Friday, October 22, 2021
4 – 4:45 pm
YouTube Video Premiere

Ages 3 and up 

Heralded duo Grammy Award-winner Dan Zanes and jazz vocalist Claudia Zanes will perform a concert of what they like to call “electric folk for all-ages.” Enjoy highlights from their lively and moving repertoire including “Coney Island Avenue,” “Which Side Are You On,” and “Shalom Rav.”

In addition, enjoy songs from their new Smithsonian Folkways release, Let Love Be Your Guide, which speaks to important themes related to social justice and coming together as a community for peace.

About the performers:

For the past 15 years, Zanes has toured the world with his band, Dan Zanes and Friends, sharing handmade 21st century social music and reconnecting people to the forgotten music of the past. Referred to as “the family-music genre’s most outspoken and eloquent advocate” by Time Magazine, his critically-acclaimed music has been featured on Sesame Street, Playhouse Disney, Nickelodeon, HBO Family and Sprout. Over the course of 14 albums, 2 DVDs, 2 picture books, and dozens of videos, he has collaborated with Philip Glass, Lou Reed, Angelique Kidjo, Natalie Merchant, Carol Channing, Sharon Jones, Bob Weir, Debbie Harry, Rosanne Cash, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and many more. NPR called him “The Gold Standard in kid’s music.”

Claudia Zanes, a Haitian-American Vocalist and Music Therapist studied music therapy at Berklee College of Music where she worked with a spectrum of individuals—from children with special needs, orphans and youth in Nairobi, to seniors in adult day health programs. In 2013, she became the Director of Music Therapy at the Community Music Center of Boston. During this time Claudia’s gifts as a jazz vocalist had her touring in the US, England, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, and Africa. In 2016, Dan invited her to join him at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago for a Sensory Friendly family concert.

In 2018, Dan and Claudia were married and soon after started touring together all over the country sharing their exciting new sound together. When a national state of emergency was declared in March 2020, Dan and Claudia started their Social Isolation Song Series. For the next 200 days, in an effort to stay connected and uplift others, they performed a different song every day. This series of videos currently resides in the Library of Congress.

The two continue to adapt and reinvent and sing their way to new beginnings. In addition to music making, Claudia runs her flourishing handmade skin care business called CLEO Soaps and Dan continues his work with Constructive White Conversations, a white antiracist organization he co-founded in 2011.

This performance is Free with RSVP, one ticket per household. YouTube link sent with email confirmation. Check spam folder if you do not receive email.

This program will premiere at 4 pm EDT on Friday, October 22nd. The program will be available to view on YouTube through Sunday, October 24th at 8 pm EDT.

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