Dan Blacksberg

Today's episode should have been a halloween episode! This time, Dan sits down with Historian, Yiddishist, singer, and messenger of deep Jewish ritual practices, @annsplaining Annie Gottfried Cohen! Annie is based in the UK, teaches Yiddish through the Workers Circle, and has sung with Cantor Rachel Weston, the @isleofklezbos , and on her own Yiddish translations of folk and pop songs with Mikhl Yashinsky and our very own producer Beila Ungar! Alongside all that work, Annie created the website pullingatthreads.com, an incredible resource documenting the ritual practices of Jewish Women, especially but not limited to "Cemetery Measurers" and Klogerins or "Mourning Women". After Dan and Annie discuss their journey's into Yiddish and discover many parallels in their Jewish stories, they turn to these women and their practices that peer beyond our physical world in to realms we might even call supernatural. Annie describes the process and the experience of uncovering the powerful stories of women who fulfilled communal roles like speaking with the dead, that beautifully enrich and complicate many standard narratives about our Jewish past. There's talk of superheroes, of how to connect to our ancestors, of magic, and measuring cemeteries in Lithuania, and what all those big and impossible ideas might mean for us in the present. We also root this conversation in our horror and opposition to the genocidal devastation of Palestinian life that continues to happen in Gaza and in the West Bank, alongside many other horrible acts led by the US, the Israeli government, and other imperial powers around the world. In light of that, we are asking for your help supporting a campaign that Annie helps lead to to assist Mohammed Abdel Gatah Kamel Haggag, along with his multi-generational family, survive in a devastated and intensely dangerous Gaza Strip, Palestine. You can find out more and donate at the link in our bio.

ANNOUNCING Philly In Eynem (Philly all together) a night of Yiddish Learning, Creativity and Community, coming very soon to Kol Tzedek Synagogue in West Philly! Hot off the heels of our emerging scene’s media debut last month on WHYY, I and many of my West Philly Yiddish Culture co conspirators invite you to join us for a heymish evening celebrating all things Yiddish! We’re announcing it very close to the actual event date on May 17th, and we’re hoping you’ll register (link in bio) and join us! You don’t even have to be from Philly to come! Just look at this amazing flyer by @_feygele_ If you’ve ever been curious about klezmer music or Yiddish culture this is the perfect place to start! We’ll have workshops on Yiddish Language, klezmer music, Yiddish art, a film about Jewish resistance in the Holocaust, and of course, lots of joyous sound and dancing. Inspired by the peer-led teaching and community building of @shtetl_philly , Philly Yid, the recent community theater productions of the Dybbuk and Fidler Afn Dakh, I am bringing together a whole bunch of these incredibly knowledgeable and dedicated people to share our love and our passions with you. Last year, Kol Tzedek (where I lead the inimitable Simcha Band) and I were awarded a grant from the National Yiddish Book Center’s Yiddish Arts And Culture for Jewish Communities program. In January, we gathered a bunch of the folks making Yiddish culture and growing new communities around it in West Philly and Beyond for a chat that is available on the Radiant Others Klezmer Podcast. Now we are sharing our love for the sounds, movements, histories and more of this culture with you. What is happening with our beloved music and culture in West Philly (and throughout the city) today is amazinng and unprecedented in my decades of experience playing, teaching, and organizing. The opportunity to build or discover a home for yourself in this culture, this world, right here at in our home is greater than its ever been. Please, join us with your excitement and your koyekh (spirit). Registration link in my bio. Zayt gezunt and see you there!

May is coming in Hot. Plenty of shows and One more Big announcement to come but for now, I’m here to celebrate (at an unusual 2nd Saturday date!) the 4 year anniversary of Di Hoykhe - Klezmer Upstairs! It’s been a real joy and honor to hold this space in my own neighborhood near every month for 4 years. That’s only one month less than @upstairsabyss bar has been reopened! So many friends and so much Freilachs have passed through here and there’s plenty more to come! So come out to Abyssinia Ethiopian Restaurant for our special Saturday, May 9th show with our special guest, the one and only Michael Winograd!!! It’ll be a Klez-Stravaganza!!! May 9th at 8ish! See you there! And come to the Ukrainian League for another monthly night of BEUS (jazz), Wednesday, May 6th! Stay tuned! More soon.

Two Shows this week!!! One Record Release Celebration for Trio Inflorescence’s debut - Excocytosis Thursday 4/16, 8:30 PM!! Di Hoykhe, Klezmer Upstairs Returns! Great “Philly Style” klezmer paired with great Ethiopian food! Come hear the most klezmer trombone in one evening this month anywhere in the world! I swear this is true. Also featuring, Rob Curto, Eva Boodman, Daniel Stern and… You! You’re welcome to play, but you gotta bring a tune or a song! And mark your calendars for our 4 year anniversary an unusual 2nd Saturday Di Hoykhe on May 9th with special guest Michael Winograd!!! Then… Sunday, 4/19, 7PM!! Trio Inflorescence headlining the Label Launch for People’s Music Supply Recording Company! At historic Christ Church with its beautiful acoustics, we’ll be celebrating the release of our album, Excocytosis, which is a performance also from Christ Church. It was sublime and this one is sure to be too! Also with Himflation, and Gabe Meyer Quartet. There is serious music happening in Philly! Stay tuned for more klezmer, more jazz w/BeUs (USE Trio folks) and more coming soon! Hope to see you all there!

Trio Inflorescence performs in a generative way similar to how the fractals of plant structures are created, reach for the sky and bask in the sun. considers plant life cycles, improvising growth and withering through time, adapting to the natural, unnatural, and the imaginary implications of sonic moments. releases April 17, 2026 Dan Blacksberg- trombone Carlos Santiago- violin Sonali Singh- Bassoon, Piano Trailing composed by Dan Blackbserg Excocytosis composed by Sonali Singh Mixing and Mastering by Lucas Knapp @senstive_plant Recorded December 13th 2025 Special Thanks to the Christ Church Preservation Trust PMS002

Just in time for me to aim towards posting more regularly online: I get to share a nice long on WHYY by Peter Crimmins about the burgeoning Yiddish Culture scene in West Philly! I don’t know if I count as a “younger adult” like it says under the headline, but I’m glad to be in the mix with all these inspiring folks running things like Philly Yid, Shtetl Philly, and more. Seriously, these cats are organized and not “rag tag” in the slightest. There’s so much that doesn’t get to make it in this (or any) cultural roundup article, about who’s involved, why we do what we do, what it does for us in terms of connecting to ourselves and the world around us. Fortunately, I recorded a whole @radiantotherspodcast episode with lots more from everyone quoted (and many photographed) in this article that you can listen to. Listen and Dig us! I feel so sweet having musically fertilized and sown cultural seeds for well over a decade right here at home. Now I see all sorts of ideas, activities, and groups blooming, some of which I didn’t have anything to do with planting and growing. It’s wonderful. Come out April 16th ie th 3rd Thursday for Di Hoykhe at Abyssinia, and do what I said in the article. And stay tuned in for always more great Philly happenings. Mir Zaynen Do!

It’s a special Yontif edition of Radiant Others!! Hot off the release of her debut album Through the Walls, today’s episode features Dan’s conversation with UK violinist @annalowenstein.music ! Anna Lowenstein is a leader, klezmer fiddler and teacher in the UK and beyond. She is part of a younger cohort (than Dan at least) who are rapidly arriving as wonderfully fully formed artists with their own sounds and takes on our beloved traditions. Anna’s new album fits right in, bringing sounds, stories, and ideas from her life in the Stamford Hill area of London, original klezmer compositions and dynamic arrangements for string quartet. Dan and Anna started to get to really know each other last December when Anna visited Philly to guest on Dan’s monthly Di Hoykhe series and on a drive from Philly up to Yiddish New York a few days later. This conversation gets even deeper into Anna’s story, her journey into Yiddish music, and now her big, cool, original addition to the tradition itself. Through the Walls, is available on Adhyâropa Records on all streaming services and at /music.

Thursday (tmrw!) come out to @upstairsabyss for monthly klezmer night!

BLACKSBURG•ELDRED•URBINA•SMITH BEUS, LIVE AT NOTSOLATIN!! 3/10!! Join us Tuesday, March 10th for the Philadelphia supergroup BeUs as they take the Nostolatin stage for the first time. You don’t want to miss this incredible night of music played by the best of the best: Dan Blacksburg - trombone Sandy Eldred - bass Andrew Urbina - saxophone Wayne Smith Jr. - drums Doors at 7, show at 730 No tickets required, $10 suggested donation 1440 W Ritner St. Phialdelphia Pa See you there #beus #phillyjazzdaily #notsolatin #longlivetheswing #livemusic

For this month’s episode we turn to happenings in Dan’s home neighborhood of West Philly. Turns out, there’s a whole lot of Yiddish Culture being organized and created here, right now! Find out all about it from this live Radiant Others recording Dan held at Kol Tzedek Synagogue (where he leads the inimitable Simcha Band) on January 10th 2026. Meet this amazing panel that’s certainly the most guests ever on a single episode of this podcast and includes klezmer musicians, yiddish speakers, dancers, community organizers, theater and visual artists, you name it! Dan talks with Miryam Coppersmith, Maddie Rabin, Isy Abraham-Raveson, Elliot Beck, Daniel Stern, Sophie Rose Seymour and Jonathan Leibovic to talk about Philly’s rapidly emerging Yiddish Scene. We talk about Shtetl Philly, the peer-led Yiddish Culture workshops, including one happening this very weekend (March 7&8. 2026)! We talk about the Yiddish conversation club Philly Yid, and the community-led, no-yiddish-needed, reading/production of Fiddler Afn Dakh. This scene has grown exponentially from only a few years ago and has come so far since Dan began sharing his klezmer knowledge in Philly year-round. There’s too many highlights so just Dive In! Learn about our guests and follow their work! Miryam Coppersmith - / ; @shtetlphilly Maddie Rabin - Shtetl Philly Isy Abraham-Raveson - @philly_yid (and member Shtetl Philly) Elliot Beck - @wpobrass Daniel Stern @ddsternn @wpobrass Sophie Rose Seymour - @_feygele_ Jonathan Leibovic - @badsalmonmusical @mariposasgalacticas

New Radiant Others Episode is out with Lev Liberman and David Julian Gray of the Klezmorim, but that’s for the other post. This one is about Many Shows! Many Many Shows! Come see me play so much music of many different kinds. Come listen and open yourself to the transformational possibilities of human music! Monday 2/16 Michael Prentky’s sad boy: ADD: apocalypse Album Release Tour 2026; with Ira Khonen Temple Rotunda, 8PM! Joining my fellow klezmer/weirdo music hybrid, Boston-based trombonist Michael Prentky for the album release tour of his new mini-big band. My best bud and queer Yiddish Songmaster Ira Temple will open with NEW MATERIAL. Wednesday 2/18 Baymele w/Zimyl Adler and the Philly SchmeerKatz Philadelphia Ethical Society! 7PM! Another yiddish music album release from West Coast trio Baymele! They have a new record. Zimyl Adler of the band Shpilkes is in town to stay and ready to play some klezmer. Thursday 2/19 Di Hoykhe Upstairs at Abyssinia! Klezmer Upstairs is back at our usual stop and usual 3rd Thursday! With my regular collaborators Eva Boodman, Rob Curto and you! If you bring a klezmer tune, a yiddish song, or some other kind of Yiddish music, we will play it with you! Friday 2/20 & Monday 2/23 I perform Carla Kihlstedt’s 26 Little Deaths with Carla and Network for New Music! Friday - Settlement Music School Germantown Branch 7:30PM & Monday, Haverford College 7PM This is a special one, cats. I’m so excited to play Carla Kihlstedt’s very cool concert suite 26 Little Deaths with her and with the longtime prestigious ensemble Network for New Music in Philadelphia! So much more to come. Stay tuned.

It’s time to head back to the earliest days of the so-called klezmer revival with today’s guests, saxophonist Lev Liberman and clarinettist David Julian Gray of The Klezmorim. Founded in Berkeley California in 1975, this band started playing the repertoire that so many of us know and love and sharing it first in the Bay Area, then soon all over the West Coast and beyond. By the time Klezkamp started, the Klezmorim had been performing, touring and recording relentlessly for over 10 years! The first of many beginnings of this music becoming what it is today. Dan had talked with both Lev and David about being guests on the podcast, and was excited to be contacted by them last summer saying they were hanging together and making music for the first time in decades and would now be a good time to record an episode? And we did. This conversation spans so many years, stories, and music. David and Lev share so much about a life in this band that seems nearly inconceivable from the point of view of klezmer professionals today. It was also great to hear more about the West Coast history of our music, and The Klezmorim were right at the heart of it.