Australian
Ukulele
Festival
The Australian Ukulele Festival is a business name registered to Kevin Chennell. Kevin (pictured on left) is based in Kalamunda in the Perth hills of Western Australia. Kevin is an enthusiastic musician, singer, event organiser and teacher (Grad Dip Ed Curtin University). Kevin is currently a student of jazz clarinet under Neil Boon and a musical facilitator at Warwick Catch Music sessions.
Kevin formed Kalamunda Ukulele Collective in September 2018. The focus of the group is performance and community involvement. The majority of the members sing and play ukulele however the group welcomes other musicians and their instruments to add variety and create a unique sound.
The group has appeared at the Strings Attached Guitar Festival in Margaret River in 2019 and 2021, the Manjimup Bluegrass and Old Time Music Weekend in 2020, the Fringe Festival in Kalamunda in 2020, 2021 and 2022 and has also been broadcast on local radio (KCR). The group continues to perform widely.
In partnership with Busselton Ukulele Strummers, Kevin has hosted and managed events for international and national ukulele players including Ukulele Russ from Alaska, Samantha Muir from the UK and Anu Grace from Queensland. All of these artists held concerts and workshops in Kalamunda and this has helped build the skills of the Western Australian ukulele community.
Kevin gives private ukulele lessons and delivers workshops on ukulele performance and playing styles (bluegrass and jazz/blues) and musical arranging.
