Get ready for the most fun you can have on four strings
Ontario’s first ukulele festival comes to Midland this week for musicians of all ages
Steve McNie stands at the front of the room, brandishing his tiny fourstringed instrument.
“Don’t be afraid to sex it up!” he coaxes the group.
Lyrics and chords are projected overhead. Tonight, they’re learning the theme song from the hit HBO series Treme.
McNie strums his ukulele. Some two dozen players follow suit. Heads bob, feet tap and little instruments reverberate in clear, bright tones as McNie prances in front of his pupils.
“Down in the treme,” they sing, “just me and my baby, we’re all going crazy, buck jumpin’ and having fun!”
McNie hosts two ukulele workshops every week. A combination of traditional workshop, open mic and jam session, the events have taken off like Hawaiian wildfire. Along with fellow uke guru Douglas Cameron, McNie is now taking his successful weekly formula and expanding it into Ontario’s first ukulele festival.
“I can’t think of another instrument that would facilitate the bringing together of people under the umbrella of music in a way that the ukulele can,” McNie says. “The ukulele makes music accessible . . . It’s a powerful little musical tool.”
Running from Friday to Sunday at the Midland Cultural Centre in Midland, Ont., Canada Ukes will see 200 participants enjoy a weekend of workshops, jams and concerts. Many of those workshops will be led by the festival’s headliners: Vancouver’s old-timey uke master Ralph Shaw, the global-sounding Small World Project trio from Montreal, and respected Toronto multi-instrumental session man David Woodhead. From ponderous novices to virtuosic experts, all are welcome.
“Ukulele people come from all walks of life,” McNie says.
The rise of the humble uke, McNie says, is easy to explain. In addition to their cross-genre appeal, the instruments are quirky, portable and very easy to learn. They’re also cheap, with decent instruments selling for as little as $50.
“What I like most about the ukulele has very little to do with the ukulele itself,” McNie adds. “I am constantly amazed by the sense of community that surrounds people who are interested in the ukulele.”
For six years, that community has met every Wednesday night for the Corktown Ukulele Jam, which is currently held at the Paintbox Bistro at Dundas and Sackville Sts. Since April, McNie has also hosted a Monday night Annex Ukulele Jam at the Tranzac Club on Brunswick Ave.
At the Annex Ukulele Jam, almost two dozen players follow their teacher’s every word. The crowd is diverse: young and old, expert and novice, all play together on instruments that range from cheap and colourful to pricey pieces of polished wood.
When someone asks if they can do something differently, McNie beams. “You know what?” he says to his Lilliputian orchestra. “It’s the ukulele and we’re having fun, so of course you can!”
Cam Morrison has been attending McNie’s ukulele jams for 4 1⁄ years.
2 “I found it to be the most approachable instrument, and actually, one of the more eloquent instruments I’ve ever played,” the multi-instrumentalist says. “You never see anybody in a bad mood playing the ukulele.” For tickets and more information on the first Canada Ukes festival, visit canadaukes.com. McNie’s two weekly ukulele workshops run from 8 to 11 p.m.