The Portnoy Brothers are a British–Israeli

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

duo formed in 2014 by

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

-born brothers

Israel Portnoy Israel "Sruli" Portnoy () is an English-born Israeli singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as half of the band The Portnoy Brothers with his younger brother Mendy. He also has a solo career and has released albums as a solo artist ...

(born 1990; vocals, guitar) and

Mendy Portnoy Mendy Portnoy () is an English-born Israeli singer, pianist, composer, and producer. He is best known as half of the folk rock duo the Portnoy Brothers with his older brother Sruli. He has also released three albums as a solo artist. Early lif ...

(born 1992; keyboards). Their debut album, as The Portnoy Brothers, ''Learn to Love'', was released independently on 23 September 2016. On 29 March 2019 they released "The Garden Sessions" EP.

History

Israel "Sruli" and Mendy Portnoy were born in

, England, later moving to Israel as adults. Their father was a child soloist and

orchestra conductor Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duties o ...

who studied at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

before eventually receiving

semicha ''Semikhah'' () is the traditional term for rabbiinic ordination in Judaism. The original ''semikhah'' was the formal "transmission of authority" from Moses through the generations. This form of ''semikhah'' ceased between 360 and 425 CE. Si ...

and becoming a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

. They played music separately from a young age and began playing together at around 14 years old. The Portnoy brothers began recording their debut album, ''Learn to Love'', in 2013 with bassist and engineer Alon Hillel. The album was co-funded by fans via an

Indiegogo Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows peo ...

campaign, which raised £9,315

GBP Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...

. In January 2016, they released a video for the album's closing track, "Timebound", as a tribute to

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

shortly after his death. In May 2016, they appeared at the

Day to Praise Day to Praise () is a global interfaith praise initiative set forth by CJCUC Chancellor & Founder, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin and CJCUC Executive Director, David Nekrutman. The initiative takes the form of an annual event on Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel's ...

Israel Independence Day Yom Ha'atzmaut (, , ) is Israel's national day, commemorating the Israeli Declaration of Independence on 14 May 1948. It is marked by a variety of official and unofficial ceremonies and observances. Because Israel declared independence on 14 ...

event. The album was released on 23 September 2016. Originally a YouTube series of live performances, The Portnoy Brothers released ''The Garden Sessions'' as an EP on 29 March 2019. The release included live renditions of four of the band's songs: 'Old Soul', 'Seeing is Believing', 'Tomorrow's Yesterday' and 'Memories'. A sophomore album, ''No Complaints'', was released on October 31, 2019. The album was recorded in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, and the band chose the name as a nod to the novel ''

Portnoy's Complaint ''Portnoy's Complaint'' is a 1969 American novel by Philip Roth. Its success turned Roth into a major celebrity, sparking a storm of controversy over its explicit and candid treatment of sexuality, including detailed depictions of masturbation u ...

''. The album garnered attention after reaching the

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Heatseekers Chart. Since 2020, they have been releasing songs for their ''Shabbat Project'' album. They have recorded songs with

Shlomo Katz Shlomo Katz () is a contemporary religious Jewish singer in Israel. Biography Shlomo Katz was born in New Jersey, the son of Cantor Avsholom Katz.Zusha The Zusha () is a river in Tula and Oryol Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Oka. The length of the river is 234 km. The area of its basin is 6,950 km².

Yosef Karduner Yosef Karduner (; born 1969) is an Israeli Hasidic singer, songwriter, and composer. His biggest hit, ''Shir LaMaalot'' ( Psalm 121), appeared on his debut album, ''Road Marks'' (2000). Biography Born Gilad Kardunos, he was raised in a traditio ...

, Amir Alaev,

Alex Clare Alexander George Clare (born 14 September 1985) is a British singer and songwriter based in Jerusalem, Israel. His debut album, ''The Lateness of the Hour (Alex Clare album), The Lateness of the Hour'', was released in the UK on 8 July 2011 on ...

and their father, Joel Portnoy. The projects have accompanying videos on YouTube with some songs available for streaming. The completed album is set to be released soon. In June of 2024, the band released "October Rain" (written by

Keren Peles Keren Peles Toor (; born 11 March 1979) is an Israeli singer-songwriter and musician. Peles embarked her musical career in Israel in 2005 as a songwriter and later with her debut album ''If This Is Life (album), Im Ele Ha'Hayim'' (2006), and has ...

) which was the original version of the song "Hurricane" sang by

Eden Golan Eden Golan (; ; born 5 October 2003) is an Israeli singer. Born in Israel, Golan moved with her family to Russia at age six; she began her career there by taking part in the Russian selection for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2015, and af ...

at the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in May of that year. The song contained the unedited lyrics of the Eurovision entry which was forced to revise its lyrics. In September of the same year, they released the album "Returning With Love", containing songs about the upcoming

High Holy Days In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim; , ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm'') consist of: #strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement"); #by extension, th ...

Musical style

The Portnoy Brothers have cited

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, and

Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

as musical influences.

Discography

The Portnoy Brothers - Day to Praise 2016

Albums

*''Learn to Love'' (2016) *''No Complaints'' (2019) *''Returning With Love'' (2024)

Extended plays

* ''The Garden Sessions'' EP (2019)

Singles and music videos

*"Kol Ha'Olam" (ft. Gilad B) (2012) *"Learn to Love" (2014) *"Memories" (2015) *"Tomorrow's Yesterday" (2015) *"Stars Aglow"/"Timebound" (2016) *"Old Soul" (2018) *"Spotified" (2019) *"Sing It Again" (2019) *"Simple City" (2019) *"Shalom Aleichem" (ft.

Shlomo Katz Shlomo Katz () is a contemporary religious Jewish singer in Israel. Biography Shlomo Katz was born in New Jersey, the son of Cantor Avsholom Katz.(ft.

Zusha The Zusha () is a river in Tula and Oryol Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Oka. The length of the river is 234 km. The area of its basin is 6,950 km².

) (2020) *"Yigdal" (2020) *"Jerusalem of Gold" (2020) *"Tzadik Katamar" (2020) *"Yom Shabbaton" (ft.

) (2020) *"Shirat Haasavim" (2021) *"Etz Chayim" (ft. Joel Portnoy) (2021) *"Lecha Dodi" (ft.

) (2023) *"Adon Olam" (ft.

United Synagogue The United Synagogue (US) is the largest umbrella body for Orthodox Judaism in Britain. It is structured as a charity which serves the United Kingdom, British Jewish community in the broadest possible way. One of the largest charities in the B ...

Schools Coronation Choir) (2023) *"Ohr Ein Sof" (Thank You Hashem, Mendy Worch, The Portnoy Brothers) (2024) *"October Rain" (2024) *"Birkat Habanim" (2024)

Covers

*"Boi Veshalom" (

Yaakov Shwekey Yaakov Choueka, better known by his stage name Yaakov Shwekey () is an Orthodox Jewish recording artist and musical entertainer. He is of Egyptian and Syrian Sephardic heritage from his father's side; and Ashkenazi from his mother‘s side. Famil ...

cover) (2013) *"Dror Yikra" (

Yonatan Razel Yonatan Razel () is an American-Israeli singer, writer, composer, musical arranger and conductor. Biography Yonatan Razel was born in New York and moved to Israel at a young age with his family. Razel is the brother of musicians Aaron Razel a ...

cover) (2014) *" Brothers in Arms" (

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...

cover) (2016) *" If I Were A Rich Man" (

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

cover) (2017) *"

Somewhere Over the Rainbow "Over the Rainbow", also known as "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", is a ballad by Harold Arlen with lyrics by Yip Harburg. It was written for the 1939 film ''The Wizard of Oz'', in which it was sung by actress Judy Garland in her starring role a ...

" (

The Wizard of OZ ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

cover) (2018) *" Nechake Lecha" ( Ishay Ribo and Natan Goshen cover) (2019)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Portnoy Brothers Sibling musical duos Israeli folk music groups British folk rock groups British emigrants to Israel Rock music groups from Manchester 2012 establishments in Israel Jewish folk rock groups