The Hanukkah Sessions are a series of video presentations of popular songs originally written or performed by Jewish artists, as covered by musicians Greg Kurstin and Dave Grohl. Kurstin and Grohl covered eight songs per year for this project, and released one per night to digital streaming platforms for each night of Hanukkah in the years 2020 through 2022.[1]
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Kurstin (primarily playing keyboards) and Grohl (primarily playing drums) recorded those years' Hanukkah Sessions in Kurstin's home studio.[2][3] During these times they occasionally featured other performers, such as Peaches singing "Fuck the Pain Away" with them remotely,[4] and Grohl's daughter Violet singing a cover of Amy Winehouse's song "Take the Box".[5]
In 2022, when pandemic conditions had eased, Kurstin and Grohl held a concert with various guests on December 5 at the Largo nightclub in Los Angeles. These guests included Inara George (Kurstin's bandmate from The Bird and the Bee), Beck, P!nk, Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D, Karen O, and Grohl's daughter Violet. Director Judd Apatow collaborated with Kurstin and Grohl to make the 2022 edition of the Hanukkah Sessions a fundraiser for the Anti-Defamation League.[6] The songs recorded at this concert were released to streaming platforms one at a time on each night of Hanukkah, in keeping with the pattern established the previous two years.
Singer George — Kurstin's partner in the indie pop duo The Bird and the Bee — soared with the swoony ballad, belting out the song's dreamy lyrics about walking through any kind of weather for love as Kurstin banged out the track's barroom roll on his piano and Grohl held down the beat. As a bonus, Tenacious D's Jack Black and Kyle Gass casually added in some background sweet harmonies.
Ian, who wrote the song when she was in her early 20s, commented beneath the video to praise Violet's rendition. "Thank you both! For singing my song so beautifully, and with such heart, Violet," Ian wrote, adding that she was grateful to Grohl for "fighting antisemitism" with his annual "Hanukkah Sessions" series.
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| Maccabean Revolt |
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