Uketoberfest 2024

The 2024 Uketoberfest! Schedule will be posted soon.  Please reserve the full day.

The Webb-Tigert Ukulele Duo (Featured Teaching Artists):
Lisa Webb and Bob Tigert are seasoned Nashville pros, both for live gigs and in recording studios, who are playing Americana, country, rock and roll, R&B, jazz, blues and more; using an assortment of ukuleles in amazing and engaging ways. They write much of their material, and their performances as they travel across the United States have been glowingly described in national media as “awesome,” “compelling,” and “a force to be reckoned with;” and they have been written up as “genuinely nice people.”

Their first album together, “The Webb-Tigert Ukulele Duo”, was released in March, 2023, “Four Strings and the Truth” in early 2024, and their upcoming release “Love Ya, Love Ya, Love Ya” is due this fall.

Their workshops have been widely acclaimed as well, covering music genres such as jazz and blues, songwriting and arranging, bass, and more for players of all levels.

Ben Hassenger (Uketoberfest! Artistic Director and Teaching Artist):
Ben’s musical career began in the early 1970s when he was arrested for playing “Smoke on the Water” on accordion and singing in animal sounds in the cafeteria at Lansing Community College. It was the start of something special, for sure.

In 2009, on a trip to Hawaii, Ben stumbled upon Roy Sakuma’s legendary “Ukulele Festival Hawaii” and was captivated by the diminutive but dynamic instrument and the communal aloha spirit of the people playing it. His life changed that day.

Ben is now well-known as the “Ukulele Ambassador of Michigan,” teaching students young and old, in schools, libraries, senior centers, and other community venues. He is also in charge of festivals such as Mighty Uke Day, Midwest Uke & Harmonica Camp, Uketoberfest! at Interlochen Center for the Arts, and the Ashokan Uke Fest (Olivebridge, New York). Ben co-founded the Lansing Area Ukulele Group (LAUGH) and established the Music is the Foundation 501(c)(3) to help bring the joy of the uke to Michigan classrooms and communities. He performs solo and as a member of The Ukulele Kings and is also a prolific songwriter, with two of his songs about the Detroit Tigers enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. 

Andy Wilson (Guest Artist):
Andy Wilson is a multi-instrumentalist known for his work on harmonica, trumpet, and accordion with Michigan bands Steppin’ In It, The Springtails, The Wilson Brothers, and Those Delta Rhythm Kings. Andy has been playing the harmonica since the age of 7, and has developed a wide range of styles on chromatic, diatonic, bass, and chord harmonicas. He was a featured performer at the 2007 SPAH (Society for the Preservation and Advancement of the Harmonica) convention in Milwaukee, and has toured extensively with “Steppin’ In It,” a folk variety show featuring singer-songwriter Joshua Davis, a finalist on season 8 of NBC’s “The Voice.”

At the turn of the millennium, Andy discovered the ukulele, and has been an enthusiast of the instrument ever since. A lover of jazz, Andy finds his ukulele inspiration in chord-melody masters Lyle Ritz and Ohta San. Andy’s wife, Julianna, is also an accomplished ukulele player, accompanying her vocals in the The Springtails. The “jumping flea” has spread to the rest of the family, resulting in The Wilson Family Ukulele Obsession, featuring Andy’s parents and sister. Andy holds a degree in Jazz Studies from Michigan State University, and writes ensemble and chord-solo arrangements for standard-tuned and baritone ukulele. https://www.andywilsonmusic.net/