Who are we?
The Ukes of Hazzy are a merry group of (mostly) ukulele players who meet for a couple of hours every Tuesday evening in Haslingden to play and sing wonderful songs and have fun.
In addition to the informal Tuesday sessions we also perform throughout the year, primarily at charity fundraising events.
While most folk play the ukulele we're also complemented by people on bass, drum, percussion, banjolele, mouth organ and accordion. And the occasional kazoo.
The Ukes of Hazzy were formed in 2023, born out of a shared desire to build a dynamic, all-inclusive ukulele group. It started with ten people sitting in the Rose and Crown pub in Haslingden wondering what on earth we’d done, and what we should aim to be (and whether we’d exist in a few weeks' time!). Since then, the group has blossomed to seventy-plus people on our WhatsApp group, of whom forty or so are ‘regular’ attendees.
Andrew, one of the founding members, says:
“I spent the first eighteen months worrying whether anyone would turn up each week, but I don't worry now.
Since we started we've performed at many gigs, curated and hosted two successful uke festivals featuring hundreds of uke players, raised lots of money for local charities, raised our musical standards, welcomed players of other instruments and - most importantly of all - thoroughly enjoyed each other's company.
We created The Ukes of Hazzy not by defining our aims but by simply letting it happen. I can't speak for the others who were at the first meeting, but I'm quite chuffed at how things have turned out!”
(Haslingden is in Rossendale in Lancashire, UK)