Please join us on June 17 to welcome The Wholesale Klezmer Band in their first ever Binghamton performance! The band features Yosl (Joe) Kurland (vocals and fiddle), Peggy Davis (flute & vocals) and Aaron Bousel (accordion).

Klezmer music arose in medieval eastern European Jewish communities to perform at holidays and celebratory events (especially weddings). It’s origins lay in Jewish folk music and cantorial chanting, with elements of other local ethnic folk tunes (especially those of the Roma) and military band music. When brought to the United States by Jewish immigrants in the 20th century, it was further influenced by jazz and theater music. The Wholesale Klezmer Band performs in Yiddish and Loshn Koydesh, (Ashkenazic Hebrew), and they specialize in making it accessible to the English speaking world with translations, stories, explanations, visual aids, and that universal language that speaks to your feet and makes them want to dance.

The Cranberry Coffeehouse, a local folk tradition for over 50 years, generally takes place on the third Saturday of the month at 7:30 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 183 Riverside Drive in Binghamton. Coffee and baked goods are available during the intermission. Performances feature a middle set where local musicians, story-tellers, and other entertainers are invited to share their talents (with a 5-minute limit per person/group). A $10 per person donation at the door is suggested (all funds, minus a small fee for use of the space, benefit our performers).