Yidstock 2021 Goes Global with Virtual Program Featuring a Dozen Artists

Lorin Sklamberg (l) and Frank London (r) with the Klezmatics

(AMHERST, Mass.) – YIDSTOCK: The Festival of New Yiddish Music will feature a dozen musical artists from around the world—including Eleanor Reissa, Lorin Sklamberg of the Klezmatics, and Daniel Kahn and Sveta Kundish from Berlin—in a program of Yiddish songs of social justice streaming on Sunday, July 11, at 4pm (ET).

The ninth annual YIDSTOCK—what would have been the 10th had not Yidstock 2020 been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic—will feature a 75-minute program of Yiddish artists in performances recorded exclusively for YIDSTOCK. Other artists taking part include Frank London of the Klezmatics, Cilla Owens, Sarah Myerson and Ilya Shneyveys, Niki Jacobs from the Netherlands, Polina and Merlin Shepherd from Brighton, UK, Sarah Gordon and Michael Winograd from Brooklyn, Tatiana Wechsler, Éléonore Weill and Zoë Aqua, and Patrick Farrell.

Tatiana Wechsler

YIDSTOCK artistic director Seth Rogovoy will host the event, featuring artists performing a broad and eclectic repertoire of social justice songs, including labor anthems, protest songs, humanitarian odes, songs of struggle, songs based in Yiddish poetry and Jewish scripture, and a few songs from outside the tradition in innovative, Yiddish arrangements.

“While it was disappointing to have to cancel last year’s festival, moving this year’s event to online gave us the opportunity to present musical artists from around the world,” says Rogovoy. “It also has allowed us to present a number of artists who haven’t performed at Yidstock previously—fully half of the artists will be making their Yidstock debuts.”

For more information about the artists and to reserve a ticket, please visit YIDSTOCK.

YIDSTOCK 2021 is presented as part of the Yiddish Book Center’s Decade of Discovery initiative. Learn more about the initiative and its theme for 2021, Yiddish and Social Justice.

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.