Missed Boston Calling or Coachella? Try Yidstock: The Festival of New Yiddish Music, Western Massachusetts’s annual Yiddish music festival, happening at Amherst’s Yiddish Book Center from Thursday, July 11, through Sunday, July 14. This is the fest’s 12th anniversary, with a big lineup of Yiddish and klezmer music, workshops and film screenings.
“It’s not just a klezmer festival. Yiddish music is a much larger category, which certainly incorporates klezmer, as well as many other kinds of music coming out of the Yiddish and Ashkenazi tradition,” says artistic director Seth Rogovoy, a Berkshires-based author and writer. Rogovoy is well-known as a klezmer aficionado and scholar; he wrote “The Essential Klezmer” in 2000 and was tapped to head up the festival more than a decade ago.
“Yidstock is a balance between tradition and innovation, mirroring the mission of the Yiddish Book Center itself,” he says.
The Book Center is the area’s hub for Yiddish workshops, talks and texts; this is one of its signature events. It started as a small daylong event with three or so concerts and a few workshops; now, it’s a multi-day affair with lectures, artist interviews, films and more, drawing an eclectic audience that makes a long weekend out of it. Each year, Rogovoy strives to incorporate a diverse program showcasing different approaches to new Yiddish music, with a mix of longtime audience favorites and new musicians from all over the world.
“We’ve had people from Israel, from all over Europe and Canada, from top names in the field to rising stars,” he says.
While the event isn’t tailored to kids, Rogovoy notes that it’s very accessible: Most concerts are just an hour or so long, and plenty of the music is upbeat. He’s especially excited about Levyosn, a Boston-based group making its Yidstock debut this year. The name is derived from the Hebrew word for “leviathan,” a mythical sea creature that collects songs (and krill) from the ocean. The group sings in Yiddish, Hebrew and English.
“This is one of the younger, exciting groups with some really terrific players,” he says. (Levyosn appears on Friday at 5 p.m.)
On Sunday, he’s eager for the world premiere of Basya Schechter and Avi Fox-Rosen, presenting poet Itsik Manger’s “Khumesh Lider,” or Bible poems.
“One of Manger’s specialties was creating Bible stories and bringing them to life in a different way, like the story of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah. But he has fun with the stories and puts the people in a different context. Basya and Avi are rising stars and excellent musicians,” he says.
Check out the full lineup here. Can’t make it in person? Stream it live.