SHELBURNE, N.S. — By KATHY JOHNSON
TRI-COUNTY VANGUARD
There will be picking and strumming at its finest at the sixth annual Dock Street Ukulele Camp ukulele concert at the Trinity United Church in Shelburne on Sept. 21.
The concert starts at 8 p.m. Featuring Kate Ferris and Fred Casey from Winnipeg, along with Manitoba Hal and Nigel D'Eon from Shelburne, the event will be a tribute to the summer of ’69, now 50 years ago.
“This is a great opportunity to see all the performers together and to hear a wide range of music and style performed on the ukulele,” said Manitoba Hal, Uke Camp organizer. “We’ll be doing a wide of range of stuff; blues, folk, protest songs. It should be quite the show.”
The Dock Street Uke Camp runs from Sept. 20 to 22 at the Trinity United Church and features six different workshops, the opportunity to build a cigar box ukulele and strumming sessions. Participation is limited to 30 people.
“We still have a few spots left,” he said, adding the camp’s focus is small groups of people “that get together and study and cohort… we like it that size. It keeps it very personal.”
The camp attracts people from all over the province and as far away as B.C., said Hal. “One of the nice things about the camp from my prospective is we see repeat campers so its nice to see some spots open up. Although we hate to someone who is not come back, it gives a chance to someone to get in. We have emails from people who have been trying to get in for years and they’re coming this year so they’re excited.”
Aside from the concert, the public might also have the opportunity to hear some of the ukulele musicians at the open mike on Sept. 20 at the Sea Dog Saloon. “We view this as a bit of a social icebreaker,” said Hal, noting the open mike is for anybody but uke campers will be getting a little bit of encouragement to take advantage of the opportunity.
Tickets for the concert are $10 and will be available at the door. The doors will open at 7:30 p.m.
Anyone interested in further information can contact [email protected]
THE PERFORMERS
Manitoba-born Kate Ferris has been performing since, at the age of five, the bus she and her mom were travelling in got stuck in a storm. Kate entertained the passengers in the back of the bus -including three very nice nuns - with her own songs and stories. (She would like to think that her material has improved greatly since then – but she did get a chocolate bar from one of the nuns, so who knows . . .) Joining her will be her husband (and luthier) Fred Casey on ukulele bass.
Manitoba Hal has played thousands of shows over the past decade around half the world in coffee shops, concert halls, juke joints, pub rooms and festivals. Hal is known for his blues stylings on the ukulele and his ability to make you laugh and then feel the blues deep in your soul. He can take you from the islands to the deep south with one deft strum of his ukulele.
Nigel D'Eon has made a name for himself first as the ukulele player in the Bocephus Blue Tragic Love Song Band and then as the host of the long running open mic at the Sea Dog Saloon. Nigel will be bringing us a selection of songs from the 60s delivered as only he can with his baritone voice.
