Stories

Meet ‘The Shenanigans’: Not Your Average Ukulele Band

By Stephanie Powell Earlier this month, the Atlantic‘s weekly Friendship Files column featured a quartet of women who channel the spirit of the ukulele on a regular basis. Fate led them each to an Illinois-based, 20-piece strumalong group the Hummers…

Uke Events: September, October, November, and December 2019

By Kelsey Holt Submission Information Listings are free for ukulele events, though we may not have space to include every submission. Deadlines for the next four issues are: August 5, 2019 (Winter 2019); November 4, 2019 (Spring 2020); February 3,…

Grace VanderWaal Donates Signed Ukulele for Scholarship Fund

By Stephanie Powell A $5 donation could land you with America’s Got Talent alum Grace VanderWaal‘s autographed Fender ukulele. The singer-ukulele player offered up her instrument to the Rockland County Day School Scholarship Fund as a way to raise money…

New and Notable Ukuleles at Summer NAMM

By Nicolas Grizzle It was 95 degrees with 100 percent humidity in mid-July this year, but it was 72 and breezy in the cool confines of the Summer NAMM convention center downtown. And that’s where we tried to spend most…

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An Empire of Ukuleles

By Jim D’Ville About 300 miles due east of Seattle, Washington, lies the vast Inland Empire. Known mostly for its agricultural contributions—they grow more lentils than anywhere else in the USA—you’ll also find a bumper crop of ukulele players. From…

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Baby’s First Restring

Making that first string change can deliver some surprising improvements to your ukulele By Nicolas Grizzle I’m a hobbyist ukulele player. I don’t gig, but I do play for and with friends on occasion. I have one uke, which has…

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KAMLOOPS 2019 UKULELE FESTIVAL

By Heidi Swedberg/ Photos by Vic Hamm Who-What-When-Where-Why-How in one sentence: The Kamloops Ukulele Orchestra has wrapped up its fourth annual festival under the waxing spring moon at the Sorrento Centre in British Columbia, Canada, to the delight of about…

Uke Tales: Finding a Jewel

A White Elephant Martin 5K By Sandor Nagyszalanczy Uke Tales is a regular series exploring ukuleles with an interesting story, a personal connection, or simply gorgeous instruments. I’d previously written about my first “good” ukulele, a Martin Style 1, gifted to…