NIA ROBLES: I was like, “Oh, that sounds interesting.” So I kind of just texted her on GroupMe, and she just talked about it. JESSICA MA: One of the club’s goals is to attract new members with a range of experiences playing the ukulele, from complete beginners to veteran strummers.ĮRICA SCHMITT: Weinberg sophomore Nia Robles found out about the club at the start of Spring Quarter when she saw Nitya’s post in the class of 2024 GroupMe. Which is, it’s more just to be like a really fun space to be creative and also just relax, meet new people and like learn a fun skill. It’s kind of supposed to be like a refuge from all of these clubs on campus that are dedicated to just advancing yourself professionally. NITYA AGRAWAL : It’s not really like a club to build your resume or something like that. Nitya said she wants the rebooted club to be a space away from academic pressures. But once she got to campus, the club disbanded.ĮRICA SCHMITT: At NU, there is a lot of pressure to always be busy, whether that’s extracurriculars or a heavy class schedule. She remembered first hearing about it while taking a campus tour and thought it would be fun. JESSICA MA : Nitya rebooted the club this spring. We’re hearing about what the club on campus is all about. That was Weinberg sophomore Nitya Agrawal, the founder and acting president of the Ukulele Club. This is Podculture, a podcast about arts and culture on campus and beyond. JESSICA MA: From The Daily Northwestern, I’m Jessica Ma.ĮRICA SCHMITT: And I’m Erica Schmitt. I guess I just saw a need, and so I just kind of wanted to fill that need. NITYA AGRAWAL : It was a club that I really would have wanted to join if I was a freshman. Nitya Agrawal, who rebooted the club, and other student members talk about the new community that combines both seasoned players and complete beginners. Our gigs are more like Karaoke concerts as we encourage and expect our audiences to sing along.A new chord is strumming on campus with the Ukulele Club.
The vast majority of our audiences will instantly know our songs and be able to sing along. We play a lot of different styles of music ranging from 50's rock and roll to modern pop.
We must be doing something right! To see what were doing and maybe come along and watch us check out our WHAT'S ON page above. We have done many concerts, including music festivals, churches, working men's clubs and even an annual Christmas concert in a large supermarket. As you can see quite a variety. We have many requests for our services but unfortunately we just cant fit them all in and the requests far exceed what we can actually do. It's fantastic when you see an audience singing along and really enjoying themselves. It's a real privilege to be able to perform to audiences and we always try and put on a good show. The first principle of SUGS is 'fun' and we have that in bucket loads. Check out our REVIEW page above to see what folks have said about us. From those humble beginnings we have grown and grown to great success. Be warned though, the ukulele bug is highly contagious!! In 2011 Sylvia, an existing member started the group with about 5 members in the basement of a shop. From beginners to more experienced players and those who might like to 'give it a go' you are more than welcome. We always have a warm welcome for fellow Ukulele players from near and far. Hello and welcome to the Sandy Ukulele website.