As a citizen of Bet Shemesh for the past 14 years, I can tell you that nothing swells our civic pride more than the awesome Jewish Rock Festival that Jonty Zwebner has brought, along with the Bet Shemesh municipality, to our fine city.

Moshav Band Performing at Bet Shemesh Festival in 2003

It began about a decade ago as a one night event with five or so groups playing in front of a couple thousand locals. It has blossomed more recently into a big two night festival with many thousands (perhaps 15,000, maybe more?) jamming into the outdoor amphitheater with most of the top names in Jewish Rock, such as Moshav Band, Soulfarm, Adi Ran, Reva L’sheva, Lenny Solomon, and many, many more. As a result, the national media have taken notice.

Here’s two video links (in Hebrew) from YNet on the 2008 Festival.
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3456086,00.html
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3610815,00.html

Here is the Festival’s homepage for links to all the performers and more information.
ShemeshFest Website