featuring James Hill, Sweet Hollywaiians and Victoria Vox; workshops, jams, film screenings, vendors and more
DENVER, COLO. (1/7/09) — Swallow Hill’s first UkeFest was such a success that they are pleased to announce for 2009 the Second Annual Denver UkeFest, held at their facility at 71 East Yale Avenue, on Saturday, February 7. This one-day event starts at 10 a.m. and includes instrument builders, vendors, workshops, jams, film screenings, a huge evening concert, and beer and barbecue courtesy of Breckenridge Brewery.
While last year’s event featured bright talents and innovative artists known throughout the U.S., this year Swallow Hill is kicking it up a notch to include internationally renown artists. The evening concert will be headed up by Canadian virtuoso James Hill, who is considered a “rare peer” of Hawaii’s premier ukulelists with a “world-class command of the instrument” (Honolulu Star-Bulletin). His music is a “tour de force” mix of jazz, classical, and folk influences (The Vancouver Sun).
Also scheduled to perform are the Sweet Hollywaiians, an amazing hot string band out of Japan that plays 1920s and ’30s Hawaiian, swing, ragtime, blues, Italian, and calypso music—Hollywood style, and Victoria Vox, an American acclaimed artist with French influences who is quickly on the rise. The burgeoning songwriter will be joined by other Festival artists to mix ukulele with other instruments, moving the uke from the novelty bin to the pop genre. UkeFest newcomers out of Asheville, N.C., Mad Tea Party, are also on the performance bill. Described as the B-52s meets Buddy Holly with a lot more thump, this male/female duo’s catchy songs about love, life, sex, and dancing are steeped in raw rockabilly with shreds of doo wop and devilish blues.
Some of Colorado’s brightest stars are also on the bill for the event, including Boulder Acoustic Society, who have established themselves as one of the region’s top string bands, the Hobo Nickels, whose Americana-style songs are a foot stompin’ mix of bluegrass, swing, folk, old-timey country, zydeco, polka, and trucker tunes, Blind Lemming Chiffon, who may be the most eccentric of the performers and possesses an extensive repertoire of rare ukulele music from the golden age and his vintage persona, and the event’s emcee and Renaissance vaudeville showman, Ukulele Loki, who takes his uke everywhere to serenade audiences with a combination of hot-jazz, schmaltz-core, jug-band, Western swing, novelty, honky-tonk, and new wave.
Swallow Hill faculty and UkeFest performers will be hosting jams and workshops throughout the day. From the basic beginner to the advanced uke player, there are options abound for people of all ages and experience. Faculty member Chris McGarry will teach basics to both adults and children, while the Sweet Hollywaiians will teach ragtime, Victoria Vox covers contemporary uke, James Hill instructs intermediate level swing uke, and the Mad Tea Party hosts a uke support group, and much more.
Two films will be screened at this year’s UkeFest. “Multiple Sidosis” is a short film from 1970 in which a single performer creates an entire multi-part performance of the Hawaiian Ukulele song, “Nola.” An amazing one-man band performance, it is the only amateur film to ever be place in the Library of Congress for its cultural and historic importance. After “Mulitple Sidosis,” “The Jerk,” the classic Steve Martin film where he plays the ukulele and sings “Tonight You Belong to Me,” will be shown.
VIP pass holders will have access to all the UkeFest events, including a special after-party/midnight jam with the artists. This party provides the opportunity to socialize in an intimate atmosphere with other uke fans as well as jam and learn with some of the best ukulele musicians in the world. VIPs will also receive a limited edition hand-printed silk screen poster and beer and food tickets. An event unlike any other for an instrument that has evolved into a favorite of the most eclectic artists of our time, ukulele enthusiasts would be remiss to not take part.
The Denver UkeFest can also be found on MySpace at www.myspace.com/denverukefest, where visitors can hear the artists’ music and interact with other uke afficionados. A full schedule as well as more details about the workshops, vendors and more can also be found at www.swallowhillmusic.org by clicking the UkeFest link.
