ABOUT

Established in 2014, The Chupa Band has grown from boutique chupas into the best live Jewish musical production for weddings and events.Featuring Moshe Lichtenstein as their lead vocalist and built on a foundation of South Africa’s best musical talent, The Chupa Band has become the backbone of the Jewish wedding and events arena in South Africa.

The primary objective has always been and continues to be quite simple– elevate, uplift, enhance and infuse every wedding with the same passion and joy they feel for Jewish music.

The Chupa Band infuses soulful grooves and injects funky feels into classic and modern day Jewish hits. Their product is a cross-pollination of their individual musical influences, which has organically arrived into their truly unique sound. Their trademark chupas will leave an indelible mark on the soul, while their unforgettable reception hora performances will ignite palpable energy in the hall, maximizing the vibe at every wedding.

MEET THE TEAM

A powerful lead vocalist and dynamic front man, Moshe is the voice of The Chupa Band. Sharing his talents across prominent shuls, big stage performances and weddings both locally in South Africa and internationally. The acclaimed singer is most loved for his melodic range, anthemic tone and energetic vibe. Moshe connects the crowd to deep moments, elevates the simcha and always ignites fire on the dance floor. His soulful spark stems from his other singing gig as a seasoned modern-day chazzan, better known as a baal tefilla (prayer leader), leading shabbat and holiday services for large communities in South Africa. As the band manager, Moshe ensures a positive open flow of communication between clients and the band. A sincere focus on professionalism and emphasis on the client, Moshe truly never misses a beat.

MOSHE LICHTENSTEIN - LEAD VOCALIST

Daniel’s affinity with musical expression began with classical piano at the tender age of 9. His trajectory though, was soon altered after seeing George Benson live as at the Coca Cola Dome for his first ever concert, leaving an indelible impact on his musical taste to come.“I was probably the only kid in school listening to the blues” – describes Daniel. Ever since, Daniel has been drawing from his heavy influences such as Jamiroquai, John Mayer, Vulfpeck and Dan Patlansky to name just a few. Having lead The Ruach band on Bnei Akiva camp to a residency at the exclusive Michelangelo Hotel, Daniel draws his musical experience from a wide variety of audiences. As TCB’s pianist, Daniel is often heard before he is seen, masterfully layering each track with his trademark licks and groovy lines.

DANIEL SHILL - PIANIST

Avi has loved guitar and music since listening to Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix vinyls as a 12-year-old. His Jewish musical career has spanned 3 Countries, namely South Africa, Australia and Israel.From the rock-style bar-mitzvah band in his early teens, yeshiva band in Israel, camp band in Australia and South Africa, and the wedding scene with TCB since 2014 – it has always been about using music as a means to uplift, inspire and bring joy into people’s lives. Avi has written multiple original Jewish songs which are written in a special “sitar” drop-tuning on the guitar.Avi’s work at transcribing and charting the music for the band (through his revolutionary charting and transposing tool in Microsoft Excel) helps to ensure professionalism, innovation and reliability in the managing of the band’s charts. Asside from The Chupa Band, he has performed guitar on a local artists reimagining of Yiddish classic songs. with a passion for creating the best sound and tone at performances, Avi is always upgrading and improving his equipment – guitars, amps and pedals.

AVI LEVY- LEAD GUITAR

For the last 20 years, Jason Green has provided sophisticated bass lines and groove’s across the music scene both locally in South Africa and internationally. Jason has performed bass with a host of international artists, theatre productions and tv shows. A respected educator in the field of music, Jason has contributed his expertise to the national school of arts, the academy of sound engineering and the international school of rock. Jason is a recording artist, live performance maestro and plays a crucial roll as a musical director for the chupa band.

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It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our friend and legendary bass guitarist, Jason Green due to complications of Covid-19.

Jason performed music, to connect with his purpose and to support his wife Bronwen, whom he loved dearly. We send our best wishes to her during this immensely difficult time.

We'll miss those unearthly bass lines which made us all move, his huge heart, the genuine interest in Jewish culture, the time on stage, in between sets and his love for performing with us.

JASON GREEN- BASS GUITAR (In loving memory)

Gavin Flaks is the man behind the chupa bands pulsating beat. Gavin is a renowned drummer who thrives off performing in front of large receptive crowds. He has trailblazed through the music industry with performances together with a spectrum of big name artists in the indie, pop, hip hop rock and even metal, music scene. Gavins diversity and slick style enables him to breath new life into conventional norms of Jewish music. Gavin is a producer at High Seas Studio, a South African studio put on the map for their work done on Coldplays most recent album Everyday Life, which he contributed to and was named in the credits section. Gavin is a TAMA endorsed professional and transfers his passion for drumming to the next generation in a thriving music school he founded.

GAVIN FLAKS - DRUMS

Phumlani Mtiti is an acclaimed alto and tenor Saxophonist, Musical Director, Educator, composer & SAMA Award winner. Phumlanis musical ability is breath-taking and simply put, from the moment he plays his first note, he will set your soul on fire. Since taking to the live performance arena in 2005, Phumlani has performed with South African Jazz Legends, big stage productions, TV shows and now a prominent feature of The Chupa Band. Phumlani is a seasoned professional and perfectionist, lifting the quality of the bands performances with his creativity, spark and natural musical gift.