Tampa Bay Ukulele Society's Annual Getaway Festival

Tampa Bay Ukulele Getaway has come and gone.  What a weekend! What a line up!  What a concert!

Craig Chee and Sarah Maisel This was sweet, jazzy, and harmonies were ethereal! I must say I teared up at the lyrics, the vocals and the exceptional playing of the Ukulele.  The workshop they gave was so awesome for all levels.  I found myself practicing much of what they taught throughout the days following the session!  They filled in at the last minute for a cancellation of performer, Hal Manitoba!  We were all thrilled that they were able to swing by and be a part of this festival again!

Stuart Fuchs What can I say? Stuart Fuchs has become a dear friend of mine.  The versatility of this performer is mind boggling!  Running the gamut from Jazz, Gypsy, Formby, Vamp, Rock A Billy, he kept us guessing as to what he would do next!  The Brazilian/Latin pieces were exquisite! Classically, there is none to compare, but pair that with a spiritual take on performing and throw in Didgeridoo, and you have an experience bordering on ZenErgy!   That is a word I made up to explain Stu to all my peeps!! ZenErgy!!! His workshop is still being talked about today on Facebook. Everyone LOVED this workshop!

Danielle Ate The Sandwich Then! OMG!  LOL.  This girl of whom I honestly didn't know a great deal about, just stole our hearts!  Her lyrics were honest and soul searching, and irreverent at times!  I LOVED IT!  Here we have someone who seems so natural and confident, and funny and sure and true, AND, what a vocalist and ukest!  I honestly didn't know what to expect but I am SO glad I got to experience her workshop and performance in person!  She is also very delightful in person, with a relaxed demeanor, and upon meeting her, you feel like you've known her and have been friends all your lives.  Def want to see this performer again!

Aldrine Guerrero  Shut The Door!!!!  What a go give spirit this guy has!  And to top off his humble soft spoken personality, add the driven expertise of a heavy metal Shimabukuro looping monster talented Uke-Al-Alien! Aldy G blew the roof off of the Concert with a feverish build up to a finale that NO ONE WILL EVER FORGET!  His hand was moving so fast at the end, that I literally couldn't see it anymore!  He had about 20 (or so it seemed) amazing loops going together that had us standing and screaming at the end when he raised his hands and just let all that music sink in as it played on without him!  O. M. G.  Workshop was awesome with finger exercises, (that we were so happy to do, lol, cause that didn't hurt or stretch our hands at all, no, no, it was so kind to show us that we needed to do this every time we are going to practice! LOL), and again, referring to Ukulele Underground, we can  continue to build and grow our skills!  

Overall, it was a spectacular weekend, with the exclamation point on awesome fun being Mike Hind, the MC for Tampa Bay Ukulele Getaway!  More on him and his unbelievable journey on another post!  Needless to say, don't know what it would be without him!  He is so very much a part of this festival, and this Bermudian is one heck of a Floridian!!  LOL

A big thanks to all the volunteers and the committee for all the hard work and planning that went into giving us the Super  Sized Fun Weekend of a lifetime!  Jay Nunes and the whole committee are to be applauded for this fantastic line up and a seamless three days that will be memorable for all who attended!

 Also, the vendors this year as always, they Brought IT!  Perfect selection and blends from each vendor, Augustino LoPrinzi ,  Uke Republic , Mainland Ukulele , Rhythm Inlet Ukulele , Dixie Ukulele  and none other than Mim's Ukes
A big thank you to all the vendors and your family and friends who came and helped everyone take home new babies, and helped with set ups and strap pegs etc.  Also for all the donations for the raffles!  So many happy ticket holders!
  Next years plans are already in the works and TBUG is going to the BEACH!  YAY!!!!  More on THAT later too!  
Ever Yours, 30s Uke Girl, Norine Mungo

 

South Tampa Ukulele Jam

South Tampa Ukulele Jam starts in 1 month!  Jan Platt Library has opened its doors and arms to embrace the Ukulele!  Starting on July 18th, at 1:30 pm, South Tampa Jam re-ignites its engines and rolls out music every 3rd Saturday!  

Just like before, STJ will always have a theme each month, and per tradition, will have a mic and a P A set up so that invited performers can also perform for the group.  

In the past, we've had some amazing performances from the Tampa Bay Ukulele Society members.  I am looking forward to this new journey within the library system, and hope that all of the members love the new venue too!  

We are rolling out the first jam at Jan Platt with the theme, "Elvis is IN THE HOUSE"!   23 songs, 12 are in the key of C, many are three to four chords and some are challenging.  There will be something for every level of player.  We might even have a power point to put the music up on a screen.  Now that would be cool!  

I will be hosting the jam with my band mates, Vinny Mungo, Rick Alley and Pete Spera.  Our ukulele band is called Reenee and The Rollers.  Reenee comes from my name, NoREEN, (actually spelled Norine, but for the sake of pronunciation, I give you the traditional spelling. Reen, Reenee!  We play originals and rock n roll with Tenor Ukes, Baritone Uke, Bass Uke, and Cajoun!  Well practiced, we are working hard to make your jams seamless and energetic!  

See you all in a month!  The countdown starts now!  Ever yours, 30s Uke Girl, Norine Mungo

Tampa Bay Ukulele Getaway lineup announced!

Holy Cow!  The line up for the 2015 Getaway is Stupendous!  I'll post videos from the various artists as time permits.  The tickets will disappear the moment they open the gates on July 1st Midnight!  Manitoba Hal, Stuart Fuchs, Danielle Ate The Sandwich, Aldrine Guerrero, and MC Mike Hind will perform concerts and conduct workshops in the November extravaganza! I can hardly wait.  I'll post when I get done with all my events.  Lots of great bios on the TBUG Site!!!  Ever, 30s Uke Girl.

Tampa Bay Ukulele Society Library Lending Program rolling out May 26th 2015

That's right boys and girls, the Tampa Bay Ukulele Society has been growing exponentially over the last two years and now tips over the 800 member mark.  People from all over the continental USA as well as those from Europe and beyond are joining up with Florida's West Coast Ukulele group.  Based in the Tampa Bay Area, with events just about every week in many parts of 4 counties, TBUS has made an impact in the community and is ready to Give Back!

The Library Lending program is just another example of the TBUS non profit outreach to those who might not either have the funds to buy and learn the ukulele, or might think that they wouldn't be able to play the instrument.  The program includes workshops at a multitude of libraries spanning the counties of Hillsborough and Pinellas.  Dignitaries and news media plan to attend the first workshops which will be held on May 30th at two libraries in each county.  The workshop for the trainers will be held on May 26th in Clearwater and you can get information from the site on the locations.   The Tampa Bay Ukulele Society link will take you to the meetup.com site where events are posted for the membership.

The society is still taking donations of Ukuleles and funds to buy Ukuleles to place in the libraries with books, tuners, and gig bag.  The workshops will have multiple ukuleles on hand for the attendees and the workshops are free to the public.  The format will be simple and easy for the beginner who might not have ever picked up any instrument in their life. This is amazing folks! So, if you are of a mind to help out, or you have so many ukuleles that you might want to part with some that would help others out, please contact the society and they will welcome your generosity as will the libraries.   Organizers to contact are Jay Nunes, Cosmo Sagristano, and Tom Hood.

 This is such a go give moment and we hope that our example and those of other ukulele groups who have rolled out these programs to the libraries, will catch fire across the country.  If you are reading this from afar, you might want to find out how to roll this out in YOUR neck of the woods.

As always, Happy Strumming and all that, 30s Uke Girl