RMJHS Goes Behind The Scenes Of The Podcast The Nightingale of Iran

Galeet and Danielle Dardashti, sisters and co-creators of the award-winning audio documentary The Nightingale of Iran, will present a look behind the scenes of the podcast in an evening of storytelling and music at the Elaine Wolf Theatre on Tuesday, April 1. The event is presented by the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society in partnership with the Mizel Arts & Culture Center as this year’s Livingston & Abrams Lecture in American Jewish History.

Over six episodes, The Nightingale of Iran traces the compelling story of the Dardashti family’s musical legacy and their journey from Persia to Israel and to the United States. The podcast takes its name from Danielle and Galeet’s grandfather, Younes Dardashti, a religious Jew from Tehran who became one of the most beloved singers of pre-revolutionary Iran. Throughout the 1940s, 50s, and 60s he sang in concert halls, on the radio and even at the Shah’s palace. His breathtaking vocal range earned him the moniker “the Nightingale.” A decade later, his son Farid (Danielle and Galeet’s father) was celebrated as a teen idol singing on Iranian television.

Yet at the height of their success in the 1960s—during what was known as a golden age for Iranian Jewry before the 1979 Islamic revolution—the Dardashtis left Iran. Farid came to the United States; Younes moved to Israel with his wife and youngest child. In the U.S., Farid Dardashti continued his musical career together with his wife Sheila, an Ashkenazi folksinger from New York. First as a duo, and later with their daughters, they traveled the country performing as a Jewish family musical act. Growing up with their family’s musical legacy and the legend of their grandfather’s fame in Iran, sisters Galeet and Danielle couldn’t help but wonder: Why did their family leave Iran?

Danielle, an Emmy-award winning documentarian, and Galeet, an accomplished musician and anthropologist of Middle Eastern Jewish culture, found themselves with time on their hands during the COVID-19 pandemic when a box filled with decades of family tape recordings turned up in a basement and provided the catalyst for Nightingale. Over the next three years, they slowly peeled back the layers of their family story to reveal long-buried, painful secrets.

Their exploration of Iranian Jewish identity and belonging, family, and music has captivated listeners around the world. The Nightingale of Iran has won multiple podcasting awards, including Quill Podcast Awards for Best Podcast of the Year and Best Society & Culture Podcast, the People’s Choice Podcast Award for Best Music Podcast, and Signal Awards for Best Writing, Best Documentary, and Listener’s Choice.

Danielle and Galeet Dardashti will appear at the Elaine Wolf Theatre on Tuesday, April 1. The Livingston & Abrams Lecture in American Jewish History is presented annually in honor of Dr. John C. and Nancy Livingston (z”l) and Dr. Jeanne Abrams by the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society at the University of Denver.

For event details and tickets, visit https://tickets.jccdenver.org/nightingale.