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Going to GMUG? Enter code GMUG25 to access the MBOTMA $60 Member price.
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Friday, Saturday & Sunday Events
Friday Moving Past the Basics 2
Friday, November 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. - www.MPtB.us
What - MPtB is a 4 hour workshop that helps ukulele players move to the next level. Updated from the 2024 MPtB. MPtB is taught by Tony Anthonisen.
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Tony teaches ukulele classes and uke workshops, as well as leading dozens of ukulele jams. This includes Minnesota Bluegrass and Old-Time Music Association classes, Twin Cities Ukulele Club workshops and jams, Steve Kaufman Acoustic Kamp workshops and jams, Port Townsend Ukulele Festival jams, and numerous local and regional "music happenings." Tony founded the Twin Cities Ukulele Club, and he organizes and leads TC Uke Club events, including the Great Minnesota Uke Gathering.
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Tony will also be doing an "Ask a Ukulele Instructor" session on Saturday morning.
Links to Workshop Materials Coming About November 1, 2025
Friday Eve Uke Fest
GMUG Registration Desk Open at 5:30 p.m, followed at 6:00 by:
Jim Beloff Daily Ukulele - Another Year Purple Book Jam
Jim Beloff, the Compiler and arranger of the The Daily Ukulele - Another Year - "The Purple Book," lead us in singing some of his favorites.
Mike and Dylan Cramer, along with J.D. Shaffer -
43 Degrees Concert
43 Degrees Concert
Click on the 43 Degrees Band photo to hear them "step out."
Mike will be playing ukulele at the 43 Degrees concert. |
Unfortunately, Mike's wife Allison will be unable to join Mike and son Dylan on stage. However, Mike, Dylan and J.D. Shaffer, the 43 Degrees Band, will be stepping in and out.
The stepping out is what they will be doing, and they do it VERY well! |
On a chilly Minnesota October day, the band came together for the first time to play an outdoor park concert. October temperatures can vary greatly in Minnesota and, on this day, the high was 43 degrees. Chilly temps make it challenging for cold fingers to play hot licks, but the band delivered. The audience was captivated and, dare I say, warmed by the energy coming from that park pavilion. This was the beginning of 43 Degrees.
About Dylan - Dylan has been playing mandolin for nearly a decade. He is a member of 43 Degrees, a Bluegrass/Americana trio as well as contributing his talents to the Westminster Presbyterian Bluegrass band and the Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra. He has twice competed at the National Mandolin Contest.
About Dylan - Dylan has been playing mandolin for nearly a decade. He is a member of 43 Degrees, a Bluegrass/Americana trio as well as contributing his talents to the Westminster Presbyterian Bluegrass band and the Minnesota Mandolin Orchestra. He has twice competed at the National Mandolin Contest.
Open Mic! with Jam Masters Extraordinaire -
Dale & Brenda Moe
Dale & Brenda Moe
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Sing your best! Make your ukulele sing too! Strut your stuff on the Friday Open Mic stage!
Dale and Brenda are members of the Two Harbors Ukulele Group with tons of experience leading jams, public performance and the Silver Creek International Ukulele Carnival. |
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Saturday
Jim Beloff
Jim Beloff (pronounced bee-loff) is the author of The Ukulele—A Visual History (Backbeat Books) and author, arranger, and publisher of theJumpin’ Jim’s series of ukulele songbooks with over 1,000,000 copies in print. This series is available worldwide and includes The Daily Ukulele,one of the biggest and best-selling ukulele songbooks ever published. AllJumpin’ Jim’s songbooks are distributed by Hal Leonard LLC. In December 2021, Backbeat books published Jim’s memoir, UKEtopia—Adventures in the Ukulele World. In November, 2024, The Daily Ukulele: Another Year was released. This highly anticipated edition of “yet another” 365 songs is the third songbook in the series.
Jim produced Legends of Ukulele, a CD compilation for Rhino Records, and has made three how-to-play DVDs for Homespun. He is also an active songwriter and has released a number of CDs. His two-CD set,Dreams I Left in Pockets, features 33 songs he wrote or co-wrote with uke legends, Herb “Ohta-san” Ohta and Lyle Ritz. His most recent album, The Wind and Sun, was released in August 2020 and a new album, Mid-Century Modern, is expected to be released sometime in 2025.
In 1999, Jim composed and premiered Uke Can’t Be Serious, a concerto for solo ukulele and symphony orchestra. Since then, the piece has been performed with both high school and professional orchestras, including the Michigan Philharmonic in 2016. He has also performed it many times with a string quartet. His second concerto for ukulele and orchestra, The Dove Tale, premiered in 2017 with the Wallingford (Connecticut) Symphony Orchestra.
Jim and his wife, Liz Maihock Beloff, own Flea Market Music, Inc., a company dedicated to the ukulele and they play their family’s Fluke, Flea and Firefly ukes. They have toured Japan, Australia and Canada and believe in their company’s motto, “Uke Can Change the World.”
Visit Jim online at www.fleamarketmusic.com and facebook.com/jimbeloffmusic.
Jim produced Legends of Ukulele, a CD compilation for Rhino Records, and has made three how-to-play DVDs for Homespun. He is also an active songwriter and has released a number of CDs. His two-CD set,Dreams I Left in Pockets, features 33 songs he wrote or co-wrote with uke legends, Herb “Ohta-san” Ohta and Lyle Ritz. His most recent album, The Wind and Sun, was released in August 2020 and a new album, Mid-Century Modern, is expected to be released sometime in 2025.
In 1999, Jim composed and premiered Uke Can’t Be Serious, a concerto for solo ukulele and symphony orchestra. Since then, the piece has been performed with both high school and professional orchestras, including the Michigan Philharmonic in 2016. He has also performed it many times with a string quartet. His second concerto for ukulele and orchestra, The Dove Tale, premiered in 2017 with the Wallingford (Connecticut) Symphony Orchestra.
Jim and his wife, Liz Maihock Beloff, own Flea Market Music, Inc., a company dedicated to the ukulele and they play their family’s Fluke, Flea and Firefly ukes. They have toured Japan, Australia and Canada and believe in their company’s motto, “Uke Can Change the World.”
Visit Jim online at www.fleamarketmusic.com and facebook.com/jimbeloffmusic.
Mike Cramer
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Mike Cramer is a versatile multi-instrumentalist. Whether playing bluegrass, jazz, blues, or swing, he brings an infectious energy to the stage.
A graduate of The University of Northern Iowa’s School of Music, Mike has taught countless students for over 20 years. He has held teaching positions at Grinnell College, St. Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, National Guitar Summer Workshop, Brian Wicklund’s Fiddle Pal Camp, and Steve Kaufman's Acoustic Kamp where Mike taught both ukulele and swing guitar. |
He has presented ukulele workshops at the Great Minnesota Uke Gathering and has led an ongoing jazz, swing and blues ukulele class in Minneapolis over the past 5 years. Ranging from soulful to fiery hot, his lead work has impressed audiences throughout the United States. An award winning Flatpicker, he won 2nd place in the National Flatpicking Contest in Winfield, Kansas, the 2012 Minnesota State Flatpick Guitar Contest as well as the 2014 and 2015 Upper Midwest Flatpick Championship. He is a member of the Barley Jacks and Cafe Accordion Orchestra and can be heard with a variety of jazz ensembles in the Minneapolis/St. Paul music scene. His website is www.mikecramermusic.com. Mike can truly play and teach ukulele!
Brenda & Dale Moe
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Saturday Series
3 Steps to Ukulele Success 1. Saturday Beginner Lesson 2. Moving Past the Basics 3. Moving Up and Up Dale and Brenda are active members of the Two Harbors Ukulele Group. Among their tremendous ukulele skills are working with all levels of ukulele players. They are masters at teaching uke skills in an enjoyable and understandable way.
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Their smiles show how much fun ukulele is!
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Annie Loch
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Annie is the founder of Dandelion Joy Music and the director of the Minneapolis Youth Ukulele Orchestra. At Dandelion Joy Music, students learn how two play ukulele or piano, write their own songs, and play together with others. Students can also learn simple recording methods and how to create their own music videos.
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Annie received her BA from Carleton College where she studied music, education, and English. She went on to get her Masters in Social Work at the University of Minnesota. She is a songwriter who loves the process of bringing a song to life. She plays the ukulele, trumpet, accordion, and piano.
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She is currently a Mental Health Support Specialist for the Minneapolis Public Schools school district, and has worked with youth for over twenty years as a teacher, social worker and mentor.
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Minneapolis Youth Ukulele Orchestra Concert
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The Minneapolis Youth Ukulele Orchestra is a fun opportunity for young people to play fun songs in a group. We work hard, but have a playful approach, incorporating kazoos, singing, clapping and egg shakers. Participants learn how to play collaboratively with each other, at the same tempo, listening to one another and having harmonizing parts. We rehearse weekly in a large group and will have three performances this year.
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Ask a Ukulele Instructor
With Tony Anthonisen
With Tony Anthonisen
This is your chance to ask questions about buying, playing, jamming, taking care of, restringing . . . WHATEVER about ukulele! An hour of question, answer, demonstration with Tony. See Tony's bio at the top of this webpage.
THUG Ensemble Concert
The Two Harbors Ukulele Group (T.H.U.G.) Ensemble was formed about twelve years ago by Al Anderson. He recruited some members for the Two Harbors Ukulele Group and it grew from there. The Two Harbors Ukulele Group now performs approximately 40 times a year from as far south as Lanesboro, Minnesota to the Naniboujou Lodge near the Canadian border. Their music ranges from the 1920's to present...quite a variety. They like to say they are the only ukulele group in Minnesota to perform music by Frank Zappa.
Click on the photos to enlarge.
Sunday
Gloryland Gospel Band Jam
The Gloryland Gospel Band delivers toe-tapping messages of hope, comfort, and celebration. Let them inspire you with familiar hymns and Gospel classics that will warm your heart and soothe your soul. Their mission remains steadfast to the Word — to share our music, inspiring others to give and receive the precious gift of His love everyday. Join them to listen, play and sing along. The Gloryland Gospel Band is made up of talented instrumentalists and vocalists from the Twin Cities. Join the Gloryland Gospel Band for an all-instrument celebration JAM - 10-11:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
Information - Contact - [email protected]
The Twin Cities Ukulele Club Email List
If you would like to receive ALL event TCUC notices about our Jams and other events, including GMUG,
1. Send an email to [email protected].
2. Put Let Me Know About TC Uke Club Jams & Events in the subject.
3. Include both your first and last name, and
4. include both your city and state.
If you would like to receive ALL event TCUC notices about our Jams and other events, including GMUG,
1. Send an email to [email protected].
2. Put Let Me Know About TC Uke Club Jams & Events in the subject.
3. Include both your first and last name, and
4. include both your city and state.
The Great Minnesota Uke Gathering is Organized by the Twin Cities Ukulele Club GMUG Planning Group - Bill Beckman (Co-Chair), Don Harju (Co-Chair), Jo Moser (Co-Chair), Tony Anthonisen (Co-Chair), Craig Rothfolk (Co-Chair), Ryan Carlson, Steve Forslund, Karen Olson, Will Ribbens, Bruce Weaver, and Mickie Weaver.