PUTNEY — After two successful years, the Vermont Ukulele Harvest is back for another weekend event filled with ukulele fun - including two concerts, a full day of workshops, jam sessions, and an open mic.
The third Vermont Ukulele Harvest is set for Oct. 25 and 26 at Next Stage Arts, 15 Kimball Hill. Performers include Jim and Liz Beloff, Stu Fuchs, Ben Carr, Amy Conley, Ron Kelley, and Veronica Stevens.
The ukulele world owes much of its success to Jim and Liz Beloff, and the VUH is honored to have them as headliners.
Finding an ukulele at the Pasadena Rose Bowl Flea Market in 1992 inspired the Beloffs to start Flea Market Music, Inc., publisher of the popular Jumpin' Jim's series of ukulele songbooks. This series is sold worldwide and includes The Daily Ukulele: 365 Songs For Better Living and The Daily Ukulele: Leap Year Edition, two of the best-selling ukulele songbooks ever published.
Jim Beloff is the author of The Ukulele - A Visual History (Backbeat Books), producer of Legends of Ukulele, a CD compilation for Rhino Records, and has made three how-to-play DVDs for Homespun.
Jim is also an active songwriter. His 2014 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.
Liz Beloff, with a background in film and television graphics, designs the covers and art-directs all of Flea Market Music's songbooks, CDs, and DVDs. She is also a talented singer who, before teaming up with Jim, sang with a cappella groups in college and New York City.
As performers, the Bellofs have become known for their breezy, close harmonies on standards and Jim's original songs. They perform throughout the U.S. and have toured internationally.
Ben Carr is one of the driving forces behind the formation of the Vermont Ukulele Harvest, and can be found performing throughout southern Vermont as a solo act, with his band The Ben Carr Music Project, and as a sideman in both the blues group Sunny Lowdown Band and the cajun/creole group Bayou X.
Carr is a graduate of the James Hill Ukulele Initiative and enjoys teaching and sharing the joys of music. He uses intricate strum patterns, fingerpicking, percussive tones, looped beats/riffs, and harmonic textures.
His solo ukulele performances include both original compositions and covers, from jazz standards and classical to rock and reggae, and fuse traditional techniques and classical styles with modern songwriting. Carr's music combines his early years growing up in Southeast Pennsylvania with his time in New Orleans and Vermont.
Stuart Fuchs is a Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist, recording artist, sound healer, and an innovative and compassionate teacher. He plays a wide variety of music on acoustic guitar and ukulele.
Amy Conley, M.Ed., is a performer and teacher of music living in Milford, N.H. For more than 30 years, she has created and worked in a variety of musical settings with all ages, from infants to seniors.
Ron Kelley is a saxophonist who discovered the joys of ukulele about 10 years ago and now includes it in performances with his band, Ron Kelley and the Hot Noodles.
Veronica Stevens is a musician, singer, actor, and dancer.