“Our music is very influenced and inspired by the idea that every person has their own special note to play in this world, and we plan to get everyone excited and involved in the show, from the front row to the back,” said Bentzi Marcus, whose Jewish rock band, 8th Day, will hit Jewish Baltimore this Sukkot.
At a Sept. 24 concert in the Cheder Chabad auditorium (former Beth Jacob building, 5713 Park Heights Ave, Baltimore), 8th Day will play “all the hits off our last couple of albums and some brand new ones from our upcoming album.”
The band is most known for its hit “Yaalili,” a song that got nearly two million views on YouTube.
Rabbi Elchonon Lisbon, head of the school, said he was drawn to 8th Day because the band teaches the deeper meaning of Torah values and applications in a fun way. He told the JT that even the band’s name, 8th Day, represents a number beyond the natural cycle of events; there are only seven days in a week.
“It inspires Jewish people to look beyond the natural cycle, to live beyond, to go beyond what you think your limitations might be,” he said. “You can reach into your soul and find all kinds of energy to bring you where you want to be, where you should be, to receive Hashem’s bracha.”
The concert is serving as a fundraiser for Cheder Chabad. The school continues to expand, this year reaching 115 students in grades preschool through fourth grade. There are separate classes for first- and second-grade boys and girls.
To build excitement for the concert, Cheder Chabad worked with Beth Tfiloh graduate Joshua Land and his partner, Victor Fink, of MindinMotion Productions to produce a several-minute trailer to “Yaalili,” which starred its own students and the staff of the kosher grocery store Seven Mile Market. The music video shows the man who works behind the fish counter, the stocking staff and others dancing to the popular song, as students rock their way through the aisles. The video, which itself had more than 5,000 hits in less than one week, was the brainchild of Cheder Chabad parent Rivka Slatkin.
Concert tickets are available at concert.mycheder.org or by emailing baltimorecheder@gmail.com.
Said Marcus: “We can’t wait to rock the stage in Baltimore! Sukkot is a holiday of true joy, and Baltimore is such a great town for Jewish concerts. It is going to be explosive energy.”
