ages 15 and 8).  She enjoys spending as much down time with them as she can, along with her husband Dave and their miniature dachshund, Penny. Suzi’s children have performed in her live shows (both online and onstage) since they were small, are featured in her music videos and are quite often the focus of her songs.  She gets her inspiration from them and especially from her husband Dave who is the “idea man” and always at her side supporting her, building sets, carrying gear, and making things happen behind the scenes.  In addition to making music, Suzi loves to take long walks in Prospect Park, go to the beach, spend time with her friends and family, and practice yoga. 

Suzi’s solo musical repertoire consists of:

Community Through Music (2024) produced by Jeff Kerestes - Jalopy Records

Happiness Surrounds Us (single + music video) (2023) featuring Strawbitty Yops and Mil’s Trills produced by Jeff Litman

Spread More Love (single + music video) (2023) featuring Young Folk and Little Miss Ann produced by Dan Weiner

Beach Day (single) (2023) produced by Greg Mayo and Dan Weiner - featured on WFUV’s NY Slice

Mama’s House, Daddy’s House (single + music video) (2022) produced by Greg Mayo and Dan Weiner

Party Monsters (single + music video) (2021) featuring Fyütch produced by Greg Mayo and Dan Weiner

Magnolia Tree (single + music video) (2021) produced by Greg Mayo and Dan Weiner

Hand In Hand (2018) produced by Greg Mayo and Dan Weiner - Awards: Parents' Choice Recommended Award, NAPPA Award and Fids and Kamily Award

Suzi Shelton’s Merry Little Holiday (2016) produced by Jeff Kerestes

Smile In My Heart (2014) produced by Marc Bazerman - Awards: Parents' Choice Recommended Award, NAPPA Silver

Tomboy In A Princess Dress (2011) produced by Marc Bazerman

No Ordinary Day (2007) produced by Dan Siegler - Awards: Parents' Choice Silver Award

Suzi Shelton Live at Southpaw (DVD) (2007) - produced by Tom Conway and José Pelaez.  Awards: NAPPA Gold Award

Simply Suzi (2005) produced by Dan Siegler - Awards: Parents' Choice Approved Award, iParenting Media Award, and Children's Music Web Award