Favourite video this month comes from Keston Cobblers’ Club. There seem to be more cobblers in the club with each new video. Not that I’m complaining. They make a lovely noise. Also this week Lil’ Rev busting out some of his 101 licks with Dominator, Francesca Belcourt in the snow and Nicholas Abersold with my […]

Something a little different this week. Rather than ukes, I thought I’d post some videos from the uke’s ancestral home: Madeira. Most of the videos feature uke-related instruments (braguinha/machete/rajao) and two guys: Roberto Moritz and Roberto Moniz(you should subscribe to them). Both members of Madeira’s top traditional band Xarabanda. It’s very interesting to see the […]

Official ukulele video of the year winner is Manitoba Hal. More on that next week. But this week there’s a new one from him and looks like a strong contender for this year’s contest. Also this week a glorious song from Seryn (those indicoustic bands do like to hang out in gloomy rooms), rawuke covering […]

Two nominees for last year’s video of the year in this week’s selection (be sure to cast your vote if you haven’t yet). But the act that caught my attention (thanks to Humble Uker) was the Talilele Ukulele Orchestra from Kobe. They’re stretching the instruments used and creating a massive sound. Also this week Uke’s […]

Voting Closed The nominations are in and there’s a big shock already, after the last two years of fluffy winners, all this year’s nominees are human (with the possible exception of Jonsi). Other than that, it’s a good mixture of stuff running from virtuoso performances to strums, big groups to solos, international superstars to bedroom […]

Darren Hayman went against the grain and spent January recording one track every day. A few of them featured ukuleles but not the one I’ve chosen. I’ve bent the rules to allow my favourite of the month: a tenor guitar song with Elizabeth ‘Allo Darlin‘ Morris. Another of his duets was with Helen Arney who […]

I don’t know how it’s possible but there was a genre of banjolele-heavy music that had completely passed me by until now: quelbe (or fungi), a cousin of calypso and mento from the Virgin Islands. From the US Virgin Islands, the Ten Sleepless Knights are a Quelbe band (Virgin Island’s cousin of calypso and mento). […]

Plenty of videos to choose from over the break. The most striking is Amanda Palmer returning to her outrageous (and NSFW) best with a new style and a welcome ode to big muffs from her new album. Also up General Fiasco (looking dapper in their Burberry makeovers), Uni with the least Uni-like song title you […]

That’s it from me for another year. I’ll be back on 21st January. Until then be sure to keep the true meaning of Christmas in your hearts with, “Drinking, noise and games and dice, appointing of kings and feasting of slaves, singing naked, clapping of frenzied hands, an occasional ducking of corked faces in icy […]

Starting off today with two Beefheart uke covers. I would have included more but those seem to be the only two. This week’s most striking video comes from Taimane Gardner who busts out some fire dancers, Venetian masks and her phaser for what she modestly describes as a “masterpiece in the making”. I haven’t decided […]