There’s just something about the ukulele — the small, four-string instrument — that inspires legions of fans.
“It’s almost a cult,” said Mark Strausberger, co-chair of the Aurora Uke Fest. “It really is. Because it’s such an underground, it’s not mainstream. You don’t hear it a lot on the radio, but it has such a huge following, the ukulele does.”
While for some people the ukulele conjures up thoughts of Don Ho singing about “Tiny Bubbles” or Tiny Tim tiptoeing through the tulips back in the day, the ukulele is embraced by contemporary musicians including Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift and Eddie Vedder. According to Statista, 1.6 million ukuleles were sold in the United States in 2019.
“The ukulele’s been around a long, long time. It really picked up steam about 15 years ago with a lot of mainstream musicians picking it up,” Strausberger said.
To celebrate all things ukulele, the Aurora Uke Fest returns to downtown Aurora from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 22 for a day filled with performances, workshops, food and more.
“We take over the whole Southeast corner of Aurora from Stolp Avenue to Broadway (Street) on Downer (Place) and from Galena (Boulevard) to Benton (Street) on Water Street,” Strausberger said.
Organized by the nonprofit City of Lights Ukulele Society, the Aurora Uke Fest dates back to 2018 when Aurora Alderman Mike Saville approached festival co-chair Todd VonOhlen, who works at Hix Bros. Music in Aurora.
“Early 2018 I get a call from Mike Saville, who is my alderman here in Aurora, and he had been poking around on the Internet looking at different festivals and he noticed there are a lot of major cities in the world that have a ukulele festivals, and he thought this would be something that would good for the city of Aurora,” VonOhlen said.
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VonOhlen reached out to musicians that are part of a Saturday morning ukulele club at Hix Bros., as well as those involved with the Fox Valley Folklore Festival.
“We put together our first festival in six months, which people told us we couldn’t do, there wasn’t enough time,” VonOhlen said.
That first year, 1,000 people attended. In 2019, the number doubled to 2,000 attendees.
“Last year we were expecting three-four thousand, but then we had to do it virtually which we literally had 55,000 to 60,000 people around the world watching at various times,” Strausberger said. “We’re not sure what to expect this year.”
The festival will be following COVID guidelines for events, with all activities taking place outside this year.
“There will be plenty of room for them to sit wherever they want,” Strausberger said.
Attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs, as a limited number will be available at the workshops and performances.
For those who are uncomfortable attending or can’t make it to the festival in person, the event will be streaming at auroraukefest.com.
Tickets are required to view watch the live performances and attend the workshops, but are not needed to visit food and art vendors.
Performance stages will be located on Water Street between Downer Place and Benton Street, as well as in Mundy Park on Broadway Street. The Main Stage on Water Street will feature performances by internationally known uke players Todd Lorenc Casey MacGill Abe Lagrimes, Jr. Lil’ Rev, Victoria Vox; and the Hix Bros. Ukulele Band. The final hour will be a uke jam session.
“Our lineup is absolutely the best we’ve had,” Strausberger said.
The Mundy Park stage will feature Illinois musicians including Pete Sesko, Wild Blue Orchestra, Hoapili with Halau Hala O Puanani, and Karen Barr and the Light City Revival. The last hour on the Mundy Park stage is an open mic session; with those wishing to participate encouraged to arrive early.
“We’re also taking over Millennium Plaza, and there we’re going to be doing workshops,” VonOhlen said. “We have Carl Hix doing a beginners workshop, so if you’ve never played ukulele before, you can come on down and learn some basics and walk out playing.”
Several of the Main Stage performers will also be teaching workshops, including Lagrimes, Jr. “which is going to be phenomenal for the more seasoned players,” VonOhlen said. “He’s a virtuoso.”
“Lil’ Rev’s like a traveling music encyclopedia. He sits up there and plays songs for you, and when you’re done at the end of the set you realize you’ve just gone through a semester course in music history while you’re being entertained,” he said.
So what is it about the ukulele that draws people to it?
“It’s a simple instrument to pick up and learn and then there are people who have crazy mastered it beyond all comprehension,” VonOhlen said. “You can get so much noise out of this little thing, it’s amazing. It’s one of the those instruments that you can start simply and easily and take it as far as you want to go,”
“You can start with a decent ukulele for 70 bucks or buy one like I did for $2,000,” Strausberger said.
“We’ll have builders down here if you want a custom made one you can spend five grand,” VonOhlen said.
“It is contagious and before you know it, if you get involved you’ll buy a $69 ukulele and then within two years you’ll have 30 ukuleles and you’ll have to build an addition on your house to store ukuleles,” Strausberger said. “Ask my kids — they’ll tell you.”
Aurora Uke Fest
When: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Aug. 22
Where: 21 W Downer Place, Aurora and throughout the downtown area
Tickets: $15 individual or $45 for family of 3+. Ages 12 and under are free
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Information: auroraukefest.com or eventbrite.com and search for Aurora Uke Fest
Kathy Cichon is a freelance reporter for the Beacon-News.