Battle of the Ukulele Bands

On Saturday June 13, Somerville, MA will be home to the second annual Battle of the Ukulele Bands at the historic Arts at the Armory. Ukulele acts from across the region will compete for prizes and fundraising glory before a panel of celebrity judges. New England author and Chronicle reporter Ted Reinstein will emcee the day’s events, starting at 1:00 p.m (doors at 12:30 p.m). Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 on the day; children aged 5 and under, $20.

The Battle will benefit the Ukulele Kids Club, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing music to hospitalized children. The UKC operates in over 200 US hospitals, including Dana Farber, Boston Children’s, Shriners, and Hasbro Children’s, and has donated more than 8,000 ukuleles and music therapy programs to help children and their families. Learn more about the UKC’s mission here: https://theukc.org, or from NBC’s Nightly News: https://theukc.org/nbc-nightly-news/

This year’s hosts, the Unlikely Strummers, were the winners of the 2019 Battle of the Ukulele Bands, and the event’s top fundraisers. They have been playing together since 2017 and are actively involved in bringing music to the community through performances at public and private events, as well as fundraising for the Ukulele Kids Club and donating "lending ukes" to public libraries.

For updates on celebrity judges, prizes, exclusive auction items and more, visit ukebattle2020.weebly.com.

"We are thrilled to be able to host the second annual Battle of the Ukulele Bands at the Center for Arts at the Armory. Not only does the event promise to be engaging and entertaining from a musical point of view, the fact that the proceeds will support the Ukulele Kids Club and music therapy for children in Greater Boston hospitals means the event will reverberate far beyond the walls of the Armory."

-- Stephanie Scherpf, Executive Director, The Center for Arts at the Armory