Casual Concert: Lewis Franco

According to Dan Bolles of SevenDaysVT, "Precious few hepcatamounts swing like Lewis Franco. The central Vermont guitarist, songwriter, and bandleader has almost single-handedly kept the jump and jive alive in the Green Mountains, wailing away with swagger and unimpeachable cool for nearly two decades." But Franco says he eventually noticed that most of the jazz and show tunes he loved were not just written by Jews (Berlin, the Gershwin's, Rodgers & Hart, Kern, Arlen, etc…), but were informed by Jewish values and concerns. His YouTube series, "Franco the ReJewvenator" is a result. "I relate to these songwriters as nervous outsiders, observing American life while seeking a sense of belonging. And they weren't looking casually. They had either been persecuted themselves, or they felt the effects of centuries of European antisemitism. For them, the question of whether somewhere over the rainbow the American dream of a multicultural democracy really does come true, or if it's only a paper moon, was high stakes."

Franco explores these themes through music, storytelling, and humor in his concerts. "Music has been my favorite form of Jewish observance ever since childhood, when we sang zmiros around my beloved Bubbe and Zeda's Shabbat table every Friday night. So this is super meaningful and super fun for me."

https://www.lewisfrancosongs.com/

You may also like the following events from Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo:

• Next month, 20th September, 02:00 pm, Casual Concert: Tom Robert in Buffalo
• This November, 15th November, 02:00 pm, Casual Concert: Pessimistic, yet Playful: A pair of early Sonatas by Beethoven and Prokofiev in Buffalo

Also check out other Music events in Buffalo, Entertainment events in Buffalo, Concerts in Buffalo.