BRANFORD, CT — Each summer, Americans far and wide pack into the family car and head to one of hundreds of festivals highlighting everything from garlic – Gilroy, California, is the unofficial garlic capital of the United States – to virtually every flavor of pie imaginable. Jewish-themed festivals, in particular, have witnessed an increasing popularity in recent years with rosters featuring the best of Jewish musicians.
Jewish Music Gaining in Popularity During Summer Festival Season
BRANFORD, CT — Each summer, Americans far and wide pack into the family car and head to one of hundreds of festivals highlighting everything from garlic – Gilroy, California, is the unofficial garlic capital of the United States – to virtually every flavor of pie imaginable. Jewish-themed festivals, in particular, have witnessed an increasing popularity in recent years with rosters featuring the best of Jewish musicians.
In Branford, Conn., last weekend, more than 1,800 people crammed the town green for the third-annual Shoreline Jewish Festival. The day-long celebration featured the hip-hop lyrics of rapper Nosson Zand, the traditional sounds of the East Rock Klezmer band, and the free-form blend of Jewish notes and ethnic rhythms performed by David Chevan and the Afro-Semitic Experience. A puppet theater captured the attention of the younger attendees.
The festival enjoyed its greatest turnout yet, said Rabbi Yossi Yaffe, co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of the Shoreline, which sponsored the event. Attendance was nearly double that of the festival’s inaugural year.
“Jewish music has the ability to open people up,” said Yaffe. “It speaks right to the soul.”
Zand, a native of Brookline, Mass., who embraced his Jewish identity as a young man, agreed. His “Kosher Hip-Hop” performance combined Jewish messages with the familiar cadence and style of rap.
The artist’s approach is to take such topics as the soul’s thirst for G-d, and apply a back beat. He strives, he said, to make sure that in doing so, the message isn’t muddled.
