As America’s most renowned ensemble devoted to the secular, celebratory music of Eastern European Jewry, The Klezmatics emerged from the unique alchemy of New York City’s downtown music scene 30 years ago with the single-minded mission of making Yiddish culture a vital force. Known for collaborations with a glittering array of artists, from John Zorn and Itzhak Perlman to Pilobolus Dance Theatre and the Master Musicians of Jajouka, the Grammy-winning sextet explores new creative frontiers while delivering scorching dance music and heart-rending laments.

The inveterately inventive Bay Area band Charming Hostess kicks off the afternoon of radical Jewish culture with a program of Sephardic women’s music from the Balkans, songs that date back centuries to Spain’s expulsion of Jews in 1492. Led by vocalist and intellectual provocateur Jewlia Eisenberg, Charming Hostess combines beautifully unsettling vocal harmonies with the propulsive grooves of Oakland freak-folk soul.