The Klezmatics live at City Winery Chicago
May 21, 2026 • Thursday, 7:30 pm - Thursday, 9:30 pm
SONGS OF PROTEST, RESILIENCE, AND RADICAL JOY
THE KLEZMATICS — 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR
WE WERE MADE FOR THESE TIMES
Grammy-winning pioneers of modern klezmer, The Klezmatics return with a powerful new album and live program.
Celebrating 40 years at the forefront of global roots music, the band brings We Were Made For These Times to the stage — a bold, cross-cultural project shaped by songs of protest, resilience, and radical joy.
Blending Yiddish song with Black gospel, Latin rhythms, and avant-jazz, The Klezmatics transform tradition into a living, evolving musical language — urgent, joyful, and deeply relevant today. The new album features an extraordinary lineup of collaborators including Sofía Rei, Joshua Nelson, Lavender Light Gospel Choir, Enver İzmaylov, William Parker, James Brandon Lewis, Janis Siegel, and La Manga.
Releasing on May 1 (International Workers’ Day), the album launches a U.S. tour celebrating four decades of fearless music-making — and a renewed call for solidarity through song.
New album https://www.klezmatics.com/we-were-made-for-these-times