27th
From Hawaii with love
-posted by Jon Lunger, ArtsQuest’s Marketing Manager
Well, I think its safe to say that no one saw this coming. The ukulele is scorching hot right now… its like Lady Gaga, but smaller, not alive, and… well, its really nothing like Lady GaGa, except for the fact that both seem to be everywhere at the moment.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, its ok… I’m here to help. You don’t have to admit it, just read the following excerpt from Wikipedia to get caught up. Everyone else, skip ahead.
The ukulele, sometimes abbreviated to uke, is a chordophone classified as a plucked lute; it is a subset of the guitar family of instruments, generally with four nylon or gut strings or four courses of strings.
I am not going to pretend I have any clue as to the reasons behind the sudden rise in popularity of this beloved instrument. In fact I, along with another local blogger/colleague, was recently compelled to purchase one. I have no idea why, other than the fact that there is something inherently cool about the uke.
Don’t take my word for it…
In addition to having the most challenging last name to spell ever, Jake is a ukulele virtuoso. What does that entail? Well, it makes him awesome. Dude can throw down some impressive licks… Case in point- he covers Bohemian Rhapsody.
You can see him live at the Musikfest Cafe on July 6.
Eddie Vedder is about to release his second, full-length solo album. Yeah, he’s playing the uke. The album is even called “Ukulele Songs.” You can listen to the whole thing, for free, here (NPR).
Mike Doughty brought this duo in to the Musikfest Cafe to open for him. Despite the fact that I don’t actually have a picture of them with a uke, they rocked out on one. Keep an eye out for this Brooklyn-based duo.
She’s the lead singer of The Dresden Dolls. She’s an accomplished (and epically amazing) solo performer. She rocks out on the uke. Check out the album above.
Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Michaelson is one of my favorite performers of right now. She’s a brilliant songwriter… her tunes have been featured in countless TV commercials. You may not know her by name yet, but you probably already know her music.
And, you guessed it, she plays the uke. And we love her for it.
