Classes, Workshops & Jams – Oh My!

As we transition seasons, I’m excited to announce a new term of weekly ukulele classes, monthly songwriting workshops, and regular jams – all offered online *and* in person here in Portland, Oregon! Read through some brief descriptions below, browse the Shop, and/or check out the Event Calendar to find the best options for you.

Weekly Classes

Ukestra Ensemble
Ukulele Theme Study: The Music of Hawaii

I really enjoy the opportunity I have as a teacher to share my expertise and provide meaningful learning experiences for my students, as well as to learn right along with them! This term, we’ll be learning together about The Music of Hawaii. As I followed the news of August wildfires on Maui, and processed my own thoughts and feelings about it from a distance, I realized I hadn’t yet truly investigated the ukulele’s relationship to Hawaiian culture and history. It’s time! I hope you’ll join me. Ukulele Theme Study of The Music of Hawaii. We’ll study a mix of popular Hawaiian songs, as well as traditional music and lesser known writers from Hawaii. It’s mixed level, so advanced beginners through experienced players are welcome! Click here to learn more and register to attend on Zoom or live in person.

Ukestra (Ukulele Ensemble)

We had a really nice monthly group of ukulele instrumentalists meeting monthly earlier this year. This term, we’ll met every week! This class is best suited for those who are familiar with reading music notation and/or tablature on the ukulele, and are eager to play with others in different parts. In other words, as in an orchestra, we will play instrumental pieces of music with a melody, harmony, and bass part, and perhaps others. The music we play mostly includes traditional music from various traditions (e.g. Shenandoah), along with instrumental arrangements of popular songs (e.g. God Bless the Child). Click here to learn more and register to attend, in-person only.

Workshops

Beyond Beginner Ukulele Workshop Series (Weekly)

It’s fairly easy for some folks to pick up the ukulele and get themselves started. However, at some point, everyone needs a bit more guidance, perhaps some accountability,  and the fun and support of a community to get them to the next level of their playing. This weekly Beyond Beginner Ukulele Workshop Series is designed to help players get beyond the feeling of being on a “beginner’s plateau”. Over the course of 8 weeks, we’ll cover rhythm, ear training, how to sing and play at the same time, and instrumental music for ukulele, including how to read music and/or tablature. Register for any and all of four workshop topics, or purchase the whole package. Click here to learn more and register to attend, in-person only.

Songwriting Basics & Beyond Workshop Series (Monthly)

The creative process can be an inspiring, fulfilling, yet lonely journey. This songwriting workshop series is designed to support your individual writing experience in meaningful community with other songwriters. This Songwriting Basics & Beyond: Workshop Series introduces participants to the fundamental elements of songwriting, and explore different approaches to engaging with them. Each songwriting workshop will feature one of three elements: lyrics, music, and arrangement. We’ll study existing songs that offer interesting examples of each element, but we’ll spend most of our time working with prompts and invitations to engage with these elements more consciously in our own writing. Click here to learn more and register to attend, in-person only.

Ukulele Jams

Online Ukulele Jam

Monthly jams resume, both online and in person!

Online Ukulele Jams meet live on Zoom, 1:00-2:30pm on the following (mostly) 1st Saturdays: October 14, November 4, and December 2. Join my e-newsletter for full details, our 2023 Jam Songbook, and the Zoom link. Free and open to all, but donations are gratefully accepted here.

In-Person Ukulele Jams meet at Artichoke Music, 2:00-3:30pm on the following 3rd Saturdays: October 21, November 18, and December 16. Jam Songbook provided. $10 per person – registration link to come!

Whew!

So much musical fun coming our way. See you there! If you have any questions, please reach out to me any time.

New Ukulele! New Song!

The newest member of the family …

A couple of weeks ago, I went to pick up my new custom tenor ukulele from my friends Aaron, Nicole and Henry Keim (a.k.a. Beansprout Musical Instruments). I have been teaching and performing on ukulele long enough now, it was time to up my game and work with an instrument that I also want to work *for*, that will demand as much – if not more – of me as I will of it.

I knew Aaron would be the one to make whatever my next instrument would be. He is an expert craftsman, a deep listener of old records, and a curious soul ever on the journey, which means he’s the perfect bridge for this wood to travel from it’s latest iteration to its newest. Aaron works exclusively with salvaged wood that would otherwise be discarded. He knows where this wood has been, that it long preceded him and will long outlive him. A true artist, in every sense of the word.

I share a bit about the origin of the wood in the video below, but Aaron explains it best in the video he made on this gallery page on his website. Check it out, as well as the countless other instruments he’s made.

We went back and forth about how to describe the sound of this instrument. I know Aaron can get a bit nervous when an artist friend orders an instrument, whether they’ll like it, whether it will achieve the sound they were looking for. Truthfully, I think a lot of us don’t really know how to describe what we want, which can’t make his job easy. But I have not been able to keep my hands off this thing since I picked it up and I’ve realized that – intentionally or not – he’s achieved a sound in this instrument which is exactly what I strive for in my own voice: gentle, but full-bodied; breathy and pleasant, but present and with substance. Indeed, an instrument I will happily spend the years to come earning the right to play.

The newest selection from the repertoire …

What better way to celebrate a new instrument than with a new song! Earlier this summer, I taught at the Northwest session of the Cazadero Performing Arts Family Camp (a.k.a. Caz Northwest) and it was just the change of scenery and tempo I needed to write this little tune that had been swirling just below of the surface for me.

Oscar and I have been tearing through the series of children’s books about different science topics called The Magic School Bus. We started with dinosaurs, which was epic enough (did you know the dinosaurs lived for *hundreds* of *millions* of years?!), but went full throttle recently, reading The Magic School Bus: Lost in the Solar System and The Magic School Bus: Explores Human Evolution almost in tandem with each other, back and forth, back and forth.

One night, as I put him to bed, I said, “Goodnight, Boo. I love you to the moon and back!”

He responded, “I love you to moon, too, Mama. … But the sun is farther, isn’t it? I love you to the sun and back!” And so it went … to Jupiter … to Pluto … and finally: “I love you to the end of the sky and back, Mama!”

I turned out the light and thought to myself, we don’t actually know where the end of the sky is, do we? Or if there is even an end to the sky at all? And isn’t that exactly what love can feel like … you launch and there is no coming back.

The End of the Sky

You and I are the blink of an eye / Going round the sun, just a speck in the sky

Something so small can be something so big at the same time / I know why, I know why

Powers of ten, again and again, to the end of the sky and back to

You and I, going round the sun

Me and you, we got nothing to do / But pass the time as we pass on through

The days are too long, the years are too short at the same time / I know why, I know why

Ringing the bell, back down the well, to the very first cell and back to

Me and you, just passing the time

Hold on

Let go

How far does it go?

Powers of ten, again and again, to the end of sky

Follow the path, narrow and vast, but there’s no coming back from loving you

You and I … just passing on through, on this speck in the sky

Bike Tour 2023

Bike Tour Page

Blues and ragtime player Del Rey and I have enjoyed teaching together in the past (most recently at the Menucha Ukulele Band Camp in 2022. When we met up by bicycle last fall in Seattle, we hatched this idea for organizing a small tour … entirely by bike! It’s a bit proof-of-concept this first go around, but we are excited to learn and share the experience with you. Check out full details on this Bike Tour Page. Here are the basics:

  • Wednesday, July 12, 6-8pm – Show @ Wilsonville Amphitheater. Free, outdoors, all ages. 
  • Thursday, July 13, 7-8pm – Ukulele Blues (by Ear!) Jam @ Lincoln St. Church, Portland. Part workshop, part jam, come learn common blues patterns and popular blues standards *by ear* 🙂
  • Saturday, July 15, 7:30pm – Show @ Artichoke Music in a cozy acoustic setting. Option to take a Beginning Ukulele workshop with me, 1-3pm. The show will also be livestreamed here.

#TeachingTuesday No.10 ~ Women’s History Month!

Happy Women’s History Month! We had a great jam last Saturday, playing some of our favorite women songwriters (Missed it? Join us next month!)

YouTube Channel Theme: Women Songwriters

This week – and all month – I’ll be sharing ukulele tutorials on my YouTube Channel that feature women songwriters and moments in women’s history. In this week’s #TeachingTuesday – No. 10! – learn to play Stevie Nicks’ song Dreams, recorded by Fleetwood Mac in 1977. It’s just two chords! (Ok, three if you want…)

After watching through the tutorial above, keep learning with me!

International Womens Day Songwriter Showcase

In the intro to the tutorial, I mention my International Women’s Day Songwriter Showcase. That takes place this Friday, March 10, 7:00pm at Artichoke Music in Portland, OR. Please join us in person or via livestream, using the following links:

Who are YOUR favorite women songwriters?

As I continue to post tutorials and perhaps a few song studies this Women’s History Month, let me know who *your* favorite women songwriters / songs written by women are. Drop me a line here, I’d love to hear from you.

Avery Hill Songwriter Show ~ January 20

As an artist, there are ebbs and flows, phases and chapters, refrains and bridges … in other words, it’s rarely a straight path, but the good news is the path is always leading somewhere. Thus far in the pandemic, I’ve taken a step back from my work as Avery Hill the Songwriter, for a variety of reasons. Now, also for a variety of reasons, it’s time for Avery Hill the Songwriter to get back to work. 🙂

I would love to invite you to a different kind of a show… This Friday, January 20, 2023, I’ll be playing my first solo, two-set show in let’s just say a really long time. And A LOT has happened since the release of my last album in 2015. So, I’m going to be trying something a little different at this show…

Set 1 will feature a group of songs and stories that I will likely never perform together again. They are a tender group of songs that represent an important pivot point in my work as a songwriter. I’ll be honoring some important folks in my life, and also letting some of them go…

Set 2 will feature songs that point to new themes and questions in my writing. As I prepare to record my next album, I’ll be inviting YOU to be a part of the process of choosing which songs to include, which ones need a bit more work, and what additional themes and questions these songs seem to invite. I’m anxious to hear your thoughts and reflections!

You can attend in person, catch the livestream, or watch the livestream later. Thanks in advance for taking this risk with me – let’s have fun! 🙂

In-Person Tickets: https://artichokemusic.org/class.aspx?cls=875052

Livestream / Recording Link: https://www.youtube.com/@ArtichokeMusic/streams

It’s that time of year …

Happy New Year! As we turn the page into 2023, I have a new song to share! It’s quite a recent song, too; I wrote over the past several weeks of the holiday season. The working title for now is “It’s That Time of Year”.

As a performing artist who first started as a storyteller, I love a good story. I don’t care if it’s factual – as we say in our circles, every story has a truth. So, when the holiday season rolled around and my four-year-old started talking about Santa Claus and nothing else … I knew it was time for more stories.

Out they came: the Baby Jesus, the Maccabees, the Grinch, Ebenezer Scrooge, the Winter Solstice, and – one of my own childhood favorites – Amahl and the Night Visitors (those visitors would be the Three Kings). Every day, we read, sang, and talked about these different stories. We still talked about Santa, of course. We live in an apartment without a fireplace, so we had to figure out how to let him in! However, it was just one of many stories to tell on these dark nights in the Northern Hemisphere.

It was really fun to see how he made sense of these stories. He kept them close in his thoughts throughout the season. After Christmas Day, he asked regularly, “Where are the Wise Kings now? Are they talking to Herod yet? Or have they reached Amahl’s house already?”

According to the story, the kings will arrive in Bethlehem on January 6, also called Epiphany. I recently asked him if he thought the kings would have a gift for him, as well?

“No,” he replied plainly.

“Why not?” I asked, a bit surprised, I must admit. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy the idea of more gifts?

He looked at me confusedly and said, “Because I am not in Bethlehem, Mama.”

Of course, how could I be so silly …

I grew up in the Christian tradition of celebrating Christmas. However, I often wish we could integrate the stories told from all traditions this time of year. There is such richness to them! This year, in particular, I noticed how so many of these stories are about believing and trusting in something. Maybe it’s the magic oil keeping the temple lit longer than expected. Perhaps it’s a new king and symbol of divine love born in a barn. We all find ourselves needing that promise that warmth and life will return on the other side of winter …

Why do we believe these stories? Why do we tell them? Maybe it’s all the time I’ve spent with my son on this holiday break … I can’t help but wonder this year if believing in stories isn’t a crucial step toward believing in ourselves? How can we imagine what we want for our lives, without first learning to imagine in the first place?

Somewhere between these questions, wrapping gifts, watching snow fall, and doing way too many dishes, this song grew …

It’s That Time of Year

It’s that time of year, time for telling stories / Time for lighting candles, time for friends and family / Time to remember what we learned long ago / About the light, about the love, stories we’ve made our own

Some celebrate a baby, some look in darkness for the light / Some remember magic oil, some look for reindeer in the sky / May we remember, whatever stories we believe / We are the light, we are the love, we are the miracle we seek

I know times get hard, I know there is suffering / I know we need justice, and I know we can do something / I know stories may sound simple, but they’re not just tales we tell / We need the light, we need the love they show us in ourselves

May we remember the gift we all can give / The most important story is the one we choose to live / We are the love of a baby, we are the burning of the light / We are the ones who shine in darkness, we are the stars in the sky / We are the love, we are the light

It’s that time of year, time for telling stories …

Holiday Music for Ukulele

Happy Hanukkah! Happy Solstice! Merry Christmas! As I cozy up here between various holidays, watching an ice storm set in outside my window here, I’ve been playing a lot of holiday music for ukulele around here. We had the holiday version of our Ukulele Zoom Jam so early this year, I’ve missed making music with you all since then! So, I’ve included below a few tutorials and song charts to see you through the rest of the holiday season …

All of the songs below are from my YouTube Playlist of holiday music for ukulele, so feel free to hop on over there for more tutorials. Do you have a favorite holiday tune you can’t find? I love learning new music! Let me know here, and I’ll see if I can add it this holiday season, or next.

Ocho Kandelikas (Flory Jagoda)

Since learning this song last year, it’s quickly become one of my favorite Hanukkah songs. It’s got a great groove and is fairly easy to play with just three chords (though you could get away with two!), making it nice for beginners. Take a listen to Flory Jagoda’s original recording here, as well as Alisa Fineman’s arrangement here, which I used to create the song chart. Finally, just for fun, take a listen to Pink Martini’s fun performance, too.

Download the song chart here:

Light One Candle (Peter Yarrow)

Ok, THIS is my actual favorite Hanukkah song. I grew up around plenty of Jewish folks (thank you, Long Island, NY) but not in a Jewish family. As a result, I always knew about Hanukkah, but never really understood it. Until I heard this song. I still can’t get through the third verse without tearing up when I play it on my own. Listen to the original Peter, Paul and Mary recording here.

Download the song chart here:

Silent Night (Traditional)

As you’ll hear in the tutorial below, I speak German and have family and friends in Germany from when I lived there after attending college. So, I was especially excited this year to include Silent Night (originally written in German as “Stille Nacht”) in my #UkuleleHolidays YouTube Playlist. There are sooooo many recordings of this song, and it’s one of the most well-known Christmas songs, but my favorite recording has always been by John Denver and the Muppets, which also includes the story of its original writing and composition.

Download the song chart here:

If you’d like to learn the instrumental solo I included in the tutorial above, download the full instrumental notation and follow the tutorial below:

The Christians and the Pagans (Dar Williams)

Let us not forget the celebration of the Solstice! Whether you are celebrating the Winter or the Summer Solstice this month, I hope you’ll enjoy this tune about “finding faith and common ground the best that [we are] able…” Dar Williams is one of my favorite singer-songwriters and this is one of her best-loved songs, for good reason. Listen to her original recording here.

Download the song chart here:

More on the #UkuleleHolidays Playlist

As I mentioned above, you can find more holiday music for ukulele tutorials on my #UkuleleHolidays YouTube Playlist.

If you find my teaching style is a good fit for you, I encourage you to do three things:

  • Subscribe to my YouTube Channel. As you might guess, I don’t just post holiday music tutorials 🙂 … I’m actually launching a membership program in the New Year, and have lots of material to help you learn to play the ukulele.
  • Join our next Online Ukulele Jam. We meet 1st Saturdays, 1 – 2:30pm Pacific time, live on Zoom. Subscribe to my newsletter for the link and songbook, and we’ll hope to see you there soon!
  • Consider joining a class! I’ve got new weekly classes and monthly workshops beginning again in January 2023, both in person (Portland, OR) and online (self-paced and live). Check out this blog post for complete class details, or peruse my website shop for online classes.

Enjoy these tutorials and, once again, Happy Holidays! See you all in 2023 …

New Ukulele Classes & Workshops Begin January 2023

It’s hard to believe we are at another year’s end! I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season, whatever you may celebrate (or not celebrate, as the case may be). As for me, I’ve enjoyed baking cookies and singing carols with my son, getting out for walks in our brisk winter air, and – of course – planning for new ukulele classes in Portland and online!

As we prepare for a new year, I am reminded of the many new beginnings music offers us every day. I often tell my students music is a journey of “Choose Your Own Adventure”. There are so many elements of music to explore, you never really lose the feeling of being a beginner. And yet, no matter how long we go between practice sessions, the music is always there, ready and waiting whenever we return. Learning music is a relentless process, but I also like to think of it as relentlessly forgiving …

You may recall I took a break these past several months to work on my YouTube channel and prepare some self-paced online courses. I’m excited to return to weekly ukulele classes in Portland next month, both in person and online! Here are some short descriptions and links to get you started:

101: Ukulele For Beginners

Did you splurge on an ukulele over the holidays, or receive one as a gift? Or have you had one in the closet you are ready to dust off? This 8-week class will cover / review all the basics you need to know for early success in your ukulele playing.

IN PERSON: Thursday evenings, January 26 – March 23 at Artichoke Music in Portland, Oregon. Click here to register through their website.

ONLINE: I don’t currently have an online offering for this class – are you interested? Please fill out this 2-question survey to help me form an online cohort! 🙂

Theme Study: Ukulele Motown!

Stop! In the name of love! What’s goin’ on? I heard it through the grapevine…

I often teach a themed class each term that allows us to explore a certain genre / era / artist through the lens of our ukulele playing. This term, it’s all about the music of Motor City (Detroit) in the 1960s! We’ll learn popular favorites (referenced above…) and expand our musical skills and technique in the process.

IN PERSON: Thursday evenings, January 26 – March 23 at Artichoke Music in Portland, Oregon. Click here to register through their website.

ONLINE: Wednesday mornings or evenings (Pacific time), January 25 – March 22 live on Zoom. Also available as an email course. Click here to register through my website.

Instrumental: Ukestra / Ukulele Melodies

I’ve recently begun teaching more instrumental music for ukulele, both in person and online, as well. Because the pieces we play translate so differently when playing all together versus online, I offer two different workshops. However, the material often overlaps. In both cases, we focus on learning notes on the fretboard, how to read music notation and/or tablature, and maintaining good tone as our ukuleles sing!

IN PERSON UKESTRA: January 10 Intro to Ukestra Workshop, then 1st Tuesdays of the month at Artichoke Music in Portland, Oregon. Click here to register for Intro to Ukestra Workshop. Registration for regular monthly sessions open soon, so save the dates: February 7, March 7, April 4, May 2 and June 6.

ONLINE MELODIES WORKSHOPS: Saturday mornings (Pacific time), January 14, February 11 and March 11, live on Zoom and recorded for later review. Click here to register through my website.

Public Health Precautions

We here in Portland continue to live with not just one but various respiratory illnesses during our winter months. I’ve been to a variety of music events with different policies regarding masks. It’s been tough to decide on policies and precautions for myself and my own in person events, but I’ve decided that, in weekly classes and Ukestra workshops, masks will be very welcome, but not required. I’m still working with Artichoke Music to determine dates for our in person Ukulele Jam, which I’m hopeful to restart, as well. If and when we jam in person again, masks *will* be required, since we will be singing and projecting in a larger group of folks, less able to socially distance.

I realize this may affect your choice regarding participation at in person classes and workshops. If you’re at all hesitant, I encourage you to try one of the online offerings mentioned above.

Let’s make some music!

Thanks so much for your patience as I got all the logistics squared away here. Can’t wait to make music with you again in 2023 – I look forward to seeing you at an ukulele class in Portland and/or online soon!

Upcoming Ukulele Workshops

Ch-Ch-Changes

No matter what hemisphere you’re in, the seasons are changing. Here in Portland, Oregon, the sun is still shining but the mornings are chilly and the leaves are starting to crunch beneath my feet…

My usual format of classes is changing, too! I have an opportunity these next couple months to dig deep into my online presence as an ukulele teacher. This includes giving some much needed attention to my YouTube Channel, and launching a membership option for those interested in song charts and other extra resources; uploading material from 2-3 years worth of live classes into an online format for self-paced learners; and setting up a pattern for myself on engagement on social media. One thing I’ve learned about myself over the years is: I need BOOKS. CLEARED. to get started on a new project, so I can really immerse myself in the process and get some momentum going.

Weekly Classes: No. Ukulele Workshops: Yes!

As a result, I won’t be offering weekly ukulele classes this season. However, I’ll be offering a couple workshop series, both in person here in Portland and on Zoom (live / recorded). You know I can’t let you all go THAT easily 😉 Here’s a quick survey of what’s going on 1st and 3rd Saturdays, October – December 2022:

Ukestra & Ukulele Arrangements

I’ve long wanted to adapt materials I’ve taught in weekly classes for a regular workshop series of instrumental music for ukulele. This season offers us all the perfect opportunity to give it a try!

UKESTRA workshops are for those who want to play instrumental music IN PARTS with other players, like an Ukulele Orchestra (get it? Ukestra?!). We’ll meet IN PERSON here in Portland at Artichoke Music, 9:30-11:30am on 1st Saturdays. Each workshop will introduce a simple round to warm up with and learn / review musical notation. Then we’ll focus in on a traditional folk tune well suited for orchestration into different parts. There will be a part for everybody, including beginners and those just learning musical notation.

October 1: Frere Jacques / Shenandoah (Key of C)

November 5: Round TBA / Nine Hundred Miles (Key of Am)

December 3: Round TBA / Greensleeves (Key of D, Dorian mode – oooh!)

Register here through Artichoke Music and see you there!

UKULELE ARRANGEMENTS workshops are for those who want to play instrumental music SOLO at home in their practice, or in preparation for sharing in performance. We’ll meet LIVE ON ZOOM 3rd Saturdays, 10:00am-Noon PT, and also RECORD the workshop so anyone, anywhere, can join us. Each workshop will provide some warm up material and then focus on a solo arrangement of what the Ukestra workshop covered earlier in the month:

October 15: Shenandoah

November 12: Nine Hundred Miles

December 10: Greensleeves

I do recommend that participants are somewhat familiar with musical notation (tablature will also be provided), including the C scale on the ukulele. (If you’re not sure, send me a quick note and we can squeeze in a private lesson to get you caught up and squared away!)

Register here on my website for individual workshops or all three!

Beyond Beginner Ukulele Workshops

As ukulele players, at some point, we all get stuck on certain plateaus. This series of two workshops brings some variations to your STRUMMING and CHORDING to help you get past the feeling of being a constant beginner. We’ll use familiar songs as templates for working on new strumming and picking patterns, as well as different keys and inverted chords. We’ll also review how to choose the appropriate strum / picking pattern, key of chords, and chord shape variations for any song in your repertoire.

Both workshops are IN PERSON here in Portland, Oregon, at Lincoln St Methodist Church, 1:30-4:30pm.

October 15: Beyond Basic Strumming (click to register)

November 12: Beyond Basic Chord Shapes (click to register)

Have you subscribed to the newsletter?

If this is all a lot to take in, or you’re just not ready to make a decision yet, make sure you’re subscribed to my newsletter! It goes out no more than 2x/month with reminders of upcoming events. I keep it short and simple and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Hope to see you at an upcoming workshop! As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns.

In Person Ukulele Jams Are Back!

Folks, it’s been a loooooooong 2+ years and I HAVE MISSED YOU. Because I’ve been podded up with my elderly parents and my too-young-to-be-vaxxed child, I was slow to return to our in person ukulele jams. But I am telling you … I AM READY.

Remember when?

A large group of ukulele players gather at an ukulele jam hosted by Avery Hill.

In the “beforetimes”, I led monthly in person ukulele jams at local non-profit Artichoke Music here in Portland, Oregon. It was always a great chance to connect with others and choose the kind of challenges that felt right for each of us, wherever we were in our musical journeys.

I’m excited to say: IN PERSON JAMS ARE BACK !!

Ukulele Bike Jam – New Date: Saturday, August 20

Join us for a tour of Portland’s parks, making stops along the way to sing and play songs on our ukes that have (perhaps barely) something to do with our different stop locations. A great chance to meet other biking ukulele enthusiasts, explore our fair city, and put those learning-by-ear skills to the test (don’t bother trying to fit a music stand on your bike, ’cause I’m not bringing music!).

  • New Date: Saturday, August 20 – 5:30pm meet up at Colonel Summers Park, 6:00pm ride!
  • Register here to get all the important event details, including a sneak peek at our route and song choices.
  • Don’t forget to bring your bicycle and your ukulele!
  • Optional: Bring a friend!

Traditional Jams – July & August

These in person ukulele jams will feel really familiar to the jams we enjoyed in the beforetimes, with one exception: we will meet OUTDOORS.

  • Saturday, July 23 – 1:00-3:00pm – Lincoln St United Methodist Church in SE Portland
  • Friday, August 12 – 6:00-8:00pm – W Hills UU Fellowship in SW Portland
  • Register here to get the songbook, location address, and other important event details
  • What to Bring:
    • your ukulele (of course)
    • a camp chair and portable music stand if you have them
    • a printed copy of our 2022 Jam Songbook if you can.
    • Note: we’ll have extras of everything, except – perhaps – ukuleles. 🙂
  • Optional: Bring a simple finger snack or beverage to share (no alcohol, please)

Tons of in person musical fun ahead – I hope you can join me at one, several, or all of these events! Questions? Suggestions? Comments? Feel free to drop me a line here.