44 | APRIL 28 • 2022

ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC

T

he day after she
turned 30, Aly
Halpert received the
best birthday gift ever. Joey
Weisenberg called to tell her
that he wanted to co-produce
her album through his com-
pany, Rising Song Records,
which specializes in original
Jewish music.
“He called to tell me that
he would love to make the
project happen,” Halpert says
of her mentor and teacher.
“It was a dream to work with
Joey at every stage of the
process. He made it clear that
my learning and growth was
even more important than
the final project. He helped
me take my artistry to anoth-
er level.”
Almost a year after that

phone call, Halpert released
Loosen, her first full-length
studio album, on April 11.
On April 30, Halpert, along
with good friends Batya
Levine, 31, and Arielle Rivera
Korman, 27, will embark
on a seven-state concert
tour. Michigan stops will be
at Temple Beth Emeth in
Ann Arbor on May 2 and
at Congregation T’chiyah in
Ferndale on May 4 (which
will also be livestreamed).
The three queer Jewish
leaders and activists will per-
form original music, includ-
ing from Halpert’s Loosen and
Levine’s Karov debut albums.
“The songs were written to
fuel community, movement
and liberation,” says Halpert,
who grew up in Ann Arbor

and has roots at Beth Israel
Congregation and Temple
Beth Emeth. “These partici-
patory concerts are a chance
to be together in healing
spirit and a celebration of our
collective resilience.”
The tour takes place during
the Counting of the Omer,
the time period between
Passover and receiving the
Torah at Shavuot. Because of
this, the trio will talk about,
and honor, the tradition of
refraining from engaging
with instrumental music by
performing a portion of the
concert without accompani-
ment.
“This is a time of wander-
ing where we are unsure of
how we will get where we
need to go. That certainly

With a new
debut album, Aly
Halpert brings
healing music
back to her
hometown.

JULIE SMITH YOLLES
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

TOP LEFT: Loosen cover
art by Sol Yael Weiss.

TOP RIGHT: Aly Halpert.

Participatory
CONCERTS

PHOTO BY JESS BENJAMIN

continued on page 46