Mostly Kosher: A Purim Glam Rock Spectacular
Sunday, March 8, 2026 at 3pm
This performance will include a 15-minute intermission.
Leeav Sofer (Bandleader): Lead Vocals, Piano, Accordion
Janice Mautner Markham: Violin
Nadav Peled: Guitar
Ben Tevik: Clarinet/Saxophone
Adam Levy: Bass
Eric Hagstrom: Drums
Ilana Zackon: Vocals
Yesenia Adame, Nairi Tahmizyan: Aerialists
Keith Mitchell: Set design
Shannon Kennedy: Wardrobe
Purim is one of the most joyous and lively holidays on the Jewish calendar, celebrating the survival of the Jewish people in ancient Persia. It is a festive, carnival-like occasion marked by costumes, feasting, and community celebrations.
The holiday is based on the Book of Esther (also called the Megillah), which tells the story of how Haman, a royal advisor, plotted to destroy the Jewish community in the Persian Empire. During the Megillah reading, it is customary to boo and make noise whenever Haman’s name is mentioned. The holiday’s most iconic treat is Hamantaschen—triangular stuffed cookies said to represent Haman’s three-cornered hat.
Mostly Kosher, the Los Angeles–based Klezmer/Rock band, radically reinvents Jewish and American musical traditions with driving klezmer rhythms and compelling Yiddish refrains. Their acclaimed performances are a musical feast, blending jazz, Latin, rock, and folk, while their original work reflects Judaic poetry and folk roots infused with themes of social justice, human dignity, and mutual understanding. Led by frontman Leeav Sofer — named one of Jewish Journal’s “30 Under 30” most accomplished professionals in the Southern California Jewish community — Mostly Kosher features some of Los Angeles’ finest musicians: violinist Janice Mautner Markham, drummer Eric Hagstrom, bassist Adam Levy, guitarist Nadav Peled, and clarinetist/saxophonist Ben Tevik.
Mostly Kosher is a mainstay at premier California venues, including the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre, Skirball Cultural Center, Torrance Cultural Arts Center, and Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center, and has performed at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion for live television broadcasts to over half a million viewers in 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, and again in December 2025. They have headlined numerous festivals, including the Silicon Valley Jewish Music Festival, Claremont Folk Festival, Ashkenaz Festival, and Kosher QueerFest. In 2025–2026, Mostly Kosher celebrates its ninth season performing at Disney California Adventure Park’s Festival of Holidays, earning praise from the Fresh Baked Disney for “stealing the Festival of Holidays show.” In 2017, they became Disney’s first Jewish cultural ensemble to perform a holiday season schedule on both coasts, adding EPCOT in Florida to their itinerary.
Committed to community engagement, Mostly Kosher teaches and performs with the Urban Voices Project in underserved Southern California communities, including prisons, community clinics, and shelters. They have also mentored the Jewish Youth Orchestra, providing workshops and performance opportunities for middle and high school musicians.
Their self-titled debut album received international acclaim from World Music Network, Songlines, and BBC Radio. The track “Ikh Hob Dikh Tsufil Lib” (I Love You Much Too Much) was named one of World Music Network’s Top 6 Songs of 2014.
Their music videos have earned accolades on the film festival circuit, including nominations at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema and Best Music Video honors at the Glendale International Film Festival. Mostly Kosher made its indie film debut in the 2021 feature The Accursed, and their video for Vitebsk has been screened at festivals across the U.S., including the Los Angeles Music Video Festival, Philadelphia Jewish Film Festival, and Greater Phoenix Jewish Film Festival.
In 2022, Mostly Kosher performed in the flagship series Secret Chord, a live concert taping presented by the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History and the Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. In 2024, they shared a double bill with Grammy-winning klezmer icons The Klezmatics at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, coinciding with the release of their version of Woody Guthrie’s “"Hanuka Dance” on a new Klezmatics Hanukkah album. Their recording of “Wade in the Wate”r appeared on Billboard’s “10 Songs to Make Your Seder Rock” list in April 2025.
Mostly Kosher’s 2025–2026 season includes a return to the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center, performances at the Soka Performing Arts Center, Night of Klezmer and Yiddish Swing at the historic Cicada Club in downtown Los Angeles, and their debut at Irvine Barclay Theatre.
For more information, visit: www.mostlykosher.com | FB/IG: @mostlykosher
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