My First Ukulele Festival - The Ukulele Festival of Wales

Although I have been playing the ukulele for 10 years,  I have never been to any ukulele events. My only outreach to the ukulele community has been through my blog and instagram.  

So this weekend I attended my first ukulele festival - Ukulele Festival of Wales, which is annually held in the Gower Heritage Centre. 

Before I attended I was uncertain of what to expect, so I thought I'd share my experience with you...

I arrived around midday and joined in with a play along. It really engaged the whole room and was great fun to be a part of. The only problem is that the sessions could have been more frequent. Note to self for next time... make sure the song book is either printed or on a tablet... a phone is really not ideal.

After this there were three performers - The League of Ukulele Gentlemen, Dim Problem and Ukulele Al. It was great to discover different artists playing different genres of music on the uke. I will post a few videos on my instagram soon.

The League of Ukulele Gentlemen

Ukulele Al

Dim Problem

There was also a stall selling really nice and reasonably priced festival merchandise - t shirts, bags, caps, stickers mugs, etc. The guys running the stall were really helpful and friendly and I did purchase a few items. There was also a luthier from Wunderkammer Musical Instrument Co showing off and selling a small selection of unusual ukuleles. As well as this, food and drink was available to buy. I understand the festival is still in its early days (this is the fourth year), however as it expands it would be good if there were more stalls selling other ukuleles, song books and maybe accessories (For example straps, cases, capos, etc...).

Festival T Shirts

Festival mug

Unfortunately, I could only stay for the afternoon and therefore my first ukulele festival experience came to an end here. As I was leaving, there was an open mic session... maybe next year I'll pluck up the courage and have a go (No promises).

So overall I had lovely day. It was a good chance to begin exploring the local ukulele community in Wales.

Hopefully I'll see you there next year!!