The City of Lights Ukulele Festival Society is host to the annual ukulele festival to bring home the joy of ukulele music in the western suburbs of Chicago. The festival featured nine performers on two stages from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.. auroraukefest.com.
Musicians such as George Harrison, Eddie Vedder, Taylor Swift, Cliff Edwards, Jake Shimabukuro, and the late Israel Kamakawiwo’ole, helped popularize the ukulele. Ukes are surging in popularity. Americans bought 1.6 million ukuleles in 2019.
Casey MacGill entertains a crowd at the annual Aurora Uke Fest, Sunday, Aug. 22 on the main stage near Water Street in downtown Aurora. MacGill, playing since the early 1960s has appeared on the Tonight Show, the Gong Show, the movie Frances, and opened the Broadway show Swing! by playing his uke. With his former Seattle Band, The Blue 4 Trio, Casey released 3 CDs, the most recent of which is Barrelhouse. The band toured extensively in Europe. The City of Lights Ukulele Festival Society is host to the annual ukulele festival to bring home the joy of ukulele music in the western suburbs of Chicago. The festival featured nine performers on two stages from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.. auroraukefest.com. Jason Crane/The VoiceWild Blue Ukulele Orchestra plays Sunday on the Mundy Stage downtown in the annual Aurora Uke Fest.Jason Crane/The VoiceVictoria Vox is joined by Jack Maher Jr. from the band Feed the Kitty at the annual Aurora Uke Fest, Sunday, Aug. 22 on the main stage near Water Street in downtown Aurora. Vox is an award-winning songwriter and performer from Green Bay, Wis.. Jack Maher, Jr. is originally from Saint Louis, Mo. but moved to Orange County, California in his teens. He joined Feed the Kitty in 2004.Jason Crane/The VoiceAbe Larimas, Jr. is host to a workshop at Aurora Uke Fest. He illustrates the unique rhythms and syncopation of the Bossa Nova style and demonstrated both strumming and fingerpicking patterns that originated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the 1950s.Jason Crane/The VoiceUkuleles of all different types were available at Aurora Uke Fest, right. Ukuleles vary in price from $50 to thousands of dollars depending on size and quality of construction and materials used.Jason Crane/The Voice
