A fantastic group of ukulele aficiandos and novices alike got together on a rainy spring evening to enjoy strumming and singing together. As always, we kicked things off with Bob Marley’s “Three Little Birds.” Afterward, Bob led the group in learning some fun strumming patterns as we played and sang Lady Gaga’s 2011 megahit “The Edge of Glory.” It was an unfamiliar song for some, but after a bit of practice, the group sounded like they’d been singing along with Lady Gaga for years!

You can download the lyrics and chords for “The Edge of Glory” or download a copy of the presentation (what we project up on the wall for all to follow along).

As always, we enjoyed a wonderful variety of talented folks during the open mic portion of the eve – a hearty thank you to Janet, Kevin Carroll and his Ukestra, Anna and John, Richard, Sho, Walter and Helen for their terrific performances.

Additionally, we’d like to thank the talented Jacob Borshard for bringing fantastic silk screen prints of the upcoming “Uketania Forever” showcase, along with 3D glasses to use with the image. We hope to see you all on March 31st at the Sahara Lounge!

And, of course, we look forward to seeing everyone on Thursday, April 14th, back here for our monthly get-together.

For more downloadable music, visit our Ukulele Music Library. For more Austin Ukulele Society videos, check out our YouTube Channel.

Contact Us if you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list!

A fantastic group of over 130 ukulele players got together to strum and sing a tunes during the Valentine’s week meeting. In keeping with our February meeting tradition, we focused on songs about love. Bob led us all in learning to strum and harmonize on the Beatles’ “She Loves You.” We also enjoyed the chance to revisit February 2013’s song “L.O.V.E” and another classic Beatles amorous tune, “Eight Days a Week.”

You can download the lyrics and chords for “She Loves You” or download a copy of the presentation (what we project up on the wall for all to follow along).

The group was treated to some great open mic performance songs, including a few great picks for Valentine’s week. A special thanks to Betty; Jay, Nancy and Raj; Kathy and Bill; Ian and Vince for sharing their talent with us.

Please join us on Thursday, March 10th, for our next meeting! 🙂

For more downloadable music, visit our Ukulele Music Library. For more Austin Ukulele Society videos, check out our YouTube Channel.

Contact Us if you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list!

Members new and old gathered on a warm January evening to kick off the sixth year of the Austin Ukulele Society’s monthly meetings. At our first meeting back in January 2011, we had about 15 attendees, and at our January 2016 meeting, there were over 150! We have grown exponentially and love every minute of bringing together ukulele players of all ages and backgrounds.

Everyone enjoyed paying tribute to the one and only Frank Sinatra, who would’ve turned 100 years old in December, by learning to play and sing one of the standards he made famous, “Fly Me To the Moon.” Bob helped the group add some swingin’ style that would’ve made Ol’ Blue Eyes proud, with creative pauses and ‘doo-be doo-be dos.’ The group also enjoyed revisiting “Margaritaville” as well as our usual warm-up and closing songs, “Three Little Birds” and “On the Road Again.”

You can download the lyrics and chords for “Fly Me To the Moon” or download a copy of the presentation (what we project up on the wall for all to follow along).

As usual, the open mic portion of the evening impressed all, with a Tuesday Ukulele Group (TUG) ensemble performance of a ‘THE John Davenport’ original tune, an excellent cover of “Man of Constant Sorrow” by Ian, a TUG trio (Nancy, Jay and Raj) performance of “Bye, Bye Blackbird,” a sweet original ode to a best friend who’d passed by Richard, and great covers of Destiny’s Child by Matt and Steve Winwood by our leader, Bob. 🙂
  
      

We look forward to seeing you all at our next meeting on Thursday, February 11th! 🙂

For more downloadable music, visit our Ukulele Music Library. For more Austin Ukulele Society videos, check out our YouTube Channel.

Contact Us if you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list!

Merry Christmas, Mele Kalikimaka, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noël, and Frohe Weihnachten! The Austin Ukulele Society’s December 10, 2015 meeting kept a great tradition going with our 5th (!) Annual Holiday Potluck and Jam at Susan and Ted’s lovely South Austin home. We enjoyed the chance to chat with old and new friends, eat and drink, and play ukulele music together!

        
  

  
  
We sang and played our holiday favorites. You can download a copy of our “Holiday Song Book” with the lyrics and chords for Christmas songs we’ve played together over the years. You can also strum along with us!

Here we are at our November meeting, playing the Hawaiian/hapa-haole classic “Mele Kalikimaka” with a touch of “Jingle Bells” added in for jolly good measure.
We look forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting on Thursday, January 14th, 6:30–9:00pm as we kick off our 6th year together!!

The Austin Ukulele Society had a fabulous evening at the November meeting, as attendance reached an all-time high of around 150 players of all ages. All enjoyed the warm vibes of a Hawaiian-themed evening, as we learned “Mele Kalikimaka,” the way to say (and play and sing) Merry Christmas in Hawaiian. Additionally, we enjoyed revisiting and recording a lovely rendition of “What a Wonderful World” in the style of the late great ukulele master and vocalist Israel “Iz” Kamakawiwo’ole.

You can download the lyrics and chords for “What a Wonderful World” or download a copy of the presentation (what we project up on the wall for all to follow along).

We were all thrilled to be treated to a variety of musical styles and tunes during the open mic portion of the evening; a big thanks to Kevin Carroll’s Ukestra, Erin, Betty, Elizabeth, and Nancy and Jay!

We’re also very excited to announce that a fresh batch of Austin Ukulele Society t-shirts is here, with a brand new design for 2015!! Available now for $15!

We look forward to toasting the holiday season with you at our December potluck and strum-a-long Thursday, December 10, at Susan and Ted’s home in South Austin. Email austinukes @ gmail dot com for more information, if you are not already on our email list. 🙂

For more downloadable music, visit our Ukulele Music Library. For more Austin Ukulele Society videos, check out our YouTube Channel.

Contact Us if you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list!

The Austin Ukulele Society had a sp-uke-tacularly great October meeting! 🙂 We conjured the Halloween spirit by learning to play the “Time Warp” – the rockin’ hit from the cult classic film “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” – as well as revisiting “Monster Mash.”

Members thrilled us by wearing costumes from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and other colorful accessories. You can download the lyrics and chords for the “Time Warp” or download a copy of the presentation (what we project up on the wall for all to follow along).

As always, we were treated to great talent during the open mic portion of the evening, which included some Halloween-inspired tunes as well as less terrifying tales of dreaming and love. A special thanks to TUG (the Tuesday Ukulele Group), John, Charlie and Brock, Kathy Murray and Bill “Monster” Jones, Mardi, and Alex.

We look forward to keeping the seasonal holiday spirit going at our next meeting Thursday, November 12! 🙂

For more downloadable music, visit our Ukulele Music Library. For more Austin Ukulele Society videos, check out our YouTube Channel.

Contact Us if you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list!

As most of you know, our monthly meetings feature an ‘open mic’ portion of the evening, and we are always inspired by all of the great talent displayed. In fact, that is why the Austin Ukulele Society is pleased to host another Ukulele Open Mic Night on Wednesday, September 30th!

The venue is the fabulous Rattle Inn, at 610 Nueces St. in Austin, right at the corner of West 6th Street and Nueces.

Here’s a flyer to download, if you’d like to display it or help spread the word!

We’ll have sign-up from 7:00 until 7:30pm, with performances running from 7:30 to 9:30pm. If you would like to participate, please plan to have 1 or 2 songs prepared. We’re keeping the limit to 1 or 2 songs to ensure everyone has a chance to perform. If there’s time, we’ll start the list over for those who would like to share an additional song. 🙂

If you’d rather not play, then just come out for a cool beverage and a great show!

There is no cover charge, and there is free/metered street parking after 6:00pm on Wednesdays. The Rattle Inn serves great drinks, has a good taco truck adjacent to it, and you can bring food in. 🙂 All of that plus an evening of ukulele music – who could ask for more?

We look forward to seeing as many of you as can make it out to perform or support ukulele music in Austin, on Wednesday, September 30th, at the Rattle Inn!

Also, with October just around the corner, we also hope to see you at our upcoming monthly meeting on Thursday, October 8th! Details coming soon!

A little thunder and lightning couldn’t stop the Austin Ukulele Society’s meeting of 100+ ukulele players of all ages and levels, from places as far as Waco and with folks so new that they bought ukuleles on the way to the meeting. 🙂 We enjoyed kissing the hottest days of the Texas summer goodbye by learning to sing, strum, and pick Don Henley’s 1980s hit “The Boys of Summer“. You can download the lyrics and chords for “The Boys of Summer” or download a copy of the presentation (what we project up on the wall for all to follow along).

Not only did the September meeting attendees have a terrific time playing together, but they all enjoyed the talents displayed by our various open mic participants – Vince, Cranius, Richard, Walter, Jennifer, Ross and Woody – to boot.

We look forward to our next meeting on October 8, where we are sure to get the Halloween spirit going! 🙂

For more downloadable music, visit our Ukulele Music Library. For more Austin Ukulele Society videos, check out our YouTube Channel.

Contact Us if you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list!

The Austin Ukulele Society had a fabulous August meeting with a record-setting turnout of nearly 140 ukulele enthusiasts. 🙂 Everyone enjoyed learning to sing and strum the well-loved classic hit, “Ripple,” as we commemorated the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Grateful Dead. A special thanks to Charley for sharing the inspiring Playing for Change version of this song and to Gary for providing the tempo on his upright bass. You can download the lyrics and chords for “Ripple” or download a copy of the presentation (what we project up on the wall for all to follow along).

Our ukulele enthusiasts also enjoyed revisiting the fabulous “Wagon Wheel,” as well playing warm-up and closing songs “Three Little Birds” and “On the Road Again.”

We were lucky and privileged to enjoy a wealth of talent on a variety of covers and originals during the open mic portion of the evening – much appreciation to Janet, Cranius, Richard Haas, Bill and Kathy, Cindy, Richard Walters, Jack, and Kevin with his students.

We look forward to seeing you all again for some great ukulele music on September 10th! 🙂

For more downloadable music, visit our Ukulele Music Library. For more Austin Ukulele Society videos, check out our YouTube Channel.

Contact Us if you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list!

The Austin Ukulele Society’s July meeting definitely left us all in awe (awe, awe) as a record-breaking 115 members had a blast playing Katy Perry’s 2010 mega-hit “Firework.” Bob introduced alternate strumming and vocal variations which made the song both interesting to learn and fun to play. You can download the lyrics and chords for “Firework” or download a copy of the presentation (what we project up on the wall for all to follow along).

Our ukulele enthusiasts also enjoyed revisiting their February/Valentine’s Day tune, Sam Cooke’s “Cupid,” as well playing warm-up and closing songs “Three Little Birds” and “On the Road Again.”

The open mic portion of the meeting was an absolute treat, as we heard a variety of songs played by Liam, Luke, Anna, Leta and her Australian friend, Jennifer, and Alyssa. And the talented Elaine introduced us to the fabulous Swagerty Treholipee!

The second Thursday of the month truly is a wonderful chance to make and hear great ukulele music with our Austin area friends, and we look forward to the August 13th meeting! 🙂

For more downloadable music, visit our Ukulele Music Library. For more Austin Ukulele Society videos, check out our YouTube Channel.

Contact Us if you have any questions or would like to be added to our mailing list!