Geoff Berner

Geoff Berner (pronouns: He/him) is a full-time accordion player/singer/songwriter/novelist/leftist shit disturber living in Vancouver on the unceded lands of the Musquem, Squamish and Tsleil-Watouth peoples.

Berner’s career began at the start of the millennium. Since then, his adventures full-timehave taken him and his trusty accordion, Estella, to 18 countries, performing live on national radio in 7.

He’s become a vital part of the “Klezmer Revival” that began in the late 20th century. This is a project of Jewish cultural reclamation and rebuilding in the wake of the Holocaust.

These days, he mostly sings songs in Yiddish, often with humorous asides in English. Yiddish is the language spoken for a thousand years by Jews of eastern European heritage.

“I sing in Yiddish to help keep the voice of left-Easternwing Jewish culture alive in a fun way. I aim to do this in solidarity with Indigenous people where I live, and throughout the world, including the Palestinian people. Just so’s you know.”

He’s performed at countless folk festivals, klezmer festivals, bars, cafes and squats. Highlights have included appearances at Bergen Nattjazz in Norway, the Yamaha Music Quest Festival in Tsumagoi, Japan, Rudolstadt Festival and Fuerth Jewish Culture Festival in Germany, Quands Les Souris Dansent Festival in Lyon, France, and numerous events by Jewdas, a radical Jewish group in the UK.

Canadian highlights have included Hillside Festival in Guelph, five appearances at his hometown Vancouver Folk Festival, and a legendarily controversial performance on the mainstage at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. 

Numerous international artists have covered his original compositions, including the song “Light Enough to Travel”, which was recorded by the Be Good Tanyas on their classic album, “Blue Horse”, which launched his career in 2001.

He’s also a published novelist, with two books under his belt, “Festival Man” and “The Fiddler is a Good Woman” (Dundurn Press), both of which received rave reviews.

Look for his all-Yiddish album, “Kishef (Magic)”, produced by Rae Spoon, and featuring the incomparable Cookie Siegelstein on violin, to be released in the spring of 2027.