Zoë Aqua and her Transylvanian String Band

At the Ugly Mug coffee house, 4640 Soquel Drive, Soquel, CA 95073

Crossing a Sea of Stars Tour 2026

In their very first tour in the United States, Zoë Aqua and her Transylvanian String Band will bring an energetic, powerful and deeply unique program to American audiences.

Fiddler Zoë Aqua studied folk music for two years as a Fulbright grantee in Transylvania, a region in north-west Romania with a strongly multi-ethnic history, as evinced by the Hungarian and Romani flavors in its music. While living there, Aqua started playing regularly with three stars of the local folk music scene: Kálmán Szopos, Károly Dénes and Gergely Réman. Steeped in traditional folk music and dance since childhood, they play instruments not often seen in American venues: the brácsa, the full-size Hungarian cimbalom, and the upright bass.
Zoë’s compositions are an outgrowth of her background in klezmer and Yiddish music. Arranged in collaboration with her bandmates, the resulting sound features the raw power and deep rhythmic groove of Transylvanian string band music. It’s safe to say there’s nothing quite like this band in the world music scene today.

This concert will appeal to fans of string band music, whether bluegrass, old-time, or Irish fiddle music, as well as those who love klezmer and Yiddish music. Don’t miss it! 

Aqua was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. She played Suzuki violin while her dad led songs at their local synagogue and played klezmer music on the weekends. After college, Aqua lived in Brooklyn for a decade amid a generous and progressive Jewish community that stoked her love of old klezmer recordings and her fascination with Eastern European music. She co-founded two klezmer bands, Tsibele and Farnakht, and was the full-time understudy for the Klezmatics’ Lisa Gutkin in the Broadway production of “Indecent.” Long passionate about teaching, Zoë holds two degrees in music education. She has performed at Philadelphia Folk Festival, KlezKanada Festival, Yiddish New York Festival, and has toured in Germany, Austria, France, Hungary, Romania, and Turkey.