Musical treat at Shir Madness
The sound of traditional and contemporary Jewish music reverberated through Elsternwick as local and overseas stars performed for music fans celebrating Melbourne’s inaugural Shir Madness Jewish Music Festival.
THE sound of traditional and contemporary Jewish music reverberated through Elsternwick as more than 1600 music fans celebrated Melbourne’s inaugural Shir Madness Jewish Music Festival on Sunday September 6.
The all-day event saw stellar performances, panel discussions and engaging workshops at the Classic Theatre, Kadimah Hall and Gordon Street.
The event, which was a sell-out, showcased the diversity of Jewish music with a line-up of 30 international and local artists across the three venues.
Headline acts included Chassidic New York hipster Zusha, Tel Aviv based multi-linguistic singer-songwriter Tula and local indie folk group Tinpan Orange.
One of the festival highlights was Song of Songs, which brought together 15 Melbourne musicians who each performed a song by his or her favourite Jewish composer, with memorable renditions from the Stiletto Sisters, Kate Ceberano, Kate Miller-Heidke and Tim Rogers.
Other popular performances were from the Alter Jazz Ensemble, award-winning Sydney band Monsieur Camembert and fiery Portuguese singers Alma Mater.
Reflecting on the success of the day, festival director and performer Deborah Conway said: “Shir Madness opened its doors for the first time in Melbourne to an absolutely incredible reception.
“This was a festival made of love for music and community, and that passion was on display.”
While Conway said she loved the performances by all the talented musicians, her highlight was seeing so many Jews rubbing shoulders and connected by great music.
Discussing the future of Shir Madness, Conway said: “With a kick-off like that, Shir Madness Melbourne will look forward to a second great festival in 2017, and in the meantime, Shir Madness Sydney will fill that musical hunger in 2016.”
REPORT by Zoe Kron
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