Category: Weekly info

Hey Ukesters! It’s so good to be thinking about our upcoming reunion this Thursday! I’ve missed our regular sessions, but oh so happy with the outcome of our Ukulele 101 sessions! We have so many new smiling faces joining us! 

Welcome to our newbies:Willodeen B, Terri C, Maddy D, Tammie D, Janet G, Betty H, Wanda M, Kathy N, Karen N, Regina S, Susan S, Sheila T, Cindy Y-DAnd we continue to welcome our not-so-new newbies: Bonnie B, Wilma B, Anne B, Kay G.

Thanks so much to all of you vets who stepped in to help with the August sessions! I couldn’t have done it without your assistance. The newbies have already had their first performance; we had a great recording session for Play Music on the Porch Day last Thursday. Thank you also to the additional Ukesters who joined us for PMOTPD recording, too! I waited until Saturday to post to the official site and the vids/pics are attached to this email.
Happy birthday to our Ukesters with September birthdays!

• Terri 6
• Cindy 23
• Willodeen 27

This week we’ll be working on music for the September performances and preparing for
Monday, September 8-Greg Gent Day , 
Saturday, September 13-Albertville Farmers Market 9-11 am 
Thursday, September 18-Terrace Lakes 2 pm. 
There’s no limit on participation numbers for either performance or the GG workshop; I encourage you all to come strum/sing! Details will be sent out the Sunday before each performance, but always plan to be there to set up 30 minutes prior to the play time listed. 

We have two rehearsals, September 4 & 11, to prepare for the September performances. 

Participants who have signed up as of today for the Farmers Market:

1. Betty B
2. Wilma
3. Goodie
4. Susan C
5. Lisa
6. Colleen
7. Eddie
8. Libby
9. Linda
10. Denise
11. Carol W

I’ll have a sign-up list for both the Farmers Market (we could use more!) and Terrace Lake on Thursday

The playlists for the September 13 & 18 events will be chosen from this alphabetical list:

1. Amazing Grace
2. *Blame It on the Ukulele
3. Caissons/American Medley
4. California Dreamin’
5. *Come Sing With Us
6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
7. Crocodile Rock
8. *Eight Days a Week
9. *Hello Mary Lou
10. *Hound Dog/Blue Suede Shoes
11. *I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing
12. I’ll Never Find Another You
13. *Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini
14. *Lion Sleeps Tonight
15. Love Medley Elvis
16. Make Your Own Kind of Music
17. Making Our Dreams Come True
18. *Pineapple Princess
19. *Sea Cruise
20. Sing Your Way Home
21. Sweet Caroline – Key of D
22. Thank You for Being a Friend
23. There’s a Kind of Hush
24. Ukulele Road
25. *We’re the Ukesters

Those with * denote easier songs/fewer and less difficult chords. It would be a really good idea to put your music in alpha order so that you can switch between songs with ease.

Also, there will be an “Open Mic” opportunity at the Farmers Market; I encourage any of you if you’re so inclined, to just do it! No pressure, good opportunity to get your feet wet doing open mic. 

As always, there are copies available in the “extras” books at the library. If you get the last copy of a song, please let me know through text or email so that I can print more. Please don’t tell me during rehearsal…..I will forget! You can also find most of our songs on our website, Ukesters.org under Music 25, and on our Facebook page, The Ukesters! under the Files tab. Once in the files, you can click on “File Name” and it will arrange the titles in (almost) alphabetical order so you can find files easier. If all those methods fail, don’t hesitate to text, email, or call me and I will print you one and bring it to rehearsal. When we have a totally new song, I always have copies available.Shirts: 

We will be discussing getting new shirts this fall that Johnny has (again) volunteered to make for us. I need all of you (minus the newbies that submitted your shirt size on your info form) to send me your t-shirt size. I will compile a list of everyone’s sizes so that when we get ready, Johnny will know how many of each size to order. Also, Johnny dropped off some shirts that he had left from previous printings with various colors/designs. There are mostly sizes S, M, and a couple of L available. There is no set price for the leftover shirts. If you want one, give what you can or think is fair. The money goes to our Ukester account that helps to fund our events. 

Well, I think my novel is finished. LOL  If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to email, text, or call me. Hope to see you all Thursday, September 4, at the G’ville Public Library, 1-3 pm.

Thank you for being a part of the Ukesters!

Jennifer 

Hey Ukesters,
This week’s rehearsal will be spent working towards our July performances.
Alphabetical playlist for rehearsal:

1. Amazing Grace
2. Chapel of Love
3. Come Sing With Us
4. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
5. Eight Days a Week
6. Hello Mary Lou
7. I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing
8. Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini (attached-newly revised)
9. Love Medley Elvis
10. Making Our Dreams Come True
11. Ode/Happy Birthday
12. Sing Your Way Home
13. Sweet Caroline (attached-new key of D)
14. Thank You for Being a Friend
15. We’re the Ukesters

If you don’t have access to a printer to print your own copy, there are extra copies at our Thursday rehearsals.You can find lots of our music files on both the Ukesters FB page 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/theukesters and our website: https://ukesters.net/. On the FB page, you can find pics and videos from the past few years under the “Media,” then “Albums” tabs and our music under the “Files” tab.  On the website, you can find our music by clicking on the “Music25” tab for the music we’re currently working on or “Practice” for recordings you can play along with. 

We have 9 people signed up for the beginning ukulele class that starts August 7. Several of them will be attending our rehearsal this Thursday to hang out with us and see what a great bunch of people you all are. If you have an extra uke you’d be willing to loan out, please let me know. I think there are 3 or 4 who are in need. I will  need a few volunteers to help with the class in August so that everyone gets some individual help during the class. Let me know if you’re available.

Cyndy has offered to open the MVAC gallery in August on Thursdays, our regular time, for anyone who is not helping with the beginner class and wants to get together with other Ukesters to play. The plan right now is to work on problem areas in songs, strumming patterns from the recent workshop, open mics, and sing-alongs. Email Cyndy to let her know you’ll be attending. 

EAA breakfast is Saturday, July 12   Arrive at 7:30 am

***For those not cooking, please wear your Ukester shirt.

Breakfast will be served from 9-10:30.

Cost is $9.00 per plate.

If you’re not one of the workers, come out and eat if you possibly can!  We split the proceeds with the EAA after the food is paid for. 

Looking forward to seeing you all at rehearsal Thursday, July 10, at 1:00 at the Guntersville Public Library. Email, text, or call if you have any questions. 

Jennifer 

Hey Ukesters,

Wow! What a month it was! June certainly was full of activity for us and I thank you all for being so giving of your time and talents to make all of our performance commitments a success. But I promise to never ever book that many events in one month again. 

Thanks to Betty for leading the pack with the Calico project and Town Hall concert last Thursday and thanks to all of you who helped her make it run smoothly. I heard you outdid yourselves in hosting the workshop, refreshments afterwards, performing at Town Hall, and all the other tasks that were put before you. Major thanks to Mike and all who helped him with the sound system! I listened to all of the performances (thanks to Ted and Steve for videoing) and was so impressed with the sound from all the artists, including the Ukesters. Thanks also to Susan and Steve for housing David, the bass player for Webb-Tigert. I have put all the videos and pics from the day on our Ukesters FB page. If you would like me to send them directly to you, please let me know. I didn’t want to clog everyone’s email up by sending them out to all. 

July brings us a much needed rest from rehearsal (July 3), regular rehearsals on July 10 and 31, the EAA Breakfast on July 12, and performances on July 17 and July 24. I will send out an email next week with a playlist for the 10th rehearsal. 

Happy birthday to our members with July birthdays!

16 Bonnie

21 Johnny

25 Gail

30 Linda

30 Ted

As for the EAA breakfast, thanks to all who have volunteered to help out. Betty still needs a few more spots filled. If you are able to help in any of those jobs, please email Betty.

We still need workers for the following:

• Servers -1 more needed
• Sweepers before and after breakfast-1 more needed
• Chair cleaners both before and after breakfast – 2 needed
• Dishwashers who will wash pots and pans after breakfast

***For those not cooking, please wear your Ukester shirt.

Breakfast will be served from 9-10:30.

Cost is $9.00 per plate.

Please come out and eat if you possibly can!  We split the proceeds with the EAA after the food is paid for. 

August will be a month of rest from regular rehearsals and all performances. I, along with some of you helping, will be getting our newbies started/caught up so that when we resume in September, we’ll have a fuller house! I’m so proud of the newbs that hung out with us in June, despite all the craziness. I think we’re about to have 8-10 in our August beginner sessions. Veteran members are welcome to come help with our adventures-each Thursday in August, 1-2:30 at the Guntersville Public Library. Let me know if you’re available to help.

I hope you all have a relaxing week celebrating Independence Day and enjoying time with your family and (other) friends. 

I appreciate you all!

Jennifer

Hey Ukesters,

Thanks for another great week of performances! 

We had a wonderful showing at the Sardis Community Center, playing for their senior adults. They were a very interactive group and were complimentary of our presentation. And we got a “tip” for playing-a donation of $45!

And what a group for the Trash Panda game! Thanks to all who participated. You looked and sounded great and I really appreciated all who sent me pics and videos of the event. I’ve added them to the Ukesters FB page under Media, then Albums, then June 2025 performances. If you have more pics or vids you’d like to share, send them my way. 

Thanks so much to Goodie for spearheading an impromptu jam session last Thursday while many were on their way to Huntsville for the TP game! I heard they had a good time!

This week is another eventful one! Thursday at 1:00 we’ll meet at the Guntersville Library for a private workshop presented by Calico for just our group. You will need the song “Sway” that I sent out last week. Copies will be available at the workshop if you don’t have access to a printer. You’ll also need Just Over in Glory Land, Come Sing With Us, and Hello Mary Lou. Following the workshop, we will have refreshments and get to know our guests. Please bring your favorite snack food/dessert to share with the group if you can. Paper products and bottled water will be provided.

Betty needs to get a pre-count of tickets sold so that Town Hall can be adequately set up. Please send her an email by Monday stating how many tickets you have sold. (It would be wonderful if all the tickets have been sold by now!) She will need all unsold tickets and the $ for the sold tickets turned in Thursday before the workshop starts. Bonus points for having your ticket $ and unsold tickets in an envelope with your name on it. 

Thursday evening, please be at Town Hall by 6:00 (Ukesters shirt/jeans) to get settled in before the Ukesters open the concert at 7:00, followed by the Webb-Tigert Duo (Ukesters play Just Over in Gloryland with them), and then Calico will close out the concert. In order to plan, I need to know if you Do or Do Not intend to participate Thursday night. It would be great to have every member there…including the newest members. Please email or text me by Monday to let me know of your intentions.

Upcoming:

July 3-NO REHEARSAL? This can be discussed Thursday to decide

July 10-Regular rehearsal at 1:00 to prepare for our July 17 and 24 events

• Saturday, July 12 – EAA breakfast at the Guntersville Municipal Airport, 405 Buck Island Road   Breakfast is $9; Not a performancebut we can support our members who are cooking that day by attending and helping to clean up

July 17-MMC Goldcare luncheon-limited number of participants, sign-up will take place this Thursday before the workshop starts

July 24-Lakeshore Sr Living – 2:00 – No limit on participants; the more the merrier. No regular rehearsal that day

July 31– Regular rehearsal at 1:00 

August 7, 14, 21, & 28 – Beginner/Intermediate-this month will be devoted to catching our newbies up and giving ourselves a little break from the past few months’ rigorous schedule. If you have family or friends who wish to join us, August is the time! All members are invited to participate in the sessions, but keep in mind we will not be going at our regular pace. 

The next offering of beginning/intermediate sessions will be in January. Cyndy has offered the Mountain Valley Arts Council building as a meeting space for those who want to continue playing/jamming in August. 

I hope I haven’t forgotten anything, but I probably have….

Email me with your Thursday intentions and email Betty for your ticket selling progress.

Hope to see you all Thursday at 1:00!

Jennifer

Hey Ukesters, thanks for another packed-out house for rehearsal yesterday! It was a lot of music to fly through but you handled it like champs. And welcome to our new ukester, Debby! We hope you enjoyed your time with us and will come back each week to have fun with us.

This week is another busy one:

Tuesday, June 17 – Sardis Sr Center, 296 Parkway Dr, Boaz – playing for its patrons and community members.  If you didn’t sign up, it’s not too late to participate. Just let me know by Monday so I’ll know how many to set up for. Please be at the Sr Ctr by 9:30 to set up, take pic, and be ready to play at 10. If you have Calico tickets to sell, this event might be a good opportunity. 

Playlist:

Come Sing With Us

Blame It On the Ukulele

Sound of Music Medley

Hello Mary Lou

Ukulele Road

Lion Sleeps Tonight

I’ll Never Find Another You  

Sea Cruise

I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing

Hound Dog/Blue Suede medley

Crazy Little Thing Called Love

There’s a Kind of Hush

Making Our Dreams Come True

Amazing Grace

Thursday, June 19

Rehearsal still going on for non Trash Panda people – 1:00 G’ville Library  Goodie has volunteered to open up our room at the library for an impromptu gathering. Come make some music with the rest of  your friends. The “extras” books will be available to pull songs from should you need them. Bring your current music and have some fun!

Trash Panda game-separate email going out to participants only later

The following week we wrap up our June fretting frenzy with two very special events on 

Thursday, June 26

1:00 pm G’ville Library – workshop and refreshments with Calico from Vienna, Austria. Check them out on FB at this link: https://www.facebook.com/calico.ukulele. The workshop song we’ll be learning is “Sway” (music attached) Following the workshop we’ll have refreshments with the members of Calico. Bring your favorite snack or dessert to share if you’d like.

7:00 pm – The Town Hall Concert with the Webb-Tigert Due and Calico. WE are the opening act! and will sing again with Webb-Tigert during their portion of the concert on the song, “Just Over in Gloryland.” (music attached) You can listen/play along with Webb-Tigert’s recording with this link: https://ukesters.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/just-over-in-glory-land.mp3

Tickets are $10 each (Ukesters don’t need a ticket) and we really need to get these tickets sold! We’d like the Austrians to be welcomed to Alabama with a full house at Guntersville’s Town Hall. So grab your kinfolk, your neighbors, and everyone you know to come witness this once-in-a-lifetime event for Alabama.

Here’s a little info on the group Calico and their Music Cities of the World ~Summer 2025 Tour~ Featuring: Calico (Vienna, Austria) and the Webb-Tigert Duo (Nashville, TN)

Calico, featuring Tina Neiderpold and Julian Stepaniak with their bassist Allbert Stepaniak, are known across Europe for their jazzy pop harmonies and playing skills, with multiple  appearances in Austria (their home base), Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Scandinavia and more.

Songs from the 1920s to the 2020s are all up for grabs with this energetic band. Two beautiful voices singing in harmony, two ukuleles and a funky bass make this trio a special treat.  From Jazz to Pop to Rock to Funk they can make any genre fun and even end up mashing them all together.  Calico’s heartfelt original songs shine with positive vibes and a Pop-Folk feeling to them.

Calico will hop across the pond in June, joining Bob and Lisa’s “Ukuleles In The Heartland” Circuit. It will be their second trip to the USA, but their first multi-stop tour, as Calico and Webb-Tigert will grace stages in North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee.

The Lisa Webb – Bob Tigert Duo has become one of the USA’s favorite ukulele performing and recording groups, with 13 festival appearances in the last 14 months (most often as headliners), releasing 3 album projects in 2 years, and playing 62 concerts in 2024 alone. They are both Nashville songwriters.

JULY events:

Saturday, July 12 – EAA breakfast at the Guntersville Municipal Airport, 405 Buck Island Road   Breakfast is $9; we will support our members who are cooking that day

Thursday, July 17 – MMC Goldcare Summer Party, 11am-1pm, Guntersville Rec Center-signup coming soon

Thursday, July 24 – Lakeshore Senior Living, 2pm-No limit on participant numbers-the more, the merrier

AUGUST – this month will be devoted to catching our newbies up and giving ourselves a little break from the past few months’ rigorous schedule. If you have family or friends who wish to join us, August is the time! The next offering of beginning/intermediate sessions will be in January.

SEPTEMBER

Monday, September 8 – Guntersville Library, Workshop with Greg Gent  – details coming soon

Saturday, September 13 – Albertville Farmers Market, 10am-noon  No limit on participant numbers.

OCTOBER 

Saturday, October 25 – Pink Pumpkin Run – 8am ish. No limit on participant numbers.

NOVEMBER 

Thursday, November 6 – First Baptist Guntersville Senior Adult lunch. Sign-up in October

That’s about all I know for right now. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. I’ll see you tomorrow, next Tuesday, and/or next Thursday. Email or text me if you have any questions.

Jennifer

Hey all, we’re in the thick of things with performances, etc. Please take some time this week to play through the playlist for Thursday’s rehearsal in preparation for the Albertville Farmers Market on June 14. 

I encourage you to be a part of “open mic” on June 14. You can solo or play with an ensemble. If you want to choose one of the titles on the playlist for June 12’s rehearsal, let me know and I will not plan for the full group to play it. If there’s a title that you don’t have, you can probably find it on our newly remodeled website, Ukesters.net under the Music 25 tab Or on our Ukesters FB page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/theukesters – under Files. If all else fails, you can email or text me and I’ll send it/them to you via email. As always, copies should be available at our library rehearsals, unless someone took the last copy and didn’t let me know we needed more. 

Playlist for rehearsal June 12 (Note MP3 indicates play along music available on Music25 page):

Star Spangled Banner MP3

All Shook Up MP3

Amazing Grace MP3

American Medley MP3

The Banks of the Tennessee MP3

Blame It On the Ukulele MP3

Caissons Go Rolling Along

California Dreamin’ MP3

Circle of Life  MP3

Come Sing With Us  MP3

Coney Island MP3

Crazy Little Thing Called Love MP3

Crocodile Rock    MP3

Eight Days a Week
play along with this link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qc65APpaxw

Flowers
play along with this link:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4ffMKd8wPw

Happy Together MP3

Hello Mary Lou MP3

Hold On

Hound Dog/Blue Suede Shoes MP3

I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing MP3

I’ll Fly Away MP3

I’ll Never Find Another You MP3

It’s a Beautiful Morning 
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnRv2IfSKpc&list=PLgABoXYBGJJZrDUQnz3PaQvMQAZ8z3e01&index=96

It’s a Ukulele Day MP3

Jambalaya MP3

Just Over in GloryLand MP3

Lion Sleeps Tonight MP3

Love Medley from Elvis MP3

Make Your Own Kind of Music MP3

Making Our Dreams Come True MP3

More Today Than Yesterday MP3

Roll Out the Barrel MP3

Sea Cruise MP3

Sing Your Way Home

Sound of Music Medley MP3

Thank You for Being a Friend MP3

There’s a Kind of Hush MP3

Ukulele Road MP3

We’re the Ukesters  MP3

Please email or text me with any questions/concerns. Hope to see you all Thursday at 1:00 at the Guntersville Public Library.

Jennifer