Hutzot Hayotzer in the house

What to expect from this year’s musical lineup.

By KAYLA ROSEN
Concert at Hutzot Hayotzer (photo credit: WIKIMEDIA)
Concert at Hutzot Hayotzer
(photo credit: WIKIMEDIA)
The Hutzot Hayotzer International Arts and Crafts Fair is known for bringing out the best that the Israeli art world has to offer.
The fair, which will take place at Sultan’s Pool from August 15 to 27, allows Israeli craftsmen to exhibit and sell their finest work to the public on a grand scale. This gives people from all over a chance to take home a piece of Israel’s culture.
The talent that will be on display does not stop at the craftsmen, but extends to a showcase of some of Israel’s finest musicians during daily concerts throughout the fair. This year’s Hutzot Hayotzer concert lineup has a wide variety of performers, as it features a range of classic Israeli musicians as well as promising young up-and-comers.
The series of concerts, which all begin at 9 p.m., kicks off on August 15 with two influential musicians: Shalom Hanoch and Shlomi Shabat.
Hanoch, largely recognized as “The King of Israeli Rock,” will bring his signature rock ’n’ roll style to the main stage. Shabat, who is set to perform at the fair on August 20, is sure to please the audience with his Mizrahi music that blends artistic elements from Europe, North Africa and the Arab world.
After these two legendary performers, the August 16 concert will feature a blend of two musical genres with performances by the hip-hop group Hadag Nahash and rocker Dudu Tassa. Hadag Nahash, known for integrating messages of political and social protest into its music, has a sound that is influenced by both Western and Eastern pop music. On the other hand, Tassa’s music is greatly inspired by the music of his grandfather, Daoud al-Kuwaiti.
The concert on the third day of the fair is a reunion of sorts, bringing together the musical acts of Omer Adam and Liran Danino, who both appeared on the seventh season of Kokhav Nolad, a reality TV competition that searches for Israel’s next big pop sensation. Since the show, Adam has released music that fuses elements of Mizrahi and Western instrumentation and Danino has been nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Israeli Act.
The August 18 concerts will see a shift in genre with performances by hip-hop musicians Muki, and Static and Benel Tavori. Muki uses his lyrics to speak his mind and raps on subjects such as peace and land use. Static and Benel Tavori are all about bringing the fun and they are quickly gaining popularity on social media.
Eviatar Banai will perform a solo act on August 21. Best known for his melodic voice, the singer and songwriter has received much critical praise throughout his career and for all four of his albums.
Banai is a ba’al teshuva and his music reflects his changing relationship to Judaism.
The August 22 concerts bring together an eclectic pairing with Mizrahi pop musician Moshe Peretz and singer Agam Buhbut, who got her start in 2013 at the age of eight. What these two musicians have in common is their appearances on reality TV, as Peretz has worked on X Factor Israel and Kokhav Nolad, among other shows, and Buhbut competed on a show for kids called Music School.
On August 23, three members of the beloved ’70s band Kaveret will reunite at Hutzot Hayotzer. This concert will feature the group Danny, Gidi and Friends, which is comprised of Danny Sanderson and Gidi Gov, as well as Efraim Shamir. All three were a part of Kaveret, a band that rose to prominence in the 1970s with its unique sound and humorous lyrics.
After this reunion come two musical acts who have represented Israel on the world stage: Rita and Harel Skaat. Rita, who was born in Tehran and moved to Israel as a child, is often regarded as an ambassador between Israel and Iran, in part because she sings in both Hebrew and Persian. Skaat, who focuses on writing pop music that is not just catchy but has a strong message, represented Israel at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest.
The penultimate concert on August 25 features two young break-out performers. Peer Tasi released his first Mediterranean pop album in May 2015 to critical success and Eden Ben Zaken made it to the finals on The X Factor Israel not even three years ago and has since been nominated for an MTV Europe Music Award.
The concert series ends on August 27 with singer and songwriter Aviv Geffen, a musician who comes from a family full of artists. Geffen is a rocker who uses his music as a platform to discuss subjects such as love, peace, death, suicide and the IDF.
It seems that variety is the theme when its comes to the concert lineup at Hutzot Hayotzer this year.
From the genres, to the age range, to the political leanings of the performers, there is something for everyone’s tastes.