The unique sound of the ukulele will ring through Norwich this weekend as the city hosts its fourth regional festival to celebrate the musical instrument's revival.
Uke East will return to Norwich from today (Friday, September 22) with a series of performances by local artists and leading professionals, as well as workshops to help musicians wow listeners.
Use of the famous instrument, which was popular in the early part of the century, has declined in recent years as pop music has taken over.
But in recent years it has seen a revival, with Uke East growing to a full weekend of events and hundreds of people standing to watch its 'big busk' in the city centre.
Tim Colman, chairman of the festival, said: 'It's become quite a phenomenon but you struggle to put your finger on why.
'It's a great instrument and vehicle for making music for other people. If you can't sing or are not in a choir, it's a very good way of sharing music.
'It's a very simple instrument to play and get going with. An awful lot of schools are teaching children how to play the ukulele now, instead of the recorder.
'It's very portable and easy to transport. A huge number of well-known, popular songs can usually be done on the ukuele.
'When we start up in the street, there are always songs people have heard but they've never heard them on the ukulele before.
'The festival has grown from being a quite a local thing to be being recognised around the UK. We even get people from Australia and Austria, so people are coming from far and wide.
'It's very friendly and inclusive. There's really something for everyone.'
The festival will start in the Coachmakers Arms on Friday night with an open mic event and a 'strum-a-long',
Saturday from noon features workshops of singing, ukulele technique and song-writing, while in the afternoon there will be performances as Aubrey and Zelda host the Moonlight Lounge including sets from Himazas, Blue Luna, the Norwich Ukulele Society and Zip Pain.
The evening, from 6.30pm, features ENNÉ, Peter Moss, AD Cooke, Biscuithead and the Biscuit Badgers and The Poor Boys of Worcester, hosted by MC Desmond O'Connor.
The weekend ends on Sunday morning with a mass busk in the streets of Norwich.
For more information, visit https://uke-east.co.uk/
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here