Just east of the twists and turns of the mighty Mississippi river lies a city by the name of Jackson, Mississippi. The “City with Soul” is about as diverse in culture as they come. With deep-seeded roots in the blues, international ballet and history. The blues were born in Mississippi and Jackson forms part of what is known as The Blues Trail. One hundred and eighty-nine historic markers are placed all over this state and Jackson lays claim to thirteen of them, including one on Roach Street, where legendary blues pianist Otis Spann was born in 1930.

With all of this history and tradition the people of Jackson are able to flaunt, there is one more accolade the can add to the mix – a very famous ukulele player. Dent May and his Magnificent Ukulele hails from Jackson. Now based in California, May dabbles in all sorts of music genres and blends the smooth sounds of his ukulele into every tune he plays, whether it’s Indie rock or New Wave, this maestro doesn’t believe in limiting the powers of his favourite string instrument. You can catch up on more info about Mr May on the Ukulele Music Info website listed below.

https://www.ukulelemusicinfo.com/ukulele-players/dent-may/

Currently ukulele groups or clubs in Jackson (or Mississippi even) are few and far between, so if you’re a Jackson local who wants to expand their ukulele network, here are a few suggestions.

Have a car or motorcycle that you love to take out on the road? Then hit the blacktop and take a drive to Tupelo where Mark Maharrey, founder of the North Mississippi Hill Country Ukulele Orchestra and Isochronous Symposium (quite a mouthful) will welcome you like a long-lost family member. The group had their first official meeting in February of last year and now meet once weekly for a ninety-minute session at the iHeart Radio Offices on Cliff Gookin Boulevard. They play as many live gigs as they can string together and have also performed as a flash mob. Their repertoire is about as wide as the Mississippi river with covers of songs by Pink Floyd, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, REM and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.  

Although Maharrey admits that his orchestra have only begun to take baby steps, the ambition from the group is definitely there to bring the ukulele forward to take its rightful place in Mississippi. The orchestra can be reached through their Facebook page listed below.

https://www.facebook.com/nomihicoukor/ 

Well there you have it folks. Not too many options in the state of Mississippi but don’t get discouraged. As we can see the ukulele has some trail blazing to do in the land of the Blues, but onwards and upwards we go. The folks at the North Mississippi Hill Country Ukulele Orchestra and Isochronous Symposium (we need to work out an abbreviation for that one) are driven and passionate enough about the artform to make it work. Who knows, maybe you will be the founder of the very first Ukulele group in Jackson with your Bondi Uke by your side.

Keep strumming, all!