The Hanukkah Sessions

The Hanukkah Sessions are a series of video presentations of popular songs originally written or performed by Jewish artists, as covered by musicians Greg Kurstin and Dave Grohl. Since 2020, Kurstin and Grohl have covered eight songs per year for this project, and released one per night to digital streaming platforms for each night of Hanukkah.[1]

Background

During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, Kurstin (primarily playing keyboards) and Grohl (primarily playing drums) recorded those years' Hanukkah Sessions in Kurstin's home studio.[2][3] During these times they occasionally featured other performers, such as Peaches singing "Fuck the Pain Away" with them remotely,[4] and Grohl's daughter Violet singing a cover of Amy Winehouse's song "Take the Box".[5]

In 2022, when pandemic conditions had eased, Kurstin and Grohl held a concert with various guests on December 5 at the Largo nightclub in Los Angeles. These guests included Inara George (Kurstin's bandmate from The Bird and the Bee), Beck, P!nk, Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D, Karen O, and Grohl's daughter Violet. Director Judd Apatow collaborated with Kurstin and Grohl to make the 2022 edition of the Hanukkah Sessions a fundraiser for the Anti-Defamation League.[6] The songs recorded at this concert were released to streaming platforms one at a time on each night of Hanukkah, in keeping with the pattern established the previous two years.

Table of songs
Night of Hanukkah
(with Gregorian calendar date and link to video)		SongOriginal artist(s)CommentsCitations
2020
1st (December 10, 2020)"Sabotage"Beastie Boys[7]
2nd (December 11, 2020)"Hotline Bling"Drake[8]
3rd (December 12, 2020)"Mississippi Queen"Leslie West of Mountain[9]
4th (December 13, 2020)"Fuck the Pain Away"PeachesPerformed (remotely) with vocals by Peaches[4]
5th (December 14, 2020)"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"Bob Dylan[10]
6th (December 15, 2020)"Connection"Justine Frischmann of Elastica[11]
7th (December 16, 2020)"Frustrated"The Knack[12]
8th (December 17, 2020)"Rock & Roll"The Velvet Underground[13]
2021
1st (November 28, 2021)"Stay (I Missed You)"Lisa Loeb[14]
2nd (November 29, 2021)"Blitzkrieg Bop"Joey Ramone and Tommy Ramone of Ramones[15]
3rd (November 30, 2021)"Copacabana"Barry Manilow[16]
4th (December 1, 2021)"Jump"David Lee Roth of Van Halen[17]
5th (December 2, 2021)"Take the Box"Amy WinehousePerformed with Violet Grohl[5]
6th (December 3, 2021)"Big Shot"Billy Joel[18]
7th (December 4, 2021)"Train in Vain"Mick Jones of The Clash[19]
8th (December 5, 2021)"Rock and Roll All Nite"Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS[20]
2022
1st (December 18, 2022)"Spinning Wheel"Blood, Sweat & TearsPerformed with Judd Apatow; Apatow specifically referenced a version of the song as performed by the character Hank Kingsley on The Larry Sanders Show.[21]
2nd (December 19, 2022)"Get the Party Started"P!nkPerformed with P!nk[22]
3rd (December 20, 2022)"The Things We Do for Love"10ccPerformed with Inara George and backing vocals by Tenacious D[23]
4th (December 21, 2022)"At Seventeen"Janis IanPerformed with Violet Grohl; Shortly thereafter Ian herself commented favorably on Violet Grohl's performance.[24]
5th (December 22, 2022)"E-Pro"BeckPerformed with Beck[25]
6th (December 23, 2022)"Heads Will Roll"Yeah Yeah YeahsPerformed with Karen O[26]
7th (December 24, 2022)"The Spirit of Radio"Geddy Lee of RushPerformed with Jack Black[27]
8th (December 25, 2022)"We Love L.A."Randy NewmanPerformed with Karen O, Beck, Tenacious D, Inara George, and P!nk[28]

References
  1. "Greg Kurstin and Dave Grohl release another series in 'The Hanukkah Sessions'". Morning Edition. National Public Radio. December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  2. "Greg Kurstin's Home Studio (Hanukkah Sessions)". www.foofighterslive.com. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  3. Banas, Eric (December 7, 2022). "Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin Played Secret 'Hanukkah Sessions' Gig: Setlist". WRIF. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  4. Nattress, Katrina (December 13, 2020). "Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover Peaches on Fourth Night of Hanukkah". SPIN. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  5. Bjornson, Greta (December 4, 2021). "Watch Dave Grohl and His Daughter Violet Cover Amy Winehouse's 'Take the Box'". People. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  6. Miller, Jeff (December 6, 2022). "Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin's 'Hanukkah Sessions' Comes to Life at Largo With Pink, Beck, Jack Black and Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O". Variety. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  7. Hussey, Allison (December 10, 2020). "Watch Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover Beastie Boys' "Sabotage"". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  8. Hussey, Allison (December 11, 2020). "Watch Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover Drake's "Hotline Bling"". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  9. Daly, Rhian (13 December 2020). "Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin take Hanukkah series into hard rock with Mountain's 'Mississippi Queen'". NME. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  10. Kohn, Daniel (December 14, 2020). "Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover Bob Dylan's 'Rainy Day Women #12 & 35' for Fifth Night of Hanukkah". SPIN. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  11. Enis, Eli (December 15, 2020). "Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover Elastica's "Connection": Watch". Consequence. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  12. Legaspi, Althea (December 16, 2020). "Watch Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin Cover the Knack's 'Frustrated'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  13. Kohn, Daniel (December 17, 2020). "Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Close Out 'Hanukkah Sessions' With Velvet Underground Cover". SPIN. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  14. Avila, Daniela (November 29, 2021). "Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Kick Off Hanukkah Sessions with Cover of Lisa Loeb's 'Stay (I Missed You)'". People. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  15. Uitti, Jacob. "For His Annual Hanukkah Covers Series, Dave Grohl Shares Rendition of the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop"". American Songwriter. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  16. Moran, Lee (December 2, 2021). "Dave Grohl Covers Barry Manilow's 'Copacabana' And It's A Wild '70s Ride". HuffPost. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  17. Avila, Daniela (December 2, 2021). "Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin Cover Van Halen's 'Jump' in Silly Video for Hanukkah Sessions". People. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  18. Johnson, Josh (December 3, 2021). "Dave Grohl & Greg Kurstin celebrate night six of 'The Hanukkah Sessions' by covering Billy Joel". ABC Audio Digital Syndication. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  19. Enis, Eli (December 4, 2021). "See Dave Grohl's Hanukkah Cover of the Clash's "Train in Vain"". Revolver. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  20. McCarter, Reid (December 6, 2021). "Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin wrap up this year's Hanukkah Sessions with a Kiss cover". AV Club. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  21. "Watch Now: Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin and Judd Apatow Cover Blood Sweat & Tears' "Spinning Wheel" for Hanukkah". Relix. December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  22. "Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin Enlist Pink for Second Night of Hanukkah Sessions". SPIN. December 19, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  23. Kaufman, Gil (December 21, 2022). "Dave Grohl, Inara George, Tenacious D Explore 'The Things We Do For Love' for 2022 'Hanukkah Sessions'". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2022. Singer George — Kurstin's partner in the indie pop duo The Bird and the Bee — soared with the swoony ballad, belting out the song's dreamy lyrics about walking through any kind of weather for love as Kurstin banged out the track's barroom roll on his piano and Grohl held down the beat. As a bonus, Tenacious D's Jack Black and Kyle Gass casually added in some background sweet harmonies.
  24. Vivinetto, Gina (December 22, 2022). "Dave Grohl and 16-year-old daughter Violet perform together for 'Hanukkah Sessions'". Today. Retrieved December 26, 2022. Ian, who wrote the song when she was in her early 20s, commented beneath the video to praise Violet's rendition. "Thank you both! For singing my song so beautifully, and with such heart, Violet," Ian wrote, adding that she was grateful to Grohl for "fighting antisemitism" with his annual "Hanukkah Sessions" series.
  25. Cohen, Jonathan (December 22, 2022). "Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin Jam With Beck for Fifth Night of Hanukkah Sessions". SPIN. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  26. Kreps, Daniel (December 24, 2022). "Watch Karen O, Dave Grohl Rock 'Heads Will Roll' for Hanukkah Sessions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  27. Kreps, Daniel (December 25, 2022). "See Dave Grohl, Jack Black Cover Rush's 'The Spirit of Radio' for 2022 Hanukkah Sessions". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
  28. Fragassi, Selena (December 25, 2022). "Dave Grohl and All-Star Guests Cover Randy Newman for Eighth Night of Hanukkah Sessions". SPIN. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
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