This weekend sees the 13th annual Ukulele Hooley festival in Dún Laoghaire, featuring the celebrated ukulele musician Daniel Ho. Well-regarded as a leading talent in the world of ukulele, and boasting six Grammys, Ho hails from Hawaii and is renowned for his cover of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U, famously featured in the 2008 movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
Ho is no stranger to collaborations, often recording with fellow Hawaiian and Wayne’s World star, Tia Carrere. This Saturday, he will hold a workshop at the Old Town Hall in Dún Laoghaire, focusing on the versatility of three-chord combinations.
The main event of the festival, a free concert in People’s Park, is set for Sunday afternoon. It includes an inclusive jamming session at 3.40pm, considered the highlight of the weekend. Ho’s performance will begin at 4.10pm, leading up to final live acts from him, popular jazz group the Bad Mouse Orchestra from Germany, and Dublin locals, Ukulele Tuesday.
A prelude to the event includes a video message from Charlotte Pelgin of Bad Mouse Orchestra, expressing her anticipation for this year’s Hooley. The Ukulele Hooley has become the equivalent of the Fleadh Chéoil for Ireland’s vast population of ukulele aficionados.
Festival organiser Niall Carthy praises Ho as not only an exceptional ukulele player but also a genuinely lovely guy. An additional scheduled highlight is a flashmob from the Eblana Festival Club on Saturday at 2pm.
The festival won’t charge any entry fee, except the workshops. “It’s certainly a one-of-a-kind music gathering that unites people via the pure delight arising from a ukulele,” states Carty. “We aspire for all and sundry to participate in this unparalleled experience.”
“This is a zero-cost, family-oriented, entertaining occasion that has expanded into an internationally acknowledged commemoration of the modest ukulele, an instrument now vastly popular in Ireland.”