The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain will help strum in the holidays with a performance at 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, at UCSB Campbell Hall. The program is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures.
The audience is invited to join in on the fun with the all-singing, all-plucking ukulele superstars. Concert-goers can play and sing along with the band that has entertained British royalty, jammed with George Harrison, rocked out at Glastonbury Festival and sold out Carnegie Hall.
The Ukes’ repertoire explores American folk and blues, heavy metal, bebop, jazz, punk, reggae, electronic dance music and even Chinese melodies gleaned from its 2014 tour of China.
The Ukes is best known for playing versions of famous rock songs and film themes, often with surprising changes to tempo or genre: In their hands, a rock song will become a jazz idiom, or different songs will be put together in a medley of contrasts.
Throughout its 30-year career, the Ukes has performed for audiences around the world, including members of the British Royal Family and other crowned heads of Europe and at the Houses of Parliament in London.
When the band formed in 1985, its members were experienced in many kinds of music but had become tired of the conditions of the music business, conventions of performance and genre stereotyping.
They started their orchestra, consisting entirely of ukuleles in different sizes, with the intention of making something fresh and entertaining, modern and old-fashioned and in a style that deviated from contemporary trends.
During the rollicking holiday show, the Ukes will ask the audience to add to the music by inviting members to participate in a ukulele play and sing along from their seats. They will be posting video tutorials and music to practice at home, suitable for all abilities.
No ukulele? No problem. Everyone will be able to join in, if not playing the ukulele, then singing.
Watch the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain perform “Psycho Killer” by Talking Heads at the Royal Albert Hall BBC Proms.
Tickets are $35-$50 for the general public, $15 for UCSB students with a valid student ID required.
For tickets and more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures, 893-3535, or visit www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
Event sponsors are Pat Gregory, for the Baker Foundation, and Siri & Bob Marshall. UCSB Arts & Lectures acknowledges the generous support of SAGE for its major corporate support of the 2016-17 season.
— Caitlin O’Hara for UCSB Arts & Lectures.