Thursday, July 6
5:15 pm Doors | 6:00 pm Concert
In Person at The Weitzman (5th and Market)
Tickets – $23 General Admission| $18 Members

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Join us for a mesmerizing evening as we present the Asheville duo, Zoe & Cloyd, in an extraordinary live recording session. This highly anticipated concert celebrates the launch of their new album “Songs of Our Grandfathers,” an enchanting collection that intertwines Natalya Zoe Weinstein and John Cloyd Miller’s rich musical heritage in klezmer and bluegrass genres.

The album’s May 2023 release marks a significant milestone, coinciding precisely with the centennial anniversary of Weinstein’s grandfather’s immigration from Ukraine to Philadelphia. He was a gifted Klezmer musician, leaving an indelible mark on the music scene for several decades. Likewise, Miller’s own grandfather, the illustrious Jim Shumate, an acclaimed violinist, was a vital figure in the early bluegrass movement, having performed with “The Bluegrass Boys” alongside legends such as Bill Monroe, Lester Flatt, and Early Scruggs.

Don’t miss this extraordinary convergence of talent and legacy as Zoe & Cloyd captivate audiences with their soul-stirring melodies. Witness the fusion of klezmer and bluegrass, a harmonious celebration of familial musical roots, destined to create an unforgettable musical experience.

Event photo by Sarah Johnston

A short of this live performance will be released for all to view as a part of the “Secret Chord Concerts” series at a later date.

Hear the Music:

More about Zoe and Cloyd

Descending from a lineage of klezmer and jazz musicians, Natalya trained classically in her home state of Massachusetts before discovering old-time and bluegrass and moving south in 2004. John, a twelfth generation North Carolinian and grandson of pioneering bluegrass fiddler, Jim Shumate, is a gifted singer and songwriter, placing 1st in the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest and the Hazel Dickens Songwriting Contest. Long-time fixtures of the Asheville, NC music scene, the pair were founding members of the lauded roots trio, Red June, later shifting to Zoe & Cloyd after the birth of their daughter in 2015. Since that time, the pair has released four acclaimed albums, performed across the US, and appeared in Season 5 of the nationally syndicated PBS show, David Holt’s State of Music in 2021. 

In 2022, the band was an official showcase artist at the IBMA World of Bluegrass, featured guest artists for the Davidson College Holiday Gala, as well as hosts of A Swannanoa Solstice at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. Their fifth studio album, Songs of Our Grandfathers, was released on May 19, 2023 on Organic Records.

More about the Album

A family legacy of music can be a precious thing for a musician, and when a duo brings two of them together, the results can be even more special. But when the duo are John Cloyd Miller and Natalya Zoe Weinstein, whose grandfathers were hard-working practitioners of musical styles birthed in two different cultures and originally separated by thousands of miles, the outcome is something else altogether: the unique, artfully crafter yet deeply organic blend found in Zoe & Cloyds Songs of Our Grandfathers, their latest release for Organic Records. 

The project isn’t the first time the two have touched on their familiar musical roots- but for the first time, Zoe & Cloyd have devoted an entire album to exploring these two musical streams in ways that not only honor the distinctive features of each, but also blend them in exciting and innovative ways. And in a nod to one of the projects inspirations- the legendary 1995 collaboration between David Grisman and Andy Statman, Songs of Our Fathers – four numbers feature Statman, a virtuoso bluegrass (and beyond) mandolin player and accomplished klezmer clarinetist who contributes to both sides of the combination. 

Find out more: Click Here

About the Secret Chord Concerts series

Secret Chord Concerts is a free on-demand video series featuring 15-25 minute performances from celebrated Jewish musicians representing a broad range of styles, heritages, and histories and recorded live in front of intimate audiences in Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

A cross-country partnership between the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman) on historic Independence Mall in Philadelphia, and the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music (Lowell Milken Center) in Los Angeles, generated this new online offering. Both presenting organizations are committed to inspiring in people of all backgrounds a greater appreciation for the diversity of the American Jewish experience. This season’s episodes were filmed at The Weitzman, against the striking backdrop of Independence Hall, and in UCLA’s beautiful recording studio.

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Secret Chord Concerts – Episodes from Season 1

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Jews and Country Music – Mark Rubin

Jews and Country Music – Joe Buchanan and Rabbi Sandra Lawson

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