Craig Taubman doing Southern tour during Sukkot

Singer Craig Taubman was scheduled to perform Sept. 20 at Temple Israel in Memphis when he had an idea. He contacted the Jackson-based Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life and asked about putting together a tour of some other Southern Jewish communities for the following week.

Ann Zivitz Kimball, ISJL director of programming, said “Our communities are over the moon excited about this upcoming tour,” and because of how the Institute sets up these tours, expenses are shared, making it more affordable for smaller communities.

Taubman will perform in Chattanooga on Sept. 22, then at Temple Beth El in Knoxville on Sept. 23.

On Sept. 26, he will be at Agudath Israel-Etz Ahayem in Montgomery for the congregation’s traditional Lil Perlman Memorial Cabbage Dinner, held each year on Simchat Torah. The service, concert and dinner start at 6 p.m.

On Sept. 27, he will be at Springhill Avenue Temple in Mobile for the Shabbat Alive Holiday Celebration. He will be the Fran and Paul Brown Guest Artist for the 6 p.m. Simchat Torah service. In 2011, Taubman was the congregation’s Shabbat Alive scholar-in-residence.

The tour concludes on Sept. 28 at Beth Israel in Jackson with a 7:30 p.m. concert.

In the early 1990s, Taubman was often seen performing on the Disney Channel, then gradually added more Jewish music to his repertoire, then branched out to adult music.

In February he bought a former church in Los Angeles that had been a synagogue a century ago and announced plans to turn it into a multicultural and interfaith performing arts center. Born in Tennessee, Taubman grew up in the Los Angeles area and started in music at age 15 as a Camp Ramah song leader.