In this episode, Sam reveals how a guitar student’s curiosity sparked her own exploration of the ukulele and its enormous musical potential.

She went on to become the first person in the world to do a PhD on the uke and is now one of the leading lights on the classical scene, both at home in the UK and internationally.

We also chat about Sam’s love of the Madeiran machete, ukulele techniques she recommends to players of all levels, and some surprising Aussie connections!

Happy listening,

Cameron Murray

samanthamuir.com

iloveclassicalukulele.com

To most people, the ukulele is simply an easy-to-play social instrument. But to Shawn Yacavone, it’s much more important than that. To him, it’s a powerful cultural icon and a vital link to the Kingdom of Hawaii.

Shawn spends a lot of time finding and acquiring historic and significant instruments, with a view to one day opening a ukulele museum and research library.

“My contribution is in the area of repatriating – bringing the instruments back to Hawaii, restoring them, and then sharing the sound,” he explains.

We had a fantastic chat and I highly recommend you stick around until the end for a very special surprise!

Happy listening,

Cameron Murray

Modestly dubbed the “King of the Ukulele”, Ralph Shaw is one of the originals – a pre-internet star who honed his craft in front of dubious, bemused audiences in the early 1990s.

I became aware of Ralph in 2003 through The Complete Ukulele Course, the first instructional DVD I ever bought. We finally met in Australia in 2012 and we’ve been mates ever since.

We had a brilliant chat about the old days, Ralph’s excellent newsletter and series of books, and how to deal with stage fright. We also talked about what prompted him to move back to England after many successful years in Canada.

Enjoy! And please tell your friends about Ukulele Stories…

Sign up for Ralph’s free Ukulele Entertainer newsletter!

In 2019, Bernadette Plazola was unemployed, her marriage had collapsed, and she was on the verge of homelessness.

Fast-forward six years and her life has been completely transformed through the kindness and generosity of what she calls her “community”.

Happily remarried with a beautiful daughter, she’s now one of the world’s most popular online uke tutors, with more than 640,000 YouTube subscribers and 208,000 Instagram followers.

I hope you enjoy our chat!

Cameron (aka Kamuke)

YouTube

Instagram

Patreon

“My job is to put smiles on people’s hearts,” says Bryan Tolentino, one of Hawaii’s busiest and most sought-after musicians.

In our wide-ranging conversation, we talk about putting feeling into your ukulele playing, how to be an effective accompanist, and what being Hawaiian personally means to Bryan.

We had a lot of fun chatting and I hope you enjoy listening!

Cameron (aka Kamuke)

bryantolentino.com

Instagram

‘Ukulele Friends Hawai’i Facebook Group

Matt Stead is a man of many talents. Not only is he a great uke teacher and player, he’s also the new director of the Ukulele Festival of Great Britain and various fringe events. And he’s a really nice guy too!

Please have a listen and check out the links below…

Mahalo!

Cameron

Matt Stead Ukulele

Ukulele Festival of Great Britain

After 31 years touring the world with the incredible Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Will Grove-White is quite literally building a second career as a luthier. His Wonkylele (below left) perhaps best sums up his character – a little off-kilter but undeniably unique and interesting. Will and I had a lovely chat and discovered some odd parallels in our respective ukulele stories…

Have a listen and enjoy!

Cameron

Website: willgrovewhite.com
Music: Bandcamp

Happy Uke Day 2024! Here’s a special interview with the amazing James Hill…

Enjoy!

Cameron

Cool, kind and talented – that’s how I’d describe Lucy LaForge.

The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter has made waves in the music industry with her indie band project Lucy & La Mer. She’s been featured in the LA Times and HuffPost and has performed at LA Fashion Week, as well as for the Mayor of LA. She’s also worked with major uke brands Kala and Fender.

Away from music, Lucy is known for her mental health and LGBTQ+ advocacy and she presented a powerful TEDx talk in 2022 on the limits of binary thinking and how self-awareness can free us from the boxes we form around our identity. You can watch the talk below.

It was lovely to chat with Lucy, so please have a listen!

Cameron

listentolucy.com

Erin Harrington, aka Miss Elm, is a singer-songwriter and music educator from Brisbane, Australia. We met at a festival a few years ago and I was immediately impressed with her passion and enthusiasm for the ukulele and its potential.

Erin and I had a great conversation about her musical journey and ambitions and I’m sure you’ll also enjoy it!

Cameron

misselm.bandcamp.com

instagram.com/misselmmusic

facebook.com/misselmmusic

theukulelerockers.com