Silver Creek International Ukulele Carnival
August 14-17, 2024
Lake Country Fairgrounds
1381 Fairgrounds Road, Two Harbors, MN
(Still inside the Silver Creek Township)
The 2024 Carnival was a huge success!
We enjoyed some wonderful ukulele music and workshops, but more importantly, we were able to spend some time with some really wonderful people from all over the United States and a few from other countries.
Thank you to everyone who came to be part of this year's Carnival and a big thanks to all who helped to make it happen!
The 2025 Silver Creek International Ukulele Carnival is scheduled for August 14 - 17, 2025.
The Silver Creek International Ukulele Carnival (SCIUC) was founded in 2011 as a way to bring together ukulele players for fun and education. The Two Harbors Ukulele Group hosts this annual Carnival. It really is a labor of love from a whole lot of volunteers (who put in a lot of hours), most of whom are ukulele players. This is a weekend designed to give you plenty of opportunity to spend time playing your ukulele and develop friendships with people from all over the world.
Admission to the Silver Creek International Ukulele Carnival is free!
As always, admission for the Carnival is free. The only costs involved may be for SCIUC T-shirts, caps, the Saturday evening catered dinner, or camping or lodging expenses.
We have never charged an admission price to the Carnival since it was started in 2011. The Carnival is funded by the money donated to the Two Harbors Ukulele Group when they perform, from sponsors and grants, and from donations made by people who freely contribute to help make this annual event continue year after year.
We offer workshops, open mic, beginner lessons, mini concerts, and practices for our Mass Ukulele Group (M.U.G.) music, which will be featured in the free Saturday afternoon concert that is open to the general public. This year we have a few more concerts scheduled by some really talented musicians.
The Carnival provides opportunities to build friendships with fellow ukulele players from all over the world. There is something about singing and playing together that opens the heart. Take advantage of this by meeting others, sharing music around the camp fire or open mic, or your own small group.
The Carnival brings together some of the friendliest folks who come back year after year. There is something magic about 200 folks playing and singing together! Be inspired by others who play at a higher skill level. Exposing yourself to different playing styles is really a lot of fun!
At the 2024 Carnival, we had another opportunity to take a series of progressive beginner classes with Chris Russell to really get immersed in the ukulele. In 2024 Chris added two intermediate classes to help take you to the next level, and get your specific questions answered. Chris does an outstanding job of teaching. I heard some remark that he was the best teacher they have ever seen! He created a 72 page Beginner’s Book with online videos that are linked inside of the book.
In 2022, we outgrew the Silver Creek Music Pavilion facility and in 2023 we moved the Carnival to the Lake County Fairgrounds, which is still located in the Silver Creek township (so we didn’t have to change the name!).
The 2024 Carnival
Lil Rev
Lil Rev grew up in Milwaukee, WI, graduating from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee in 1993 with a B.S. Degree in Community Education. His musical inspiration started when he was just a kid listening to his dad’s record collection.
In the early 1990’s he was given an old beat up ukulele by a fan. He didn’t know it at the time, but this act of kindness, would alter his life in ways he could never have imagined. With each passing year, he began to become more and more enamored with the ukulele, researching, collecting ephemera, connecting with other players around the country and eventually recording ukulele records and writing books.
From 1993 until 2000, He toured the Midwest as a troubadour, performing at coffee shops, nursing homes, street corners, house concerts and community festivals, both solo, and later on with the Milwaukee Super group Frogwater. During this time, He played at so many nursing homes, assisted living centers and veterans homes that his friends jokingly called him “The King of The Nursing Home Circuit!” He still is proud of that title because he loves being with our elders! Milwaukee, WI was a great town with lots of bars, coffee shops and the lower east side street corners to busk on summer nights.
To this day, my work largely revolves around teaching, performing, writing and recording ukulele themed projects. He is particularly interested in the ukulele’s role in old time music and blues styles, but he also enjoys writing his own songs. He tours North America, teaching at music camps, festivals, and concert series, as well as presenting his one man musical history shows. He performs about 125-150 shows a year.
Locally, he runs a ukulele club and annual ukulele festival and he can often be found teaching music at Mead Library in Sheboygan, as well as Brass Bell Music Store in Milwaukee. In addition to his solo endeavors, he occasionally work with John Nicholson of the Celtic duo Frogwater, as well as with Milwaukee Guitar & Amp Maven Jawbone Jimmy Eannelli as a duo. In Sheboygan, he can often be found performing with local favorites Mike Ammons and The Water Street Hot Shots as well as with local Fiddler Tim Dekker.
Lil Rev performed in our Thursday evening concert, taught three workshops on Friday and Saturday, taught a M.U.G. song, performed in our Saturday afternoon concert, and performed in a fantastic multi-instrument full solo concert on Saturday evening.
Lil Rev’s Website: lilrev.com
Lil Rev’s Facebook page
Lil Rev on X
Lil Rev on Linked In
Lil Rev’s YouTube channel
Webb-Tigert
Hailing from St. Louis, Lisa Webb is a singer, songwriter, pianist, and ukulelist who has performed nationwide. After earning a Masters Degree in Music Composition at North Texas State, she sang and played piano for years in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Las Vegas. She has released several recordings, was part of a feature musical film, THE OFF BROADS and presently makes her home in Nashville, TN. She is currently excited to be an Ohana endorsed Artist and one half of the WEBB-TIGERT Duo!
After a remarkably successful international video career, Bob Tigert began playing bluegrass bass in the Nashville community, while producing various recordings – one of which introduced him to the power and depth of a well-played ukulele. He has since released multiple albums with “Bob’s Your Uncle” and as a solo singer-songwriter, and now with Webb-Tigert; and he is a Sponsored Artist of Lanikai Ukuleles Ukulele Magazine’s Editor Blair Jackson recently described his playing as “bold and assertive, and there’s variation a’plenty in his strumming and fingerpicking technique. The man can play!”
Lisa Webb and Bob Tigert are seasoned Nashville pros, both for LIVE gigs and in recording studios, who are playing Americana, country, rock and roll, R&B, jazz, blues and more…, using an assortment of ukuleles in amazing and engaging ways. They write much of their material (and they write REALLY well!); and their performances as they travel across the United States have been glowingly described in national media as “awesome,” “compelling,” and “a force to be reckoned with;” and they have been written up as “genuinely nice people.”
Their first album together (who knows how many records they have played on, individually?), The Webb-Tigert Ukulele Duo, was released in March, 2023, at an international ukulele festival, and audiences and artists from around the globe started playing, singing and recording their songs immediately. Their second album (an all ukulele country-gospel project) will be released in April 2024, followed by their second original music album in early Summer 2024.
Unique, groove-based, intricate, polished, beautiful, funky – it all applies. The Webb-Tigert Ukulele Duo just might be your new favorite group.
Webb-Tigert performed in our Thursday evening concert, taught three workshops on Friday and Saturday, including our first ever ukulele bass workshop, performed in a full concert on Friday evening, taught a M.U.G. song, and performed in our Saturday afternoon concert. They played a few songs with Lil Rev, too.
Ukester Brown
Ukester Brown (aka David Remiger) got his first ‘ukulele when he was about twelve years old and while he learned a few chords at that time he started playing it more intentionally about 30 years later when he dusted off his uke and hasn’t looked back.
His YouTube channel has over 3400 subscribers and over 350 videos with many of his videos having tutorials. His website (ukesterbrown.com) is a collection of everything ‘ukulele. The song sheets he creates mainly focus on music from the 1920’s though the 50’s and he loves to include introductions and verses that seem to have been lost.
“I feel blessed to have been able to teach and perform at quite a few uke festivals and clubs in Minnesota and Wisconsin and as far as Winnipeg, Mannitoba, Memphis, TN, North Carolina and Florida.”
Ukester has been coming to every Carnival since the beginning. He has been instrumental in helping us grow the event and introducing us to ukulele friends from all over the country.
Ukester performed in our Thursday evening concert, taught and performed in a workshop/mini concert on Friday, taught a M.U.G. song on Saturday, performed in our Saturday afternoon concert, and lead the Sunday morning Gospel music jam with Pete McCarty. Paul Bagley rounded out the music with his ukulele bass.
Ukester’s Website: ukesterbrown.com
Ukester’s Facebook page
Ukester’s YouTube channel
Petey Mack
‘Petey Mack is a feller that loves the ukulele almost as much as he loves People!’
Pete has been a staple of the Silver Creek International Ukulele Carnival. He brings his southern charm and playfulness up north each year, adding greatly to our Carnival party atmosphere.
Pete has been live streaming on Facebook for quite a few years, attracting fans from all over the world. He has created a massive number of songs in his free downloadable song book, which he uses in his streaming so everyone can join in.
Pete has been leading strum sessions all over the world at ukulele festivals and has a tremendous number of friends because of his social media and traveling.
Pete has also been leading strum sessions at the Memphis Ukulele Flash Mob get togethers for quite a few years.
Pete’s approach to the ukulele follows his K.I.S.S. theory: keep it simple, and strum, meaning make every thing as simple as you can, and most importantly enjoy yourself. He tells all of his students that he only has one rule: Yah gotta have FUN!
Pete played in the Thursday evening concert, lead a live Facebook strum session on Friday afternoon, taught us a M.U.G. song, played in a mini-concert, played in the Saturday afternoon concert, and joined Ukester Brown to lead the Sunday morning Gospel music.
Pete’s Website: peteymack.weebly.com
Pete’s Facebook page
Pete’s YouTube channel
Chris Russell, Ph.D.
Christopher J. Russell, Ph.D. is a music educator with degrees from the University of Northwestern, St. Paul, The University of St. Thomas, and the University of Minnesota. He has twenty-eight years of teaching experience at the secondary and elementary levels.
Over the years, he has taught vocal music, music theory, music history, guitar, ukulele, and general music. As a performer, he has performed as an operatic tenor and tubist in many ensembles, and he has also served as a director for choirs, bands, musicals, and orchestras. In 2024, Dr. Russell was named Co-Director of the Bavarian Musikmeisters, and authentic German wind band based in the Twin Cities.
He is also passionate about the intersection of music education and technology and blogs about that topic at techinmusiced.com in addition to the ukulele work that he does at ukestuff.info, YouTube.com/ukestuff, and YouTube.com/ukeplayalongs. The ukeplayalongs channel has over 100,000 subscribers.
Dr. Russell also serves as a technical writer and educational consultant for Flight Ukuleles, and serves as a clinician for Peripole, one of the world’s best sources for materials and instruments for music educators.
Chris taught an intermediate checklist workshop in the main room, taught four progressive beginner ukulele classes and taught two intermediate classes on Friday and Saturday, and taught a M.U.G. song.
Chris’ Website: techinmusiced.com
Chris’ Facebook page
Chris’ UkeStuff YouTube channel
Chris’ ukeplayalongs YouTube channel
Mini-Concerts
Katy Vernon
Katy Vernon performed in a mini-concert on Saturday and performed in our Saturday afternoon concert.
Katy is a London born singer songwriter who is based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her resume highlights include being named the Winner of Best Acoustic Performer of 2020 By City Pages, the Eric Stokes songwriting award, and Kerrville Folk Best new song finalist award.
Her most recent record ‘Suit Of Hearts’ was named album of the year by Ukulele magazine as well as landing on several local best of lists.
She was also a finalist in Ukulele magazine for Best International Ukulele player!
In addition to her music career she also sits on the board of the mental wellness organization Dissonance, curates several local concert series, and sings the role of Agnetha in an all star ABBA tribute band called Abbasolutely Fab!
Katy’s Website: katyvernon.com
Katy’s Facebook page
Katy’s YouTube channel
Katy on X
Katy on Instagram
Katy on Spotify
Katy on Reverbnation
Dean Johnson
Dean Johnson performed in our Thursday evening concert, performed in a mini-concert on Friday, and performed in our Saturday afternoon concert.
Dean began performing as a stand up comedian during the comedy boom of the 80’s. The ukulele soon became part of his act, and traveled with him all around the United States and Canada entertaining in comedy clubs, in concerts, at banquets and special events. Dean also worked as an actor, and appeared in television commercials.
Dean’s Facebook page
Petey Mack
Petey Mack performed in a mini-concert this year. It was really exciting to see Pete performing solo!
See Pete’s bio and social media links above.
Ukester Brown
Ukester Brown performed in a mini-concert/teaching workshop this year. It was a really nice treat!
See Ukester’s bio and social media links above.
A Brief History of the Carnival
The Carnival was first held in 2011 in the Silver Creek Town Hall. In 2016 the Carnival was moved to the Silver Creek Music Pavilion building. In 2022 we decided to move to our current location at the Lake County Fairgrounds, giving us much more room and expanded camping facilities.
We used to host the gospel music as part of a Sunday church service at Gooseberry Falls State Park, but outgrew the building. We now host a Sunday morning Gospel Strum at the main Carnival facility.
