Yiddish Music is Going Mainstream

Musicians like Gogol Bordello, DeVotchka and The Fishtank Ensemble make up a growing list of acts that have taken gypsy music to the the mainstream. Suddenly, everyone who can play an accordion, a clarinet, or even a saw are finding bands to join.  The rise of gypsy music has given hope to these once musical outcasts, allowing them to dust off their tubas, and put all those years of experience in high school marching band to use.

And don’t forget the DJ’s either! Groups like Balkan Beat Box are proving maybe it was a good idea to hold on to all those Klezmer albums bequeathed to you by your Yiddish grandmother (not quite gypsy music, but you get the point).  Rare cuts like that those are providing great loops for the latest gypsy remixes.