AJMF, ATL Collective to Host Beastie Boys Revival

Israeli hip hop artists Axum, Peled, and Sagol 59 will cover Beastie Boys hit album “Licensed to Ill.”

By Rachel Fayne February 23, 2017, 2:55 pm Edit

Rachel is a reporter/contributor for the AJT and graduated from the University of Central Florida in Orlando. After post graduate work at Columbia University, she teaches writing at Georgia State and hosts/produces cable programming. She can currently be seen on Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters.

For the first time, the Atlanta Jewish Music Festival will partner with local album-cover live music series ATL Collective to recreate the classic Beastie Boys album “Licensed to Ill.” On Saturday, March 18th at the Buckhead Theater the partnership will produce a show that covers the entire album and features Israeli hip hop artists Axum, Peled, and Sagol 59 as well as a live band to mimic the authenticity of the original album’s sound.

The seventeen day AJMF is now in its eighth installment but may experience its largest turnout yet this year according to Russell Gottschalk, the festival’s founder and executive director. Events are scheduled for various locations throughout metro Atlanta and include an acoustic Shabbat, an international night, and a hunger walk/run. But this concert and the partnership of AJMF and the ATL Collective is expected to be one of the more popular draws of the festival.

ATL Collective was born out of a desire to connect eclectic music scenes across Atlanta and introduce new artists to fans of classic works in an effort to honor and relive the music. Artists chosen to cover are typically no less than twenty years old and shows are produced on a monthly basis. Although each show features different musicians in an array of genres, ATL Collective co-founder Micah Dalton aimed to do something different and innovative in this first partnership with AJMF.

The decision to relive “Licensed to Ill” was born out of the desire to feature at least one Jewish artist and put on a one-of-a-kind show with different elements at play. Besides Israeli hip-hop artists Axum, Peled, and Sagol 59, all three of the Beastie Boys, (Michael “Mike D” Diamond, Adam Horovitz “Ad-Rock,” and Adam “MCA” Yauch) are Jewish.

The show will be a rare opportunity for Beastie Boys fans to hear old favorites with a unique Atlanta twist. “We work to mix what’s going on currently with timelessness,” Dalton said. “We want people to feel like they’re discovering their new favorite Atlanta artist while singing their old favorite songs.”

The concert will be among the last events of the festival. Advanced tickets are $20 and $25 at the door. They can be purchased on the AJMF site.

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