Tamar Festival: Rendezvous in the desert for a line-up of local acts to remember
A date: the glow of your candle lit dinner reflecting on the face of your lover.A date: a delicious soft and sweet edible fruit also known as ‘tamar’ in Hebrew. One thing remains true; the one date you’ll never forget is Tamar Festival in Masada, Dead Sea this Sukkot.
With previous lineups including The Idan Raichel Project, Asaf Avidan, Balkan Beat Box, Ehud Banai, and A-WA, the four-day celebration founded over a decade ago sure isn’t holding back this year. While the desert experiences many seasons, its most precious is when it blooms and colours its grounds with the musical sounds of Sukkot. With extraordinary scenery and unforgettable sunrise performances, local and international festival goers will gather under the dawn, dust, and dusk of Israel’s most revered desert.
A-WA @ Omer Hacohen
Each year, the Tamar Festival truly embraces Israel’s diverse artistic and cultural landscape. This year it expands its reach overseas by bringing international star Suzanne Vega to its offering accompanied by the Ra’anana Symphony. This evening draws a line in the desert sand as its composed entirely by leading women in music. But wait… there’s more! The four days are spread out across four different sites providing a diverse array of activities and shows at varying hours of the day for your friends, family, and fellow music lovers.
Balkan Beat Box © Ran Golani
From The Masada Hall, a performance space right at the foot of Masada complete with its natural backdrop of Mount Masada, to The Masada Summit, an exclusive one-of-a-kind experience offering shows at the very top of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea – there is so much to explore you’ll wish you could multiply just to experience all of the desert madness. Not only are these stages a once in a lifetime experience, but Kibbutz Ein Gedi brings the heat offering free concerts on the lawn under a baobab tree. Neot Hakikar will also offer free performances in the ecological park right at the entrance to Nahal Amatzia.
Asaf Avidan © PR
From Tuesday the 25, you’ll be able to experience the “Music of the Full Moon” at The Masada Hall, featuring the talented David Broza, Rotem Cohen, Sarit Hadad, Avraham Tal, and Yehuda Poliker. Wednesday the 26, brings us “The Desert Kingdom” with Marina Maximilian, Suzanne Vega with the Ra'anana Symphony, and Rita. Thursday the 27, finds us wanting to move, and, “Shake the Desert” with Itay Levy, Hope 6, and Barry Sakharov and Balkan Beat Box.
While we love securing our spot with pre-purchased tickets, we’ll never turn down a freebie. You’ll be treated to a special creative compilation of talent such as Dana Berger and Erez Lev Ari to name a few. Tamar Festival has not only become a yearly institution of music that achieves an artistic and cultural amalgamation most festival’s hope to accomplish, but it brings together Israel’s greatest talent and presents these artists every year with pioneering musical innovation. Guests can experience the sounds of Israeli music amid the tranquility and silence of the desert – an awe-inspiring experience.
Tamar Festival, Sep 25-28