Mike's Place feels like home to many members of the Anglo community as it features a five-hour happy hour from 16:00 until 21:00, billiards, and big sports monitors. The bar also offers live music nightly at 22:30 downstairs in a stone cave-like venue that serves as the sole reminder that you are still in the Middle East. Both the American year abroad Yeshiva students and the hipped out Carlbachian crowd call the bar home. This week's lineup includes some regulars like Assaf and Barry, open Mic Night, and a Jam Session, and some irregulars including Country Boys and Jerusalem Blues Cats.  

 

A relative newcomer to the Israeli music scene, Alma Zohar has been playing blues-influenced guitar since her high-school days. Now out of the army and with her first solo album, Dabri (Speak), under her belt, Zohar is taking her soulful tunes on the road. Zohar's simple yet powerful lyrics and rich melodies are winning her fans both in Israel and abroad. With influences ranging from rock to blues to reggae, Zohar and her guitar hit the Ma'abada for a Saturday night show on Sept. 13.

With its doors closed to all carrying Israeli passports (unless of course they belong to the anti-Zionist Neturei Karta party), Iran remains closed off to most Jerusalem residents, a large percent of whom can trace their roots to the former Persian Empire. This Thursday night (Sept. 18), Beit Avi Chai takes advantage of Jerusalem's balmy evenings to host a Persian party in its courtyard. The event will recreate the alleys of Yezad and the markets of Ispahan alongside the synagogues of Tehran. Musicians will be playing traditional Iranian music, adding to the atmosphere of the evening.