Special concert in response to Bondi attack

A musical and spoken-word work written in response to the December 14 Bondi attack will be performed in Melbourne this month, following its premiere at this year’s Sydney Jewish Writers Festival of the Spoken Word. Hineinu: Songs for This Time, created by Sydney-based musicians Nadav Kahn and Joey DeRusha, will be staged on Wednesday, November 25 by the Lamm Jewish Library of Australia. The event is in partnership with Glen Eira City Council, the Jewish Independent and Young Adults Caulfield Shule.

The performance brings together song, prayer, chants, niggunim and spoken word in Hebrew, English and Yiddish, responding to the aftermath of the Bondi attack and the ongoing impact of October 7.

At its centre is a new body of original songs Kahn and DeRusha wrote in the weeks and months after the attack. According to the artists, the songs were written as a way of processing, questioning and expressing the experiences of the past few years. Kahn’s wife and young daughter both survived the Bondi attack.

The original material is interwoven with reworked Hebrew liturgical and Yiddish pieces, contemporary songs and wordless melodies, moving between themes of memory, grief, resilience and repair.

The Hebrew title Hineinu translates to “here we are”, which is described as a declaration of presence. The organisers said the evening will be part concert, part vigil and part prayer space, with an emphasis on listening, reflection and audience participation through shared singing.

Kahn is a singer-songwriter, producer, music therapist and mantra meditation teacher. He has released 12 records and has collaborated and co-written with artists including members of Maroon 5, Empire of the Sun and Gomez, as well as Steve Aoki, Aminé and Lior.

He was previously a member of the bands Gelbison, Kahn Brothers, Nations by the River, Operation Aloha and Air Land Sea, and received the 2009 APRA Music Award for Song of the Year.

In 2013, Kahn composed his first feature film soundtrack, for Despite the Gods. In 2024, his voice and music featured in the film Everything In Between, which screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

DeRusha is a Los Angeles musician now living in Sydney. A multi-instrumentalist, poet and visual artist, he works across a range of genres, including free spiritual jazz, klezmer, reggae, punk, folk, spoken word and gospel.

“The Bondi terrorist attack has left an indelible mark on the Australian Jewish community. It is against this backdrop that we are particularly honoured to host Hineinu: Songs for This Time, a powerful new musical work by Nadav Kahn and Joey DeRusha,” director of the Lamm Library Merav Carmeli said.

The Melbourne performance will be the work’s first outside Sydney.

Book tickets at trybooking.com/1654827