The 4th Peg

The first Chicagoland Ukulele Jam Festival will be held at the Legal Grounds Coffee House, located at 1300 Maybrook Square, in Maywood, Illinois, near Chicago. The festival will take place on Saturday, June 23, 2007, from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

The festival will feature musician showcase performances of ukulele music, various ukulele-related workshops, open Mic sessions, ukulele vendors, clothing vendors, sales of ukulele music CDs, and luau-style food & drink. Discount hotel rooms available.

Check out the website and bookmark for more info!

The Blue Stone Folk School and the Hedgehog Music Showcase present - Winter Paradise: A Bit of Hawaii in the Ozarks

When? Saturday, February 24, 2007
Time? 8:00pm - 10:00pm at the Hedgehog Music Showcase in Arcadia, Indiana (about 30 miles north of Indianapolis)

Featuring:
Gerald Ross, Ukulele,Lap Guitar and Swing Guitar great from Ann Arbor Michigan, Geoff Davis on ukulele and Indianapolis’ famous Key Strummers

Lap Steel Guitar workshop with Gerald Ross and Ukulele workshop with Geoff Davis from 6:30pm until the concert begins.

For more information or to purchase pre-concert tickets, contact:
Bob Foster
Hedgehog Music Showcase
Phone: (317) 984-3560 or (317) 773-8899

or vist the Blue Stone Folk School website at www.bluestonefolkschool.org.

Oh, just grand. Here’s another absolutely fun Uke festival I’m going to miss! Harrumph. Sponsored by the Portland Ukulele Association and held at Reed College in beautiful Portland Oregon, this is one dandy sounding event. Here’s a blurb from their web page.

“Whether you are a beginner or an advanced player, you will find expert instruction at Portland Uke Fest 2007. Each class extends over three consecutive days to deepen your learning and jump start your playing technique and repetoire at any level. To round out your musical experience you can join in other classes such as hula, acoustic bass, and percussion. Repertoire classes include Hawaiian, ragtime, jazz standards, and folk. Ukulele makers and vendors of ukuleles, books, CDs, and accessories be on hand, and the evenings will be filled with entertainment and lots of jamming.“

Ready to sign-up? Then hightail it on over to The Portland Uke Fest home page. Registration begins February 15th (that’s the day after Valentine’s Day.. no excuses that you were busy that day).

It’s here again! It’s the New York Uke Fest! Pack your bags and head to the Villiage area in Manhattan to have yourself one heck of a time. Will there be performers? Oh yeah! Will there be vendors? Oh yeah! Will there be open mics? Oh yeah! Will there be drunken debauchery? Hard for me to say.. if I get to go, I’ll have my 3 year old with me!

Here’s a taste of who will be performing (in no particular order).

Victoria Vox
Moonlighters
John King
Craig Robertson
NY Ukulele Ensemble
Fabulous Heftones
Sazerac and his Genial Orleanians
Fred Fallin
Jim and Liz Beloff
Joel Eckhaus Ham & Legs
Kelli Rae Powell
Tim Sweeney

Ok.. ’nuff drooling! Get your tickets, get your travel arrangements and get yourself to the NY Uke Fest! For more info, surf the wild web over to www.nyukefest.com.