Jeryko hits Sunrise world tour with huge SA following

When the lights dimmed and the spotlight hit international Jewish singer Jeryko at The Base on Tuesday, 2 December, this time he wasn’t surprised that hundreds of people of all ages had braved the rain to come watch him. 

His surprise came back in 2019, when he performed at Bnei Akiva machaneh and discovered that he had a huge loyal audience in this country that he never knew about. 

“I didn’t really know that I had listeners here,” he told the SA Jewish Report this week. “Back then, I was shocked at how everybody knew the music and felt connected.” Since then, South Africa has become one of his strongest bases. “On Spotify analytics, South Africa is one of my top five,” he said proudly. “It’s literally like New York, Tel Aviv, Miami, Jerusalem … South Africa.” 

This show forms part of Jeryko’s Sunrise world tour, which includes a performance in Cape Town, Bnei Akiva camp, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Miami, New York, and Philadelphia. 

While he has a huge following, he says of the momentum behind his music, “We haven’t even started yet.” He attributes his popularity to a mix of personal evolution, spiritual grounding, and the surge of global Jewish creativity he feels proud to be part of. 

Long before he became one of the most recognisable young Jewish voices on the international scene, music was simply woven into his life. “I was always in bands throughout high school,” he said. “Pretty much always playing music. Not really singing, but playing guitar.” 

After high school, he headed into the industry from a different angle, studying the business of music in the United States. He immersed himself in management, label work, and building other artists’ careers, convinced that his path was behind the scenes. 

That changed in a single backstage moment. While managing another act on tour, he watched everyone step onto the stage and felt something shift. “I realised I was just missing playing, missing performing, and connecting with an audience,” he said. That feeling pushed him to start creating again. “I started working on my own music, started putting it out slowly. I didn’t have any plans for what it was going to become.” 

Even when things began to take off, he kept his expectations in check. “Did I expect to blow up? No,” he said, “but once I set my mind to it, I was like, all right, we’re doing this. If I’m doing it, we’ve got to go all the way.” 

South Africa became an unexpected but meaningful part of that journey. His original connection back at machaneh is part of why he’s back for the Sunrise world tour. The tour is named for his new album Now the Sunrise, a project shaped by the emotional landscape of the past two years. 

“It really feels like now is the time to rise together, and the sun is coming out. We’re able to start healing and start really celebrating and building again,” he said. 

He doesn’t frame 7 October 2023 as “inspiration”, but rather the beginning of a collective journey. “It’s the pain we’ve been through and the resilience we’ve shown … and now it’s like, all right, let’s move together.” 

His music continues to reflect his Jewish identity, something longtime fans recognise instantly. “Totally,” he says when asked whether he still weaves Jewish themes and nigunim into his songs. For him, it’s inseparable from the energy he wants to share. “Music, for me, is a vessel for carrying energy and a message. It’s a blessing, and I’m grateful that people resonate with it.” 

He said that for him, a tour is “about momentum, and the message we’re holding for this tour, about the sunrise, is that it needs that momentum to take us into the next stage.” If Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the first South African shows are any indication, he’s getting that energy back in full force. “It’s been super lit. Fun, good times everywhere.” 

He credits a broader wave of Jewish creativity for pushing him forward as well. “We’re definitely in a renaissance for Jewish music,” he said, pointing out that two Israeli artists sold out Madison Square Garden in just the past year. “This is just the beginning.” 

And in that space, he feels completely at home. “People struggle, people are lonely, people have a hard time,” he said. “When you get together and listen to music you resonate with and realise a lot of other people resonate with the same things, you realise that maybe you’re not as alone as you thought. And you can just dance it out.”