The three week Festival brings music, dance, and theater to the masses in a range of top Jerusalem cultural hotspots (such as the Jerusalem Theater, the Henry Crown Concert Hall, and the Mount Scopus Ampitheater). It also always has a mix of top local and celebrated international artists taking part.

Those attending the Israel Festival get to enjoy some truly amazing culture, and there are usually a number of awesome FREE events to catch (including premieres of Israeli pieces and tributes to local talent, street shows and performances, some sublime evening jazz, and kid’s shows).

The 2012 Israel Festival runs from May 24 to June 14.
Refer to the official website for further details.

The Festival is a long-standing cultural event in the Holy Land and eagerly anticipated: the first ever Israel Festival took place back in 1961 in Caesarea, before being adopted by Jerusalem in 1982. Ever since, the majority of Festival events have taken place in the capital.

The festival’s goal is to “promote artistic encounters crossing all political and national boundaries, to encourage collaborations between Israeli artists and their colleagues from abroad, and to introduce the public to emerging forms of art.” We think it does a mighty fine job of doing just that…

Here’s a little bit of what you can expect…as you can see, this festival is one to definitely catch!

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With a multitude of genres to choose from, including Jazz, Funk, and Rock & Roll, with other genres including Indian Folk and Balkan Beat, the White City Festival will be running for 10 days from 1-10 May, and all shows will be held in Tel Aviv Port, at the Hangar 11 venue.

The supremely talented Bobby McFerrin (yes, he of the “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”) will be hosting the Festival, and also performing four gigs himself. Also lined up are a variety of Israeli and International names, including Shlomo Gronich, Oi Va Voi, Steve Hackett, Courtney Pine, Regina Carter, and Shlomi Shaban.

There will also be a number of free street shows to catch, and some scheduled jam sessions. For the full program and info on tickets, check the official Festival website.

And here is Bobby McFerrin, proving he’s so much more than Don’t Worry, Be Happy – just watch what he does at 2:10 – awesome!

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Held twice a year, Jacob’s Ladder appeals to thousands of mostly Anglo immigrants, as well as Israelis. The two events, the Spring and Winter Festivals, are usually held at the Nof Ginnosar Hotel, on the magical shores of the Sea of Galilee. The Spring Festival is held outdoors in May and has thousands of attendees. The Winter Festival is held indoors and is therefore a more cosy, intimate affair with perhaps some 500 attendees.

The 2011 Jacob’s Ladder Winter Festival (the 8th – the Spring Festival has been going since 1976!) will be happening on Friday 2nd/Saturday 3rd December. There will be 12 live acts onstage with folk musicians from Ireland, Israel and the USA . There will also be dance and song  workshops and children’s activities. For the first time there will also be guided birdwatching tours on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, on Saturday morning.

The festival is laid back and easy-going, with a great family atmosphere and lots of great tunes. Watch out for the Spring Festival, coming Thursday-Saturday 3/4/5 May 2012…

You can see the full schedule of events here, and click here to order tickets.

Check out more details about the Jacob’s Ladder Festival on their website, or call 04-6850403. And here’s a taste of what you can expect…

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* Pic by Larry Butchins.

One of those festivals that probably goes under the radar a bit, you could have caught awesome bands like Izabo and Umlala, plus a whole chunk of others. And all in the beautiful Negev desert…

Here’s a great clip from our friend Guy Prives, who catches the spirit of the festival in all its glory!

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They might not have hit the heights in recent times, but they still know how to put on a decent show, and with an extensive back catalog of rock/pop classics, they can’t really go wrong can they…

And if you need proof they indeed did rock Tel Aviv, here they are performing perhaps their biggest hit The Look, the hit that broke them worldwide many moons ago…still sounds great!

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Over four glorious days, 16-19 October, you can overdose your senses with a variety of different harps, including the classic harp and Celtic harps, as well as Jazz, Irish, Spanish, Paraguayan, Kleizmer and even African harps!

The Festival takes place at the Tel Aviv Yafo Music Center, 10 She’erit Israel Street, Jaffa.

We’d recommend checking out the evening concerts, which are held every evening at 8:30pm (see here for a complete list) – tickets are 90 shekels. For more info about tickets, call Galit on 052-6755585.

Also worth checking out are the Coffee-Concerts, the workshops and Master Classes with leading harpists, and the first Israeli Harp Competition.

If you’re looking for other options over Sukkot, check out our guide to some of the leading Festivals over Sukkot!

Perhaps some expected more, but if you’re a fan of the band, it sounds like you got what you wanted: the classics, a smattering of new songs and a great finale. And isn’t that what we pay the big $$$ for?

Here’s a great clip from the show, great quality, close-up action!

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The Festival takes place near Sde Boker on August 11-12, with two nights of live Israeli bands, including Bari Sacharoff, Avraham Tal, Carolina and Shlomi Shaban, some of the Israeli music scene’s leading lights.

Apart from the live bands, the festival will also includes hiking trails and outdoor activities, workshops, bike rides, a moonlight safari, cheese and wine tours, and activities for children. Yep, that’s right, this festival is definitely family friendly, with a variety of packages available for one-day or two-day entry into the festival.

Tickets will cost between 100-190 shekels. For more info, check out www.misterticket.co.il.

Here’s a slice of Bari Sacharoff to get you in the mood (one of our very fave Israeli songs ever)…

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Described by some as a “brilliant, action packed combination of psychedelic rock, disco, punk and Arabic spices” it has to be said that they have a certain quirkiness that you’ll either love or hate.

And it does look like there’s a lot of love heading in their direction these days, as they’ve just announced they’ve signed with 100% records, the UK label who have worked with Gossip, Placebo, Moby, Matisyahu and others.

With a new record label behind them, their upcoming album may just see them start pushing Asaf Avidan and Eatliz for the title of Israeli band most likely to succeed. Check out their new single Summer Shade below to get a taste of what I’m talking about…two and a half minutes of great summer pop!

And those ice-creams with mustaches – genius!

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Moby, now 45, has been a big player in the electro music scene ever since his first hit back in 1991, Go. And if you love your beats, there’s a good chance you’ve got his Play album in your collection (we have), an album that went on to sell some 10 million copies.

90s rockers Jane’s Addiction will also be coming to take part in the Pic.nic festivities, though you’ll have to wait til 1st September to catch them performing their new album, The Great Escape Artist (and hopefully a few of their oldies).

The originally billed Duran Duran have cancelled their participation due to Simon Le Bon’s vocal problems, but hopefully we’ll see them here later in the year.

The Pic.nic festival is actually a series of three concerts over the summer, all held at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds venue. For info regarding tickets, call *9066.

• 12th July: Moby, Kruder&Dorfmeister, Kaki King
• 30th July: Duran Duran (now cancelled)
• 1st September: Jane’s Addiction, Blonde Redhead

There have been plenty of rumors recently that Paul Simon was on the list of “almost certainlys” to perform in Israel this summer, and those rumors have now been confirmed.

He’ll be here as part of a world tour to promote his new album So Beautiful or So What. The album is getting a lot of critical acclaim, with some declaring that it’s Simon’s best in 20 years.

With Bob Dylan (Dylan performs in Israel in June) celebrating his 70th birthday today (May 24th), you might be surprised to know that Paul Simon also hits 70 later this year.  They might be getting on a bit, but these guys are legends…well worth catching!

You can get hold of your tickets from May 30 by contacting the Leann website (www.leaan.co.il) (Tel: 03-5247373). Expect prices to start at the 300 shekel mark.

Here’s a blast from Paul Simon in concert, just to get you in the mood…

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UK electro-pop duo Hurts will be performing in Tel Aviv this week, at Reading 3 on May 17th. Formed in 2009, they have already built quite a following in the UK and have collaborations with Kylie Minogue and the Scissor Sisters under their belt. They are also getting a lot of airplay on Israeli radio…

The Hurts duo are Theo Hutchcraft and Adam Anderson, two guys who have added a touch of style to the pop world recently, what with their slicked back hair, sharp suits and strong, visual videos. There’s something almost Tears For Fears-ey about them, with a touch more production and polish. We like ‘em!

Tickets are 260 shekels a pop. For details call: 03-5620255

Here’s their first big hit, Wonderful Life, which has almost 20 million views on YouTube…these guys are well worth catching if you like synth pop ballads with a bit of style….

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