Pre-COVID, local Jewish musician Will Soll regularly hosted an intimate mid-day New Year’s Eve gathering in his home on Dec. 31. The party and communal concert was dubbed “New Year’s Eve in Tel Aviv” because it was held at 4 p.m. central, exactly when Tel Aviv rings in the new year. Now, after a two-year hiatus, the celebration returns in a larger venue.
New Year’s Eve in Tel Aviv, now open to the entire community, will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Focal Point at 2720 Sutton Blvd. in Maplewood. Tickets will be available at the door for $10. Light refreshments will be available for purchase.
Soll said he hopes the event offers a welcome diversion for St. Louisans who want to celebrate the end of the year but might not want to stay up until midnight.
“I think there’s a sense in the Jewish community that people want to gather together and not be alone,” he said. “It will also be a more relaxed setting that we are often coming together in these days to talk about Jewish identify.”
The first version of New Year’s Eve in Tel Aviv ran from 2014 through 2019 and doubled as a holiday party for members of Congregation Neve Shalom, which disbanded in 2022 after 33 years. The idea for the party originated when Soll was singing Tom Lehrer’s “I’m Celebrating Hanukkah . . . in Santa Monica” in the shower. He decided to try his hand at other wry lyrics. The 2023 event will showcase the music of Soll and his two collaborators on an upcoming CD called “Geezer House.”
“It has songs written and performed by a trio of 70-something Jews,” Soll said. “They are me, Joey Kenig and Andy Curry.”
During the New Year’s Eve in Tel Aviv party, Kenig will play guitar, Curry will accompany on bass and Soll will alternate five instruments: guitar, steel guitar, mandolin, octave mandolin and banjo. The Geezer House band will perform original work and music by Jewish songwriters, including Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, Allan Sherman and George Gershwin. Song sheets will also be available for the audience so they can join in for a singalong.
