Music
13 Aug 18

Festival 'Ukulele Hooley' Returns to Dublin This Month

The event has been recognised by Trivago as one of the “five great British and Irish events to attend in August.”

Dun Laoghaire will host Ireland's international ukulele festival on August 25 and 26.

The not-for-profit includes unique events such as the Uke Factor Competition, the Big Jungle Jam and the Ukulele Bus Busk, as well as a big concert to round out the festival.

“It’s 10 years since I first started a ukulele group in Glasthule. The Hooley came a year later and now it's the biggest such event in Europe. We have players and fans coming to us in Dun Laoghaire from all over the world. It is a unique music festival in that it is free, community-based and family-friendly”, says organiser Tony Boland in a statement.

The X-Factor of the ukulele world, the Uke Factor Competition will see new stars demonstrate their ukulele skills onstage in the People’s Park, Dun Laoghaire, on Sunday, August 26, which last year was attended by 20,000 people during the day.

Two video competitions are underway as part of the Uke Factor, the first one directed at teenagers (10-19 yrs), the second one to everyone else. Competition ends at Midnight on the 18th of August. To be in with a chance of playing the festival's main stage, upload your music video to YouTube and send a link to [email protected].

The Big Jungle Jam - following last year’s Big Ukulele Jam where over 2,000 ukulele players took part - will see a vast group of ukulele players perform jungle themed songs. These will include “The Bare Necessities, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” and “Eye of the Tiger".

Meanwhile, the Ukulele Bus Busk will have over 70 ukulele players hop onto an open-topped double decker bus and tour the Dun Laoghaire to Killiney coast, stopping off along the way to play and sing.

People can also learn how to play a ukulele or fine-tune their skills at Ukulele Workshops or take part in the Ukulele Hooley Open Mic event which takes place on the Dun Laoghaire seafront on the Saturday night.

The festival will be rounded off with the Big Concert in the People’s Park on Sunday, including Rita Braga (pictured) from Portugal; The Jive Aces from the UK; Les Poupées Gonflées from France; Casey McGill from the US and the Winin Boys from Belgium. Also attending are homegrown acts such as the Dublin Ukulele Collective, the Arklow Ukulele Players and Ukulele Tuesday from the Stag’s Head pub in Dublin.

For more information, visit www.ukulelehooley.com.