Loads of Fun at Summer Solstice Jam

Per my earlier post, we had a great day of ukulele performances on Monday at Union Square as part of Make Music NY - the Ukulele Mass Appeal. Below are videos of some of my favorite performances:

Strum in the Summer Solstice (June 21) with Make Music NY - Ukulele Mass Appeal

Make Music NY and the NY Ukulele Salon strum in the summer solstice with a four-hour concert and play-along with some of the best performers on the NY uke scene.


Make Music NY celebrates its 4th year with more than 1,000 concerts around the city, along with similar events in hundreds of other cities. The "Mass Appeal" concerts feature lovers of specific instruments, and this year they've asked the NY Ukulele Salon to organize the uke gathering.

We have a great location: Union Square, as part of the Green Market (northeast corner of the park).

The event is a Monday, so it starts at 4pm and continues till dark. Fun for kids of all ages.

Each featured act gets 3 songs, including one for audience participation, so bring your ukes!

Please spread the word via Facebook, email, Twitter, spoken voice, etc.

Here's the lineup of performers:

4PM
Rick Bruner
D'yan Forrest
Ken "Bari" Murray
Sarah King
Les Chauds Lapins

5PM
Bliss Blood
Dana McCoy
Leslie Chase & David Sands
Jon Braman
Amity Rose

6PM
Josh Bisker
Evy Mayer
The Ukemen
Carlos Molina
The Suaverinos

7PM
Uncle Zac
No Soap Radio
Roger Greenawalt
Peter Stampfel
The Edukated Fleas
Jamie Scandal

See here for more details about Make Music NY - Mass Appeal.

It's Uke Fest!

Hey, it's crazy, Uke Fest is on, and I haven't been updating to any of my blog or Twitter accounts to plug it.

I'm actually frantically preparing right now for a workshop I'm going to teach at the Fest, on using the Internet to promote your uke obsession, and I look at this site, and the last post is a few weeks old and no mention of the Fest! Argg.

One of my key lessons is this: all this Internet promotion stuff takes time!

But that's just me making excuses. The important thing is come on over to the fest. Tune into the Fest's Twitter account and blog. I'll mostly post to Twitter during the Fest and catch up on the blog afterwards. Where is my darn Flip camera?!

This Week in NYC Ukulele: Del Rey; Cabaret; Uke Hut

Here's a quick update of some fun NYC uke happenings in the coming days:

* Del Rey at Jalopy, tomorrow, Thursday, April 29

Tomorrow night, if you can make it, you should really go see Del Rey at Jalopy (Yelp page) in Red Hook. She's a terrific uke blues player, constantly touring performer and teacher. Opening act is the Second Fiddles, featuring friend of the Uke Salon, Trip Henderson. 

* Ukulele Cabaret, this Friday, April 30, 8pm - midnight

P&G Bar, 380 Columbus Ave @ 78th St

Last NY Ukulele Cabaret before the summer off (though naked cabarets at some beach town is rumored; ask Ted and Jason for details). Same new home of the cabaret, P&G Bar. Performers this Friday include Adrienne Patino, Andru Cann, Bedroom Community, Claudia Goddard, D'yan Forest, Duncan Pflaster, Howie Leifer, J. Walter Hawkes, Jon Braman, Lisa Gardner, Makalina, Mary Martin, Moose Karloff, Reggie Wingnutz, Roberto Buscarsi, The Snakeoilers, Supergood, Sweet Soubrette, and The War Ponies. 

* Ukulele Hut: Whistling Wolves, Friday, April 30, 7:30pm

Also, a reminder of the hottest new scene in NY uke life, The Uke Hut. Fest organizer Ken Murray's lastest venture into uke madness, the Uke Hut, is open every Friday and Saturday nights in the cellar lounge of Maui Taco, 330 5th Ave (between 32nd & 33rd). See details and performance listings at UkeHut.com and follow the Hut on Twitter @UkeHut and Friend us on Facebook.

This Friday night, one of my favorites, Whistling Wolves, featuring the two-time World Whistling Champion Emily Eagen and ace harmonica player Trip Henderson, both of whom also sing and play uke. The full Whistling Wolves include a larger band, but they'll be debuting at the hut from 7:30 on Friday as a duet. 

* NY Uke Fest

Just another reminder, if you haven't got your tickets yet for the NY Uke Fest, May 12-16, don't delay! It's gonna be fabulous.

Uke Night with The Moonlighters, Sweet Soubrette, Rick Bruner and Jamie Scandal

Yay! I'm hitting the big time! I'm performing in the 10pm hour at the great Brooklyn music venue Barbes (376 Ninth Street @ Sixth Avenue, Park Slope; here's a map) along with Sweet Soubrette and Jamie Scandal, as the opening act for Bliss Blood and The Moonlighters.

RSVP on Facebook!

Thanks Bliss!

'Bay Mir Bistu Sheyn' by Doctor Uke & Daughters

The Doctor is in; and his lovely daughters are harmonizing assistance.

I'm a huge fan of what they now call Doctor Uke & Daughters; previously known as Pride & Joy & Dad, or, as I think of them, the Rosokoff Family Band.

Jim Rosokoff is indeed a doctor (a dermatologist) and has served the ukulele community valiantly over the years with his DoctorUke.com site full of instructional materials and uke song arrangements. His daughters Sylvie and Jacqueline are as charming as they are musically talented. Their three voices meld perfectly, and his arrangements are quite snappy. You couldn't ask for much more in a modern day ukulele band.

Not surprisingly, their videos are quite popular among my uploads of various NY uke scene talent. Maybe we'll turn them into the next Zee Avi or Julian Nunez or at least SweetAfton23.

Here is their terrific version of "Bei Mir Bistu Shein" at the March 2010 NY Ukulele Cabaret at P&G Bar last Friday, complete with a verse in the original Yiddish:

Ukulele Cabaret next Friday, March 26, in NEW LOCATION

The Ukulele Cabaret is back again, March 26th, but at a new location, the P&G Bar on the Upper West Side. The Cabaret's former home in the East Village was nice but not big enough for it's overflow crowd. The famous P&G Bar itself recently moved into its new 2,700-square-foot home that features a separate performance space.

The Cabaret's hosts Sonic Uke write:

For those of you who have not experienced the Ukulele Cabaret, you are in for a treat. Leave your expectations at the door. Dozens of ukulele performers will wow you with everything from rock to opera; punk to glam; Hawaiian to Maori; mod to new wave; Beatles to Bach; country to vaudeville; sleazy to sexy; crooners to comedy; folk to metal; experimental to just down right mental.

From seasoned professionals to daring new performers, the Ukulele Cabaret is a breading ground for new and surprising acts.

Here's the line up:


8:00 PM
Lisa Gardner
Roberto Buscarsi
John Raido
Karl Schmitt
Carl Carrara

9:00 PM
Dr. Uke and Daughters
Howie Leifer
Educated Flea
Rick Bruner
Alex Sarmiento

10:00 PM
Jamie Scandal
Reggie Wingnutz
Alan Drogin
Sarah King
Moose Karloff

11:00 PM
Sonic Uke with Sweet Soiubret and Dolan Byrnes
Bedroom Community
The Ukemen
Carmen Borgia
Jason Maniscalco
Hot Time Harv and his Rollercoster of Kicks


P&G Bar
380 Columbus Avenue, at 78th Street
212-724-2363

Details: Sonic Uke and Ukulele Cabaret: 646-257-3747