Spring (uke) cleaning

Time to empty the notebook

Hi,

Now that the morning frosts have passed, (as of this writing) everyone’s basketball team other than David’s has been eliminated, and we await the solar eclipse, it’s time to empty the ukulele notebook.

We’ve had some wonderful jams recently, with lots of recent additions to the group. Welcome to all, and thanks for joining us!

Regular programming continues at the Church of the Nativity, the first and third Thursday of each month, 7-9 p.m. If you would like a copy of our songbook, let me know. I understand the electronic files can be a chore to manage, but it’s better for the planet and much less costly than paper and ink — plus, it saves time.

It’s my intent to send a fresh, updated copy of the songbook file on the Monday before the first jam of each month. I also will send links to PDFs of the new songs with that email, in case you use some organizing method other than Dropbox — and attempt to eliminate duplicate versions or outdated arrangements from our Dropbox folder.

If you use forScore, the best way to handle new material may be to upload any new songs directly into your forScore app. If you organize in other ways, David or Bonnie or I may be able to help you.

Remember that all our files are for educational purposes only. We have no commercial interest in them and all copyrights belong to the original publishers.

On to the calendar!

For April - June:

• Regular jams at the church, April 18, May 2 and 16, June 6 and 20; 7-9 p.m.

• Open mic at the church: Thursday, May 30, 7-9 p.m. Get to work!

• Make Music Day 2024: Friday, June 21. We’ll do a sing/playalong jam at Village Regional Library, Clark Street, 4:30-5:30 p.m. Playlist will be sent in advance. We may do another jam in the evening. Details to follow.

• Related Make Music Day events — all free, open to the public, and participatory:

  • George Douglas will lead a harmonica workshop at 12 noon at City of Raleigh Museum, 220 Fayetteville Street, downtown. C-scale harmonicas provided by Hohner Music. George will demonstrate techniques and maybe lead a song or two.

  • Yours truly and several other RUJ members (volunteers welcome and needed!) will lead a beginners’ ukulele strum session at 2:30 p.m. at Azure Violins, 2409 Crabtree Blvd (Gateway Plaza), near the old Greyhound Station. We’ll teach a simple, two- or three-chord song to new players and then perform it for a nationwide live-streaming event. We start teaching at 2:30; the event goes live at 3! Again, more details forthcoming.

  • Other MMD events, including opportunities for you to join along, to be announced soon.

• Other non-RUJ uke events:

  • The Mighty Uke Workshop at the Community Church, April 13, 1 p.m. at The Community Church, 106 Purefoy Road, Chapel Hill. Our own Pat Laemont and Dan Uyesato will lead this fun, participatory event discussing the history of the ukulele and more. Free, with donations welcome.

  • Shinyribs, Lincoln Theatre, 126 E. Cabarrus Street, downtown, April 25, 7 p.m. The great Kevin Russell, his baritone uke, and his colorful suit will lead the Shinyribs band in some danceable, funky, soul music. It’s a stop in Raleigh en route to playing Merlefest in Wilkesboro the following day.

  • Blue Ridge Ukulele Festival, Burke Arts Council, Morganton, May 3-5. Workshops, open mics, and performances led by Lil’ Rev, Webb-Tigert, Mim, Bob Frisbee, and more. Last year’s event was fantastic. Get in on this one while you can!

  • Whirligig Festival 2024, Saturday, Nov. 2, downtown Wilson. It’s the 20th Anniversary! The N.C. Ukulele Collective (which includes RUJ members) will perform again. It’s a blast! Details forthcoming!

To get you on your feet, here’s Shinyribs from a couple years back: