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