The creative and talented duo with seemingly boundless energy is coming to Vancouver for the Chutzpah! Plus Spring Edition, which runs March 19-23.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to weave a musical tapestry that captivates the imagination of the children and to accompany them on their mammoth journey of growing up, while also resonating with the hearts of older kids and parents,\u201d write Tamar Eisenman and Sagit Shir on their City Birds website. \u201cOur work is a celebration of families and about telling stories where children and parents find comfort, joy and inclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even people without kids will appreciate the music\u2019s playfulness, its folk and rock rhythms, and unique lyrics, all intended to uplift.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lot of fun, and the inclusive elements are a key part of our craft \u2013 whether it\u2019s mentioning all types of families, using different pronouns, or embracing a creative, childlike perspective that also serves as a wonderful reminder for grownups,\u201d Eisenman told the Independent<\/i>.<\/p>\n Both Eisenman and Shir are accomplished musicians. Eisenman has released multiple albums over the years and is currently touring with a couple of shows, including City Birds. Shir is the co-founder of the indie rock duo Hank & Cupcakes, and she teaches music and songwriting, specializing in early childhood music education. They each have some 20 years of music writing and touring to their credit.<\/p>\n \u201cWe met through Ariel, Sagit\u2019s husband\/partner,\u201d said Eisenman. \u201cAriel and I went to high school together, and we\u2019ve been really good friends ever since. I think I was about 18 or 19 when I first saw Sagit perform. She was singing with her trio in small music venues around Jerusalem, covering my favourite songs by Tori Amos, Suzanne Vega and others. Her voice and performance completely blew me away!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI remember that cover band!\u201d said Shir. \u201cTamar was always a musical presence I was aware of beyond her years-long friendship with Ariel (who was also her bassist at some point). I remember being in awe of her musical and performative talents and generally admired how she \u2018had it together\u2019 at an age where I was just starting to seriously explore my musical tendencies.\u201d<\/p>\n After Shir and her family moved back to New York City, she and Eisenman reconnected and started meeting up more often, sometimes with their kids.<\/p>\n \u201cIf I remember correctly, in September 2023, Sagit invited me to a friend\u2019s show in the Lower East Side, where we first talked about the idea of writing and composing songs for kids and families, with LGBTQ awareness at the core. I personally felt there was a gap in family entertainment in that space,\u201d said Eisenman.<\/p>\n \u201cSagit had her ukulele with her and, after the show, we hung out outside the club, brainstorming our first ideas for the project. From there, we each worked individually on some concepts, exchanging demo recordings, lyrics and ideas back and forth. As the songs took shape, we rehearsed, and, once we had about six songs ready, we performed at our daughters\u2019 schools for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n The feedback was wonderful, said Eisenman. \u201cThat\u2019s when we knew we wanted to keep folk Americana as the foundation of our sound \u2013 while adding some punk rock, of course. We wanted the music to feel close to home, reflecting the styles we personally connect with,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was also important to keep it organic and live, creating something that we, as adults, could relate to just as much as kids,\u201d she continued. \u201cThe music is for everyone \u2013 it exists in that \u2018in-between\u2019 space: for kids growing up, for parents who were once kids, and for all of us witnessing that journey. It\u2019s a fascinating timeline when you think about it. And then there\u2019s our secret ingredient \u2013 Ariel. He\u2019s such an incredible musician and he plays bass and other instruments on the record.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTamar brought it up when our families went on a small vacation in upstate New York some time before,\u201d said Shir, \u201cand I was so excited at the prospect of collaborating with Tamar, whom I secretly admired, that I wrote the first lines of \u2018The Family Song\u2019 that very night.\u201d<\/p>\n That Shir had worked on some songs already helped when the two started working together. For those pieces, Eisenman said, \u201cwe refined the lyrics, arranged the music together and made adjustments as needed.<\/p>\n \u201cOther times, we each brought in songs, fragments or ideas and we\u2019d have a little creative \u2018ping-pong\u2019 session to develop them,\u201d she added. \u201cFor example, I wrote the verse of a lullaby I was working on, and Sagit added the B section musically, then we expanded the lyrics together from there. There\u2019s really no single format or structure; we try to keep the process open, flexible.\u201d<\/p>\n While their being Jewish doesn\u2019t necessarily inform their music, Eisenman said their cultural heritage is an inherent part of who they are \u2013 \u201cboth in a traditional sense and as part of our roots,\u201d she said. \u201cThe Hebrew language is, of course, dear to our hearts and, as my native language, it\u2019s especially meaningful to me. Being able to incorporate it into our songs is a lot of fun as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Shir\u2019s background in early childhood music education no doubt plays a key role in their songs\u2019 appeal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The daughter of two teachers, Shir said, \u201cI\u2019ve found myself specializing in teaching language through music, especially Hebrew. I find that, with very young students, teaching them Hebrew through music almost works like magic. They find themselves learning important basic concepts such as colours, body parts and feelings without even realizing it\u2019s happening. Music makes the language-learning process effortless and fun. I started the company Global Kids Music LLC a year ago and feel lucky to have found my calling.\u201d<\/p>\n The March 23 Chutzpah! show will be City Birds\u2019 Canadian premiere. The two musicians are \u201cso happy for the opportunity to share our music with the Vancouver community and go on this musical journey together,\u201d said Eisenman. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a few surprises planned \u2013 including a special tribute to the music from back home.\u201d<\/p>\n For more on City Birds, go to citybirdsmusic.com<\/a>. For tickets to their Chutzpah! show, visit chutzpahfestival.com<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Chutzpah! Plus Spring Edition includes theatre March 19 (Iris Bahr), comedy March 20 (Talia Reese), dance March 21-22 (Belle Spirale Dance Projects & Fernando Hernando Magadan) and music March 22 (Yamma Ensemble).<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tamar Eisenman, left, and Sagit Shir bring their children\u2019s music project, City Birds, to Vancouver for a March 23 concert at the Rothstein Theatre, as part of Chutzpah! Plus. (photo by Javier Ortega) Looking for fun, positive music for your kids that will get you moving to the beat and singing along with them? Check […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46076,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[23867,6515,3403,23865,3036,23866,21780],"class_list":["post-46074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-americana","tag-childrens-music","tag-chutzpahplus","tag-city-birds","tag-music","tag-sagit-shir","tag-tamar-eisenman"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46074"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46074\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"image](\"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/cov.14.City-Birds-familysong-cover3000.png\")
<\/a>While the meeting at the club may have been the first time the two musicians sat down together and brainstormed about writing and performing music geared towards children, Shir said the idea for City Birds came earlier.<\/p>\n