Internationally touring musician, poet and Jewish storyteller Alicia Jo Rabins has made a career out of bringing ancient Jewish legends to life, but you might remember her as a member of the klezmer-punk band Golem or from her widely praised musical project, “Girls In Trouble,” or her award-winning feature film, “A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff.”
Now she is bringing her talents to St. Louis as part of a community-wide, interfaith event during the weekend of Feb. 9 and running through Feb. 11. So, what should St. Louis expect when Rabins takes the stage? Well, let’s find out. We sat down with her to find out more about her, her music, and her trip to St. Louis.
Overall, what should the St. Louis audience expect to see and hear?
This is my first time bringing my songs to St. Louis, after almost 20 years of traveling around the country performing, so I’m very excited to visit the community. My music interweaves musical traditions including bluegrass, indie-folk, classical and klezmer – using these American musical traditions to explore Jewish sacred texts.
More specifically, I’m a fiddler, singer-songwriter and poet, and my work explores how ancient Jewish texts have surprisingly contemporary resonances with our own lives. So people who come to see me can expect to see and hear the intersection of American musical traditions with ancient Jewish texts and storytelling – fiddling, singing, playing guitar and delving deep into stories of women in Jewish texts.
Explain “Girls In Trouble?
“Girls in Trouble” is one of my main musical projects; I’ve been working on it for almost 15 years. It’s a musical interpretation of stories of women in Torah in the form of indie-folk songs about Biblical women, a different character for each song, investigating how their stories intersect with our own lives.
The project began as my master’s thesis in Jewish gender studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City and has continued to grow since then. Since “Girls in Trouble” is a singer-songwriter project, the songs can be performed solo – as I’ll be performing them in St. Louis – or with a full band, as on the recordings. I play violin through a looping pedal on some songs, which allows me to build layers of violin and create orchestral textures.
Anything else St. Louis needs to know before they go?
While my music often focuses on stories of women in the Torah, it’s intended for all people, not just for women and not just for Jewish people. I think these stories speak to all of us, offering companionship and context for our struggles and reminding us that we are not alone. I’m very grateful to JCRC for bringing me to St. Louis and so excited to meet your community.
I would also say, if folks can only come to one event, I’d suggest the concert because that’s when I’ll be set up to perform the fuller range of my songs, artistically speaking – the other events will be more like teaching sessions. And we’ll make sure to end the concert in plenty of time for you to watch a big football game I hear is also happening that day. Think of me as the pre-game show.
An Interfaith Weekend With Alicia Jo Rabins
All programs are free and open to the community. See below for details and registration information.
What: Kabbalat Shabbat
When: Friday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m.
Where: Congregation Shaare Emeth, 11645 Ladue Rd, St. Louis, MO 63141
More info: No registration required.
What: Torah Study=
When: Saturday, Feb.10 at 9 a.m.
Where: Congregation Shaare Emeth, 11645 Ladue Rd, St. Louis, MO 63141
More info: Registration required.
What: Havdalah and Learning
When: Saturday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.
Where: Kol Rinah, 7701 Maryland Ave, Clayton, MO 63105
More info: Registration required.
What: Adult Forum at Holy Communion
When: Sunday, Feb. 11 at 9 a.m.
Where: Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion, 7401 Delmar Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63130
More info: No registration required.
What: Live In Concert: Alicia Jo Rabins
When: Sunday, Feb. 11 at 3 p.m.
Where: Jewish Community Center, Arts & Education Bldg. 2 Millstone Campus Dr.
More info: Free, but RSVP is required
