The Klezmatics: CSUN The Soraya December 7, 2025

The Klezmatics: Happy Joyous Hanukkah CSUN The Soraya Performing Arts Center December 7, 2025.
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY JEFF ZIMERMAN

The Klezmatics’ 2025 “Happy Joyous Hanukkah” concert was a vibrant, tradition meets innovation celebration, blending their signature Yiddish soul with new material, Woody Guthrie classics like “Spin Dreydl Spin,” and diverse global rhythms, creating an electrifying, community building experience perfect for long-time fans and newcomers alike, marked by exuberant dancing, insightful new songs about hope, and instrumental brilliance from members like Frank London and Ilene Stahl, culminating in an essential holiday show. Wonderful mixes of traditional klezmer with jazz, Latin, Balkan, and punk influences, making for pulse-quickening rhythms and heartwarming melodies.

One of the many highlights for me was celebrating their 40th anniversary and upcoming album, the tour revives their classic Woody Guthrie’s Happy Joyous Hanukkah while premiering new songs about solidarity, migration, and renewal.

The Klezmatics’ “Happy Joyous Hanukkah” concert is more than just a holiday concert; it’s a dynamic cultural event, offering an ecstatic, heartfelt, and musically rich experience that embodies the enduring power and adaptability of Yiddish music for the modern era. The concert foster a powerful sense of unity through shared song, dance, and laughter, serving as a “celebration of light in dark times”. https://www.klezmatics.com/

Located on the campus of California State University, Northridge, The Soraya Performing Arts Center is one of the cultural jewels of Los Angeles. They provide a wide variety of performances through the year. This is a very beautiful 1,700 seat theatre and we were welcomed by very helpful and friendly staff. Ample parking is available. We highly enjoyed, and recommend, this venue. We will be definitely return to enjoy another high level performance. https://www.thesoraya.org/