Eleven years ago, a small group of ukulele enthusiasts gathered around a kitchen table together to play some songs.
They could not have imagined what it would turn into.
The Blue Mountains Ukulele Group has hundreds of members from all over Sydney and the Blue Mountains and beyond. They bring the community together to play music at many gigs, festivals, workshops and strums. There are no auditions, and everyone is encouraged to take part. Their motto is; “Everybody plays, everybody songs, everybody has fun!”
They have spawned their performing group – “The Blue MUGs” and have given hundreds of performances over the years from small community events to the Sydney Festival. They have had a residency at the Nepean Rowing Club (The Rowers) for nearly ten years, where they can be seen performing on the last Sunday of each month. The Blue MUGs are renowned for their energetic performances that get the crowd singing and dancing along. They have been dubbed “The greatest ukulele party band in the world!”.
The group also run the annual Blue Mountains Ukulele Festival each February in Katoomba. This is the largest ukulele festival in the world with over 130 acts across 9 stages. The festival is headlined each year by Hawaiian ukulele stars, but it is the community acts from all over Australia that embody the fun, have-a-go spirit of the festival.
The festival is always free, thanks to the generosity of many volunteers and sponsors.
The group have put out 3 CDs (including a live CD recorded at The Rowers), edited two ukulele songbooks that have sold over 20, 000 copies, run hundreds of workshops and brought the joy of playing music to countless new ukulele addicts.
Steve Roberts, Secretary of the Blue Mountains Ukulele Group, said, “It has been a wild ride since I first picked up a ukulele and started playing with the Blue MUGs. I can’t wait to see where this fun little instrument leads us next”.
You can catch the Blue MUGs next at the Nepean Rowing Club on the last Sunday of the month at 2:30pm.
If you want to start playing ukulele with the Blue MUGs, check out their website (www.bluemugs.net) for the time and place of their next workshop.