SHIR MADNESS Returns to Melbourne Next Month

SHIR MADNESS, the one day music festival showcasing and celebrating the very best of Jewish music and Jewish musicians returns to Melbourne in 2017 with 10 hours of joyous, riveting, moving & challenging performances and performances by more than 30 artists. With the iconic festival alternating annually with Sydney, it's Melbourne's turn to celebrate in 2017!

Headlining Shir Madness in 2017 are the incomparable New York trail-blazers The Klezmatics and US clarinet virtuoso David Krakauer's Ancestral Groove.

The Klezmatics are the Grammy-winning superstars of the klezmer world. They erupted out of New York City's East Village in 1986 and revitalized klezmer for the new century with music that is steeped in Eastern European Jewish tradition and spirituality, while incorporating contemporary themes such as human rights and anti-fundamentalism with eclectic musical influences including Arab, African, Latin and Balkan rhythms, jazz and punk.

For over two decades, world-renowned clarinetist David Krakauer has been reinventing and remixing the Jewish music of his ancestry with the sensibility of a contemporary musician strongly informed by funk, jazz and hip-hop. Krakauer has forged an incomparable musical path that's included landmark collaborations with luminaries like funk legend Fred Wesley, the Kronos Quartet, and beat-wizard Socalled. Krakauer's Ancestral Groove features new arrangements of his signature repertoire performed by an electrifying 4-piece band.

A highlight of Shir Madness is Song of Songs, featuring 15 of Australia's most treasured Melbourne singers each singing one of their favourite songs by a Jewish composer. Performing in Song of Songs are Clare Bowditch, Russell Morris, Kram (from Spiderbait), Paul Dempsey, Deborah Conway, Emily Lubitz, David Bridie, Deborah Cheetham, Dave Graney, Glenn Richards and others.

Other highlights include performances by the Grigoryan Brothers; the Stiletto Sisters; 'Australia's First Lady of Soul' Renée Geyer; YID!; TAl Cohen; Annie Lee from the Kransky Sisters; pedal steel guitarist Lucky Oceans; Sephardic Oud Master Yohai Cohen; Kobi Oved's Songs of Prayer; Melbourne-born Berlin-based Phia with her luscious and exotically-influence songs; Galit Klas & Brett Kaye as Chazzan & Chazzanit (cantorial music); Hello Tut Tut's high energy klezmer and middle eastern masters Zourouna and many others.

Artistic Director Willy Zygier says, "This year's lineup confirms Shir Madness as the Southern Hemisphere's pre-eminent Jewish music festival. It will be an incredible musical experience!"

For bookings and information visit www.shirmadness.com.

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