The Summer Strum festival is celebrating a landmark five years in Hoylake with two thousand music fans expected to enjoy more than fifty ukulele acts over two stages. The festival includes headliners the Splintered Ukes and the D’Ukes of Hazzard.
A ukulele ‘amnesty’ is being launched as the organisers of Merseyside’s biggest free festival dedicated to the instrument aim to get more people playing, and spread the well being music brings to community groups across the North West.
Organisers Pat Ross-Davies from West Kirby and Emma Owen from Birkenhead, say this year’s event at Hoylake Rugby Club is set to be their biggest and best yet, with entertainment also including artisan food and drink stalls, singalong jams, a busking bus, open mic stage, yoga and Tai Chi.
There will be a jug band workshop from world famous uke player Phil Doleman on Saturday morning, followed by a children’s workshop to get young beginners strumming, and a song-writing workshop from Liverpool musician Alison Benson.
Pat and Emma, both musicians with Wirral band the Broken Strings, launched the Summer Strum in 2014 with the goal of spreading wellbeing by providing a free event for ukulele players from across the region to come together.