Mazel Tov Kocktail Hour

“Brothers and sisters in work and in need/ all who are scattered far and wide.” So goes “The Oath,” the official anthem of the General Jewish Labour Bund, one of the first groups to truly recognize the menace of the rising Nazi party and Stalinist authoritarianism. In prewar Europe, Yiddish quickly became the language of resistance, and Austin’s preeminent Klezmer revivalists Mazel Tov Kocktail Hour celebrate that tradition with a night of songs to reinvigorate the spirit of defiance. Now, sing along: “Brider un shvester fun arbet un noyt, Ale vos zaynen tsezeyt un tseshpreyt!” – Richard Whittaker