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Calling all festival-goers! Our friends at Cabot's Ice Cream & Restaurant are treating Strummin' Up to Boston attendees to 10% off on June 20th, just mention the festival. The perfect way to cool down after a day of strumming. Thanks, Cabot's, for supporting local music!
Strummin' Up to Boston! is BACK and in a NEW LOCATION - Bigger, Better and More Fun Than Ever!
Saturday, June 20, 2026 | Newton Community Stage at the Lincoln-Eliot School, 15 Walnut Park, Newton, MA 02458
Workshops 1:00–3pm | Strum-Along & Concert 3:30–6pm
A free afternoon of fun! You don't need to be a uke player to have a great time — all are welcome!
We are beyond thrilled to be moving this year's celebration to the newly completed, state of the art Newton Community Stage, a stunning new venue worthy of our best event yet!
Join us for a spectacular day featuring some of the finest, most fun-loving ukulele instructors and performers around, all gathered to share the joy and beauty of our favorite humble little instrument!
Workshops (1:00–3:00pm) Drop in for expert-led workshops from our amazing instructors! No pre-registration necessary. Six workshops, two sessions — see descriptions below.
Instructors Heather Mumford with Harris Kendrick | Amy Kucharik | Nick Howarth | Eric Guerin
Strum-Along & Concert (3:30–6:00pm) Grab your uke and join Strummerville's Nick and John for a big ol' community Strum-Along! Songs will be projected on a big screen and easy to follow. Then sit back and enjoy a fantastic afternoon of live performances. No tickets or reservations necessary.
Performers
The Heather Mumford Project Heather Mumford and her all-star band bring a soulful Americana blend of country, bluegrass, folk, blues, and even a little Taylor Swift — all anchored by her spellbinding voice and ukulele.
The After Jam Born from late-night sessions, these seasoned strummers take the ukulele boldly into jazz, blues, rock, and bluegrass territory with fresh, unexpected results.
The Strummerville Ukulele Club Allstars Boston's beloved, WBUR-featured ukulele crew on a joyful mission to spread the love of four strings across Greater Boston, one strum at a time.
Your Hosts — Erin Ash Sullivan & Danno Sullivan Award-winning singer-songwriter Erin (hailed as a "special talent" by WFUV) and comedian-musician Danno join forces as your masters of ceremonies for an show that's as warm and entertaining as the music itself.
And surprises!
Also on Site
Stewart's Uke Consignment Table The most anticipated uke sale of the year! Stewart's is open once a year and only right here at this festival. Bring your ukuleles, accessories, books, CDs, and music items. The earlier the better! You bring it, he sells it, and you get paid. Cash and Venmo only. Please ask before handling instruments. Contact info: stewart@clementsphotodesign.com
Artist's merchandise and event tees and stickers will be available on the day.
Spread the word and we'll see you there!
Watch our highlight video from 2025 Official Promo Video
RSVP at our Official Meetup Page
Add your name to our Official Mailing List
Follow us on Facebook Strummin' up to Boston Facebook
Heather Mumford Project Musician, performer, and songwriter Heather Mumford has been part of the underground uke movement since the very beginning and her latest project proves that little instrument can hold a whole lot of soul!
The Heather Mumford Project brings together a killer lineup of seasoned musicians for a beautiful Americana blend of old-school country, bluegrass, folk, blues, and even a little modern pop (ahem, Taylor Swift — you read that right!). Whether she's channeling classics by Patsy Cline, Jean Sheppard, and Bill Monroe, delivering heartfelt originals, or coaxing something magical out of her ukulele and fiddle, Heather's spellbinding voice always sounds right at home.
Featuring Gary Kemp (resonator guitar), Sam Kendall (mandolin), Harris Kendrick (acoustic guitar), and Reid Plouffé (upright bass), the HMP serves up pickin', grinnin', and blues so good they'll make you cry — laidback, good-time vibes not to be missed!
Born from late-night jam sessions and fueled by a serious love of four strings, The After Jam goes where few ukulele has gone before. Jazz, blues, rock, bluegrass, they play it all and then some, twisting familiar sounds into something fresh, surprising, and impossible to sit still through. These seasoned strummers are veterans of Brookline's Arts Festivals and Shnugfest IX, and once you've seen them live, you'll understand exactly why people keep coming back.
The Strummerville Ukulele Club All-stars Boston's most beloved ukulele crew — a wildly fun-loving, song-belting, string-strumming gang of amateur musicians on a mission to spread the joy of the ukulele, one strum at a time! As featured on WBUR's Weekend Edition. Join the fun and jam with us monthly in Somerville, Brookline, and Melrose, plus pop-ups popping up all over Greater Boston — because the more, the merrier!
Your hosts for the evening are Erin Ash Sullivan & Danno Sullivan.
Erin's A New England-based, award-winning singer-songwriter whose artistry has earned comparisons to the very best. WFUV's John Platt describes her as a special talent reminiscent of early Dar Williams. High praise indeed!
Danno's a singular entertainer who brings his comedy stylings to ukulele events, and his ukulele stylings to comedy events. The result? Something entirely, delightfully his own.
Terrific entertainers in their own right, together they make for something truly special! We're thrilled to welcome them back to the stage as masters of ceremonies.
Amy Kucharik (/kuh-CHAR-ick/) has played ukulele as her primary instrument for more than a decade, and her teaching philosophy is simple: the fastest way to get better is to play. Her workshops blend active music-making with just the right doses of technique, theory, and cultural context — fun, effective, and never a dull moment.
A sought-after teaching artist, Amy has brought her workshops to festivals across the country, from Rocky Mountain Ukefest to Mighty Uke Day and beyond.
Eric Guerin is a faculty member at Apple Tree Arts in Grafton, where he leads themed monthly jams and community classes across Southern Worcester County. Strummin' Up to Boston will mark his first time as a workshop instructor at the event.
"In my opinion, a group environment is among the best environments to learn the ukulele — and having friends who are learning with you makes it fun."
Nick Howarth has been involved in the Boston ukulele scene for over a decade. You may know him as the co-leader of the Strummerville Ukulele Club, the smarmy host of the Ukulele Game Show Happy Hour, or that guy who shows up to the holiday party in an inflatable reindeer costume. Nick's ukulele interests include playing songs too fast, singing out of key, and turning every song into a disco anthem. (“Stairway to Heaven”? More like, “Stairway to Dance Floor”!)
John Soares is the creative force and mastermind behind some of metro Boston's most unique and unexpected ukulele experiences — from Strummin' Up to Boston and Strummin' to the Movies, to Shipping Up to Boston, the Boston area's premier ukulele cruise! When he isn't co-leading the beloved Strummerville Ukulele Club alongside Nick Howarth, John is busy cooking up something new and guaranteed to be a good time. Aptly dubbed the "King-Daddy of Inventiveness," if John's involved, expect the unexpected.
Workshop Descriptions
Session 1 (1:15–2:00pm)
Amy Kucharik — Absolute Beginner Ukulele No experience? No problem. The ukulele might just be the friendliest instrument on the planet — easy to hold, easy on the fingers, and capable of making real music faster than you'd believe. In this workshop, you'll start from zero: how to tune your uke, how to hold it, and how to play your first chords. By the end, you'll be strumming actual songs. Seriously. This one's for absolute beginners only, so leave your intimidation at the door and bring your enthusiasm.
Eric Guerin — Crack the Code: Reading Ukulele Tab Ever seen those mysterious numbers and lines that unlock your favorite songs? That's tablature — and once you learn to read it, a whole world of music opens up. In this workshop, you'll decode the secret language of "tab" and discover how those simple numbers on a string diagram tell you exactly where to put your fingers, no music degree required. Whether you're a total beginner or just never learned to read tab, you'll walk away with a superpower that lets you learn virtually any song on your own. Grab your uke — it's time to crack the code.
Nick Howarth — Up the Neck: Exploring the Fretboard Most players never leave the first few frets — and they're missing half the instrument. Venture past the fifth fret and your ukulele opens up into new chord voicings, fresh sounds, and a whole different feel. In this workshop, you'll break free from the headstock and start treating the entire fretboard as your playground. Same chords, new positions, way more interesting. It's time to take a walk up the neck.
Session 2 (2:15–3:00pm)
Amy Kucharik — Making the Song Work for You (and Uke!) Playing solo, working with a small ensemble, or leading a local uke group, most ukulele musicians encounter songs they'd like to play but feel limited by some element — whether it's challenging chords, difficult vocal ranges, or needing a particular riff to make the song sound just right. In this workshop, we'll tackle many of those elements with the goal of empowering you to arrange songs and make them work for you! You'll learn how to figure out the best key and how to transpose a song, what to do with tricky chords, basic song forms and sections, and what to do with instrumentals, intros, and outros. We'll also explore considerations for arranging songs across different performance scenarios. All levels welcome. Baritone-friendly.
Eric Guerin — Island Strum Close your eyes and you can almost feel the breeze. The Island Strum is the signature rhythm of the ukulele — that irresistible, sun-soaked pattern that makes everything sound like a vacation. In this workshop, you'll get that groove under your fingers and into your bones, turning a simple strum into something that actually swings. Fair warning: this one's contagious.
Heather Mumford & Harris Kendrick — Play Well With Others: Ukulele Ensemble Skills The ukulele is a blast solo — but put it in a room with other instruments and something magic happens. In this workshop, you'll explore what it means to truly play together: when to lead, when to lay back, how to listen as much as you strum. You'll experiment with different strumming and picking patterns, trade off between lead and rhythm roles, and discover how a simple song like "You Are My Sunshine" can sound completely different depending on who's driving and who's supporting. No prior ensemble experience needed — just an open ear and a willingness to share the spotlight.
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Newton Cultural Council, a local council that is supported by the Mass Cultural Council and the City of Newton.
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