By Greg Olwell One of the largest events in the ukulele scene kicked off today in Sparks, Nevada. The 2016 edition of the Reno Ukulele Festival features workshops from many of the most recognizable names in the community and many…
The Anaheim Hilton’s California Ballroom conveyed a glitz that at first seemed removed from the art and craft of making world-class ukuleles. But on January 23, the Friday evening of the five-day NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show, sponsors…
Kalei Gamiao stopped by the Ukulele booth at NAMM 2016 to perform “Separate Ways” on his Kamaka tenor ukulele. Watch the deft fingerpicker play “Separate Ways” in advance of his world tour with Taimane Gardner. Read more about Kalei in Ukulele‘s Fall 2015 issue.
By Greg Olwell For this week’s throwback Thursday, we want to take the opportunity to celebrate one of the most important ukulele makers ever. This year marks the 100th anniversary since Samuel Kaialiilii Kamaka began building ukuleles in his one-man shop…
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By David Templeton “Part of the magical power of the ukulele is that it doesn’t really matter where you are when you play it,” says Craig Chee, who performs and teaches uke around the world. “When you get a group…
BY KAREN PETERSON If playing the ukulele stimulates your appetite for more, here’s a nourishing tip—find ukulele workshops that place as much emphasis on good food as good music. “Enjoying good food and wine can equate to a passion for…
By Mark Segal Kemp Sarah Maisel and Craig Chee didn’t set out to become a couple—they set out to become a ukulele duo: she the trad-jazz connoisseur and he the indie-pop dude. In fact, it takes a full hour of…
by Whitney Phaneuf It’s my last day on Oahu, and the mid-morning sky is beginning to mist. I think I might cry, too. My entire trip has led to this interview with the legendary Eddie Kamae—a ukulele virtuoso and founding member…
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By Audrey Coleman Photography courtesy of Hawaii Symphony Orchestra It’s not that nobody has ever thought of writing a concerto for the ukulele. In 1999, the Wallingford (Connecticut) Symphony Orchestra commissioned uke player-composer Jim Beloff to write Uke Can’t Be Serious:…
By Elizabeth Robson / From the Winter 2014 issue of Ukulele Magazine For many people, the cheery ukulele might seem the antithesis of punk rock’s loud, angry attitude, but to a growing number of punkers in the United Kingdom, the…