Artists and Workshops
Here's a list of our fabulous artists!
Gerald Ross is comfortable with just about every type of “roots” music there is, from western swing, bluegrass, Hawaiian, blues, jug band music, jazz standards, Tin Pan Alley, New Orleans rhythms to boogie-woogie, and he plays it all on guitar, lap steel, Dobro and ukulele.
He’s performed in concert with Bonnie Raitt, Arlo Guthrie, Doc Watson, Johnny Gimble, Riders In The Sky, Brownie McGhee and many others. He appears in the award winning film documentaries “The Mighty Uke” and the PBS syndicated “Wheatland – The First 40 Years.”
Gerald won the Solo Artist Category of the 1993 WEMU Jazz Competition and has appeared many times on “A Prairie Home Companion.”
Today Gerald is one of America’s best-known performers, entertainers and advocates for the ukulele. He’s released seven solo CDs, published instructional materials, and is very much in demand as a music festival instructor in the United States and abroad.
Workshop
A Master Class lecture/demo featuring an in-depth look into timeless standard All Of Me. Gerald breaks the song down to it’s basics before ramping things up to jazzier chords and improvisations. Attendees will learn new musical tips and tricks which will enhance their playing no matter where they are in their ukulele journey.
Gerald Ross
Bumper Jacksons are hot and sweet, painting America's story from the streets of New Orleans to Appalachian hollers. Unafraid to scrap together new sounds from forgotten 78's, the Bumper Jacksons elegantly balance paying homage to the traditions while fashioning their own unique, playful style.
Workshop
Playing kazoo can be fun, but there are a few tricks to make it more interesting than just playing the melody. This workshop will approach playing kazoo from a vocal perspective. It will teach an introduction to improvisation and "riffing off of the melody" to develop an interesting solo. The principles taught in this workshop can be applied to developing instrumental lead breaks for other instruments, as well as, for creating innovative vocal arrangements.
Bumper Jacksons
The Aloha Boys
The Aloha Boys have been playing their music since 1996. Based out of the Washington D.C. area, they have performed at numerous functions from backyard parties to festivals and concerts. We have played many local venues including on the National Mall (for the openings of the World War II Memorial and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian), the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage, the Barns at Wolf Trap, the Washington National Cathedral and the U.S. Capitol, but also at other venues throughout the U.S., including Carnegie Hall, New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Charlotte, California, and Hawai'i.
Amy Ferebee
For more than thirty years, Amy Ferebee has been honing her unique musical skills and delighting audiences from D.C. to Dallas and entertaining widely in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Noted for her impressive guitar work and powerful vocals, Ferebee soulfully transports her listeners with an eclectic mix of traditional fiddle tunes and fingerstyle blues, choice new-grass songs and jazz standards, along with some nice originals thrown in for good measure.