{"id":17161,"date":"2025-03-03T12:29:34","date_gmt":"2025-03-03T20:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=17161"},"modified":"2025-03-03T20:57:11","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T04:57:11","slug":"bluegrass-journeys-nefesh-mountain-mccabes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cahighways.org\/wordpress\/?p=17161","title":{"rendered":"Bluegrass Journeys | Nefesh Mountain @ McCabes"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Nefesh\"\"Last night, we went to go see Nefesh Mountain<\/a> at McCabes in Santa Monica<\/a>. Normally, I don’t worry about writing up concerts and musical performances, as there typically isn’t much to write about. Sometimes, I’m able to catch or remember the set list, but that’s about it. Last night there was a bit more to write up — enough that I wanted to preserve it in a blog post, as opposed to an ephemeral FB post.<\/p>\n

For those unfamiliar, Nefesh Mountain started quite a few years ago as a Jewish Bluegrass group. This attracted my attention, as I like both contemporary Jewish music and bluegrass. They did gigs mostly at synagogues across the country, with songs that mixed quite a bit of Hebrew with the country, and could even be viewed as liturgical at times. We saw them most recently at Temple Judea, but I know they also played at Temple Ramat Zion.<\/p>\n

The pandemic period, combined with the Israeli hostage crisis, changed the group. They have pivoted more towards the traditional bluegrass side, with more “Americana” (i.e., electric). There are still Jewish elements in the music and Jewish thought behind the songs. However, there is much less Hebrew. This is more a mainstream bluegrass group these days. A damn good bluegrass group, in fact.<\/p>\n

Almost all of the songs in the show were from their new album, Beacons<\/a>. This album is a mix of bluegrass and Americana, and has some great songs in the mix. It captures well the new direction of the group, with nods towards the individual member histories.<\/p>\n

But what I wanted to highlight about last night’s performance was Doni, the lead singer. Her joy and happiness of being on stage was so much fun to watch. She was bouncing and happy, and you could see that she was having the time of her life. The smile and the joy was infectious to watch. You became happy through her happiness, and it was something we all needed.<\/p>\n

The music was also spectacular, especially the mandolin and fiddle players, whose names I don’t remember. I did learn about a new artist — Tony Rice<\/a> — who inspired one of their songs. I’ll need to look into his music.<\/p>\n

If you like bluegrass, and Nefesh Mountain comes to your area, go and give them a visit.<\/p>\n

\u2666 \u2666 \u2666<\/p>\n

Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I\u2019m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does\u00a0a highway site<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0a podcast<\/a>\u00a0about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at:\u00a0Center Theatre Group<\/a>\/Ahmanson Theatre<\/a>;\u00a0Broadway in Hollywood\/Pantages Theatre<\/a>;\u00a0Pasadena Playhouse<\/a>; and\u00a05-Star Theatricals<\/a>. We\u2019re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at \u2014 it hasn\u2019t been the same since\u00a0Rep East died<\/a>\u00a0(it\u2019s now\u00a0The Main<\/a>, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn\u2019t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren\u2019t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups;\u00a0here\u2019s my current approach<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Upcoming \u2666 Theatre \/ \u2663 Music \/ \u25ca Other Live Performance \u2013 Next 90ish<\/em>\u00a0Days (\u2295 indicates ticketing is pending).<\/p>\n