By Greg Olwell At a recent fundraiser for a music in schools program on Oahu’s North Shore, Taimane jammed with her band on a fantastic flamenco-tinged groove. Together with Jazzy Jazz on guitar and Jonathan Heraux on cajon, Taimane shows off some…
Text and photos by Jim D’Ville You can’t get much deeper into the heart of Texas than the Hill Country city of Kerrville, an hour drive northwest of San Antonio. If you had visited Kerrville in 1929, you may have…
By Greg Olwell Cordoba is introducing two new ukuleles——at next week’s Summer NAMM show in Nashville, Tennessee. Two new ukuleles expand on the format and design of the company’s top-seller, the all-mahogany Cordoba 15CM. First up is the 15CM-E concert, which…
By Greg Olwell Showing the speed of the contemporary culture, online ukulele video instructor John Atkins has already posted a lesson of last week’s viral video by 12-year-old Grace VanderWaal on America’s Got Talent. Under his YouTube channel, The Ukulele Teacher,…
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By Greg Olwell Accompanying herself on a ukulele, 12-year-old Grace VanderWaal wowed the judges and the audience on last night’s America’s Got Talent. Seconds into her song, “I Don’t Know My Name,” the Suffern, New York student was getting cheers…
By Greg Olwell Ukulele players Bryan Tolentino and Herb Ohta Jr. won big at this weekend’s Na Hoku Hanohano awards in Honolulu, taking home the Ukulele Album of the Year award. The awards celebrate Hawaiian music and given by Hawaiian…
By Greg Olwell When a large power outage in downtown Seattle left a woman stranded in an elevator, a ukulele player knew just what might help ease a frightening situation. Play a song on his ukulele. When the woman was…
By Greg Olwell You may know Robert Armstrong for the distinctive LP and CD covers and liner notes he created for vintage recordings or his comic character Mickey Rat. Or you may know him as the popularizer of the term…
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By Greg Olwell During a recent West Coast tour supporting the group’s latest release, Jus Cuz: Ukulele Duets, Da Ukulele Boyz stopped by our studio for a “Ukulele Session.” Da Ukulele Boyz are two cousins from Maui, Garrett Probst and Peter deAquino, who…
by Jim D’Ville The West Coast Ukulele Retreat is a four-day sea-level ukulele immersion. It’s a strumming and singing extravaganza with nearly 100 old friends, or soon to be new friends. Held in early May in Pacific Grove, California on the…