Crossroads Music Jamboree grows to four days, Aug. 4-7
July 26, 2022 | By Waterbury RoundaboutCrossroads Music Jamboree 2022 celebrates its second summer in Waterbury at three locations, Thursday through Sunday, August 4-7.
Dov Schiller (left) and Aaron Kula (right) perform at Bridgeside Books at the first Crossroads Music Jamboree in July 2021. File photo by Gordon Miller
This year, events are scheduled at Bridgeside Books, the Waterbury Public Library and the American Legion Post 59.
“Our goal is to bring high quality multi-genre musical events to Waterbury and to expand the CMJ into a major summer music festival that attracts national attention and tourists to Waterbury,” said festival director Aaron Kula, a musician, conductor, composer, and music educator.
Kula, whose daughter Katya d’Angelo runs Bridgeside Books, is taken with Waterbury as a place to grow a summer musical collaboration that shares his love for and experience with a variety of folk music traditions.
The jamboree kicks off with an hour-long Lunch and Learn lecture starting at noon in the library’s community room with the theme “Blues and Jews: The Secret Musical Relationship Between Black and Jewish Musicians.”
This program examines Black and Jewish composers in the United States from the 1930s through the 1960s looking at how both ethnic groups borrowed from one another in search of common themes such as redemption, hope, prejudice, faith, and the desire to be accepted as American. The collaboration of Black and Jewish composers and performers created a rich body of popular swing and jazz music that had a lasting impact on American popular music for years to come, Kula said.
This free event is sponsored by the library and Montpelier’s Beth Jacob Synagogue.
Sunday's jamboree event features a read-aloud with the children's picture book, 'Klezmer!' by Kyra Teis. Courtesy image
On Friday, Aug. 5, there will be a free Community Jam and Sing-Along, 6:30-7:30 p.m., outdoors in the Waterbury Public Library’s garden. In case of rain, it will move indoors. This event is open to anyone who plays an instrument and would like to play or sing along.
The jamboree’s main event, a Klezmer & Jazz Mashup Concert, happens Saturday, Aug. 6, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the American Legion. The show will feature accordionist Kula and an ensemble of local professional musicians performing Eastern European Klezmer and American Jazz songs. This concert is the only ticketed event ($15) of the jamboree. Purchase tickets online or at the door.
The jamboree concludes on Sunday, Aug. 7, with a children’s concert called Klez4Kidz featuring live music alongside a book reading at Bridgeside Books, 2-3 p.m. The featured story is the children’s picture book, “Klezmer!” by Kyra Teis. This family-friendly event is free and for all ages.
More information and tickets for the Saturday concert are online at sevendaystickets.com/events/klezmer-jazz-mashup-concert-8-6-2022.