May 11, 2017: Radioactive!

On a muggy Austin night, despite thunderstorms and hail warnings, over 120 strummers and singers from all over the Austin area (and visiting from as far as California!) joined us for a fantastic May meeting! We kicked off with some local ukulele news, including sharing a great article about the Austin Ukulele Society in Texas Music magazine’s Spring 2017 issue (written by AUS member Richard Walters). We then paid tribute to the late, great Bob Marley (on the 36th anniversary of his untimely passing) by opening our meeting with a cheery cover of “Three Little Birds.” After that, Bob introduced our song of the month – Imagine Dragons’ 2012 mega-hit “Radioactive” – by playing it for us and taking us through some chord progression exercises and harmonizing options. Bob’s exercises helped us sound really great right from the start, and we got better each time we practiced it. Check it out:

To play along with us, you can download the lyrics and chords for “Radioactive” or download a copy of the presentation and instruction guide (what we project on the screen for all to follow along, including exercises and drills).

During the Open Mic portion of the evening, we were treated to a great variety of talented performers doing covers and originals in both duets and solos, by Sho H and Shin, John, Alicia, Jack Pott, and Bob and Cindy.