No. 51, Winter 2025

 

Aaron Keim spotlights roots music legend Del Rey and explores her special relationship with her one-of-a-kind Ron Phillips resonator uke.

 

Elsewhere, Jim D’Ville tells the story of how 30 members of the Buckeye Ukulele Society ended up onstage with Irish band Gadan; Nicolas Grizzle examines the process of commissioning a custom ukulele; Sandor Nagyszalanczy shares some visually pleasing but not-so-great-sounding Jefferson brand fiberboard ukes from his extensive collection; Will Grove-White tells the story of performing for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle; and more

 

In the lessons and songs department, Daniel Ward teaches the harmonic minor scale through his etude “Estudio Menor Armónica;” Marcy Marxer shows how inversions of chords can reveal fresh sounds and open up the fretboard; Victoria Vox re-creates the Beatles’ classic “Eleanor Rigby”; and Christopher Davis-Shannon breaks down a rousing arrangement of the Tom Lehrer hit “So Long, Mom.”

 

Also inside are a report from the Strathmore UkeFest, Eddie Scher’s review of the Ohana SK-270M Super Soprano, a photo essay recalling the time the Wilson Sporting Goods company branched out into ukulele production, and an interview with Kauai-based furniture maker turned luthier Tomas Braverman. And More...