The music of the Brothers Lazaroff toes the line between tradition and experimentation, custom and iconoclasm, rootedness and the charting of new paths forward. This attitude finds its clearest expression in the Hanukkah Hullabaloo, an annual concert held by the group in celebration of Hanukkah. This year’s show falls on Saturday, December 2, at 7 p.m. at Delmar Hall.
The Brothers Lazaroff will perform two sets as an ensemble of 20 musicians, blending jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, and traditional Jewish music. Before the band takes the stage, the show will kick off with a performance of Jewish string music from Will Soll and David Goldenberg, followed by a mix curated by DJ Boogieman.
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The first Hanukkah Hullabaloo was held 13 years ago, and was initially dreamt up by the band’s core duo of brothers as a small-scale, one-time celebration of their Jewish heritage. However, it quickly became clear that the show met an important need and was worth continuing.
“It filled a void in the community,” David Lazaroff says. “There were no Hanukkah rock ‘n’ roll shows…after the first one, you could tell it was going to be a regular thing.”
In its second year, the show drew a crowd of 300—a substantial increase from the previous year’s 75 or so people. Its popularity continued to grow, and by 2015, it was featured in the Washington Post’s list of “amazing Hanukkah parties across America.” This year will be the show’s first time at Delmar Hall.
Each year, The Brothers Lazaroff’s set is interwoven with a performance of “Eight Nights,” an original spoken-word piece delivered by Rabbi James Stone Goodman. As a longtime poet, Goodman developed the piece over several years as a way of honoring the many teachers he’s had during his spiritual journey. He says the poem became a staple of the show after its “electric” first performance 13 years ago.
“I felt like we were inventing a new form—a combination of musical and performance art,” Goodman says of the first show. “I had a teacher who told me, ‘invent your own form,’ and I think we did that.”
Goodman says he and the other musicians in the ensemble have developed a keen understanding of each other, allowing them to synergize and play like a single, cohesive unit. He compares the resultant atmosphere to that of a ceremony, rather than a typical concert.
“To fold into other people who you might not even know otherwise, to participate in this on such a deep level…it’s a wonderful feeling,” he says. “And it doesn’t go away.”
Since 2018, the Brothers Lazaroff’s set has featured veteran jazz singer Anita Jackson as a vocalist. Jackson was first approached by the group to collaborate on their album Sisters and Brothers, and has joined them for every Hanukkah Hullabaloo since.
“It’s probably the most soulful concert I get to participate in,” she says. “I really get to engulf myself in Jewish culture. It’s something I wasn’t as familiar with before I met [the band]…it’s absolutely a pleasure to share it with them.”
The Hanukkah Hullabaloo encapsulates the entire ethos of the Brothers Lazaroff. By weaving together their own musical and spiritual traditions with those from around the world, they reveal that these traditions aren’t as disparate as they appear. Or, in the words of Neil Young, “it’s all one song.”
Tickets for the 13th Annual Hanukkah Hullabaloo can be purchased at thepageant.com. The proceeds from this year’s event will go to Camp Indigo Point, a St. Louis-based summer camp for LGBTQ+ youth.
