Jewish Music Today Fürth
International Festival for Jewish Music and Culture
About Jewish Music Today
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A Tradition Grown Over Three Decades
The Jewish Music Today Festival Fürth looks back on an extraordinary history. It was founded in 1988 as the Fest des jiddischen Liedes (Festival of the Yiddish Song) — in a city that was one of the most important centers of Jewish life in Southern Germany in the 19th century and bore the nickname fränkisches Jerusalem (Franconian Jerusalem) for good reason. In 2000, it was renamed the International Klezmer Festival before, in more recent times, it took on its current name, Jewish Music Today, to also incorporate contemporary Jewish music genres beyond classic Klezmer.
One Festival, Many Stages
The festival can be experienced over ten days throughout Fürth's city center. The main venues are the Kulturforum, the Stadttheater (City Theatre), and the Kofferfabrik — a former industrial complex that now serves as an alternative cultural venue. In addition, there are readings in libraries, concerts in churches, film screenings at the Babylon cinema, workshops in community centers, and the popular Tants-Hoyz (dance house), where Yiddish dances are practiced together with the performing musicians.
Sound Spectrum: From the Shtetl to Hip-Hop
The program spans from traditional Klezmer and Yiddish song to Sephardic sounds, Jewish jazz, world music fusion, Kabbalah hip-hop, and electronic club music. Headliners of past editions included The Klezmatics, Kleztory, Nani Vazana, Magi, NeoKlez, and Berlin-based DJ Yuriy Gurzhy, among others. The program has been curated for years by the City of Fürth's Cultural Office, led by Gerti Köhn.
More Than a Music Festival
Jewish Music Today sees itself as a comprehensive cultural project. In addition to concerts, there are lectures on Fürth's Jewish history, city tours through the former Jewish quarter, film series, exhibitions, and discussion formats. The festival maintains close collaborations with the Jewish Community of Fürth, the Jewish Museum of Franconia, and the International Klezmer Network.
One City, One Resonance
Approximately 5,000 visitors come to Fürth for each edition — many travel from all over Germany, Israel, and Eastern Europe. The festival has thus established itself as a fixture on the international calendar of Jewish music festivals.
Jewish Music Today — edition 2026
From March 6 to 15, 2026, the edition took place under the motto tsuzamen (Yiddish for together). The motto was a direct response to the difficult geopolitical situation and underscored the festival's aim to present Jewish music as a unifying language beyond political divisions.
Despite challenging circumstances, around 5,000 visitors came to the 'Kleeblattstadt'. The stages featured, among others, the Canadian Klezmer quartet Kleztory, the legendary New York group The Klezmatics for the closing concert, the Dutch-Israeli singer Nani Vazana with her Ladino-Sephardic repertoire, the Berlin project NeoKlez, DJ Yuriy Gurzhy, as well as the orchestra Ventuno and the Berlin band Magi.
As usual, the festival was complemented by a rich accompanying program of Tants-Hoyz dance evenings, music workshops, film screenings, readings, discussions, and city tours.
Programme Jewish Music Today 2026
Opening — Friday, March 6, 2026
- Opening concert at Stadttheater Fürth
First Festival Weekend
- Concert Kleztory (Canada)
- Tants-Hoyz — Yiddish dance evening with live music and instruction
- Music and dance workshops with festival artists
Mid-Festival — Weekdays
- Solo concerts Nani Vazana (Sephardic repertoire)
- NeoKlez (Berlin) — modern Klezmer interpretations
- DJ sets Yuriy Gurzhy at Kofferfabrik
- Orchester Ventuno
- Film series at Babylon Cinema Fürth
- Readings and city tours on Fürth's Jewish history
Closing — Sunday, March 15, 2026
- Grand finale concert with The Klezmatics (USA) at Stadttheater
Highlights Jewish Music Today 2026
- Motto tsuzamen — solidarity beyond political divisions
- The Klezmatics from New York as closing headliners
- Kleztory, Nani Vazana, NeoKlez, Yuriy Gurzhy, and Orchester Ventuno in the program
- Around 5,000 visitors despite challenging circumstances
Prices Jewish Music Today 2026
Single tickets from approx. €12, festival passes and discounted tickets available. Advance sales via Reservix and at the theater box offices.
Practical information — Jewish Music Today
Getting There
By train to Fürth Hauptbahnhof (main station) — from there, most venues are reachable on foot or by subway (U-Bahn line U1). By car via the A73 (exit Fürth-Süd or Fürth-Erlenstegen).
Tickets
Advance sales via Reservix, at the theater box offices, and at the door. Festival passes and discounted tickets are available. Single tickets from approx. €12.
Contact
Kulturamt Stadt Fürth (Cultural Office City of Fürth) — Phone +49 911 974 1688, E-mail [email protected].
Frequency
The festival takes place every two years in March. The next edition is planned for March 10 to 19, 2028 — program announcement in December 2027.
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Where it takes place Jewish Music Today
Kulturforum, Stadttheater, Kofferfabrik und weitere Spielstätten in Fürth
Kulturforum, Königstraße 116, 90762 Fürth