Grade 8 – 12 Music Students:

Enter Code “Student” for $10 Tickets

Ukulele Blues Party with Del Rey

Join Del for jugband and blues songs orchestrated for the ukulele, with playing and singing parts for several levels of player. We’ll work on getting that old-timey sound on your uke, with the right rhythm, chord positions and where to find the melody. Plus we’ll try and listen to each other and play together.  We’ll add parts of varying difficulty for basic chords, strumming, picking and singing. Basic level: be comfortable and confident with first position chords and able to keep time while changing between them. By ear, no TAB.

Come to both the Party and Concert, and save $5.

Chucumite is a Southern California duo which performs son jarocho, the folk music from Veracruz, Mexico.  Founded by John Robles and Robert Perales, Chucumite has performed throughout the West Coast and has just produced its debut CD.  In 2009, acoustic bassist Sean Hutchinson began appearing frequently with Chucumite playing the leona, and he performs on the CD along with guests artists Xocoyotzin Moraza, a talented young performer on requinto jarocho, and percussionist Jacob Hernandez, who performs on marimbol. 

Claude Bourbon weaves his songs through the audience as if on a journey through life taking in different flavors of Europe and beyond, fusing every conceivable genre of acoustic guitar music into a master-class stage performance.

Claude grew up in Switzerland, where he was classically trained. He has performed and studied all over the world, crafting an unbelievable fusion of classical and jazz, with ethereal Eastern influences, Spanish and Latin elements with strains of western folk and Delta Blues, and often within one seamless stream of perfection.

“A breathtaking acoustic fusion from a stunning guitar virtuoso”

Del Rey’s Women in American Music concert follows the development of the music from classic blues, to rural blues, to swing and rocking hillbillies, through the stories of the diverse and interesting women that played music from 1900 to 1950. The show begins in the ’20s when pianists Lovie Austin and Lil Hardin, led jazz bands and wrote songs for singers like Alberta Hunter and Blue Lu Barker. Moving on to the ’30s singers Mildred Bailey and Billie Holiday are followed by instrumentalists like pianist Mary Lou Williams and bebop guitarist Mary Osborne. The bluegrass and hillbilly women are represented by Rose Maddox and the great tradition of Tex-Mex border music by singer and 12-string guitarist Lydia Mendoza.

The diverse music of these women is tied together by new guitar arrangements that bring the songs to life for younger generations. The show is interesting both for its historical information and the innovative musicianship involved in playing these pieces on guitar. There is both humor and inspiration to be enjoyed in the lives and music of these women and it is exciting to have a woman instrumentalist playing the songs in the here and now.

Del Rey started playing guitar when she was four years old and has taught and played all over the world. She has tried to get a whole band onto her solo instrument from the beginning. This gives her music an interesting complexity, especially when applied to the ukulele. Rags, blues and tunes of the early 20th century are her specialty, even as she writes new music to add to the tradition.  Del Rey also has fashion sense that would make Minnie Pearl smile.

“Del Rey, who plays a syncopated style of guitar based on prewar blues and barrelhouse piano traditions, is one of the best fingerpickers of this or any generation.”

“Whilst known for her amazing instrumental skills … it should not be overlooked that she always provides a very entertaining show, full of variety, drama and humour.”

Perfecto De Castro is the quintessential guitarist’s guitarist. Well-versed in a multitude of musical styles, his affinity with the instrument is evident in everything he does; from unleashing an emotion-laden solo with an overdriven electric guitar, to navigating complex musical counterpoint on his 10-string classical guitar.

Perf, as he is known to Filipino music fans, is best recognized as the original guitarist for 90s Pinoy Rock supergroup  Rivermaya. He has produced platinum-selling albums by Wolfgang and Marc Velasco, lent his guitar wizardry to Philippine Music Icons Mike Hanopol and Francis M, and garnered awards such as NU 107’s Guitar of the Year as well as from Philippine Music organizations Awit and Katha.

Perfecto continues to pursue a diverse musical career which ranges from solo Classical and World music concerts performed on the 10-string classical and flamenco guitar, orchestral coalescence with the Filipino American Symphony Orchestra to hard hitting, down and dirty Rock N’ Roll.

Hawaiian slack key guitar (ki ho’alu) is one of the great acoustic guitar traditions of the world, dating back to the 1840’s when guitars were first brought to Hawaii and relatively unknown outside the islands until recently. “Slack Key” means that some of the strings are slacked from standard tuning, with the bass, melody, and improvisation played at the same time, and is often played to accompany traditional dance or song. Many players use their own special tunings that often remain proprietary secrets.

Ken Emerson is a San Francisco bay area born/ Hawaiian island bred slide guitarist who covers many musical genres. Having played with the great Gabby Pahinui and many of the slack key icons, he has played his special blend of Blues/Jazz Hawaiian guitar for 40 years and running. His original compositions and performances on ‘Slack Key Guitar Vol. 2’ (Palm Records) helped bring in the first ever 2005 GRAMMY award for Hawaiian music.

Jim “Kimo” West first visited Hana, Maui in 1985. As the sounds of Gabby Pahinui, the Sons of Hawai’i, Sonny Chillingworth, The Sunday Manoa, and others played on the turntable, he jammed along for fun and relaxation. Already a devotee of open tunings, he was immediately drawn to the gentle rhythms of ki ho ‘alu (slack key guitar) and soon began writing his own songs. The rich physical and cultural landscape of the Hana Coast has provided the inspiration for many of his compositions.

While always retaining the heartfelt essence of traditional slack key, Kimo brings much of his own musical heritage to his original ki ho’alu instrumentals. His style can best be described as “nahenahe”, meaning “soft, sweet or gentle voice”, a fusion of old and new but still rooted deeply in tradition.

Guitar phenomenon Clive Carroll’s masterful compositions, coupled with his versatility and unparalleled technical virtuosity, have rendered him one of today’s most admired and respected guitarists. When I asked Tommy Emmanuel who was the next great guitar player, he immediately said “Clive Carroll”.

Born in England, Clive’s breadth of musical curiosity was to become one of his strengths; even as a child Clive was as comfortable accompanying a group of folk singers as he was jamming along to Nirvana or performing standards with the Essex Youth Orchestra.  He earned his 1st Class Honours Degree in Composition and Guitar from the famed Trinity College of Music in London, balancing his classical work with forays into the world of the steel string guitar with an album’s worth of solo acoustic music.  A chance meeting with English guitar legend John Renbourn proved the catalyst for Clive’s debut album, “Sixth Sense”, which Renbourn deemed “a milestone in the journey of the steel-string guitar”.

Clive has established himself as one of the world’s premier acoustic guitar players.  He has toured across Europe, Australia, the Middle East and North America, garnering praise for his sublime performances of everything from 16th and 17th century lute music to Jazz standards, Blues, Irish reels and his own groundbreaking compositions.

Drawing from diverse stylistic approaches and his Chilean roots, Dani Vargas brings a unique take to the acoustic sound.  His seasoned artistry and technical proficiency, canorous melodies, and harmonic maturity has an introspective yet uplifting feeling by virtue of the beauty and honesty that so naturally accompany the acoustic guitar.

With his on stage collaboration of the multi talented violinist Jenna Colombet, Dani’s live performances create a beautiful, lyrical and colorful blend of modern acoustic instrumental music.