Ukulele Bliss In Tucson, Arizona

Tucson, a city in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert, is famous for its dramatic beauty and spectacular cacti – including the giant saguaro, a symbol of the American Southwest.  

With an average annual temperature of 21 degrees and a remarkable 350 days of sunshine every year, Tucsonans have known for a long time that their sleepy city is an incredible place to be, but it seems the rest of the world is now starting to catch on.  

Tourists have begun to flock here to see Tucson’s main attractions: its spectacular desert and towering cacti. But if your interests are directed more towards a certain four-stringed instrument better associated with the shores of Hawaii than the dirt and dust of the desert, then Tucson has what you’re looking for too.  

The Arizonan city is home to a number of ukulele clubs whose goal is to bring awareness and enjoyment to the uke community, and Tucson Ukulele Meetup is one of them.  

The group is a member-run, not-for-profit music club that brings uke enthusiasts together to play and sing the ukulele. All types of ukes are welcome, and anyone with a soprano, concert, tenor, baritone, guitalele or banjolele is encouraged to bring them. Bass instruments, such as the U-Bass, cello, double-bass and bass guitar are also welcome.  

Tucson Ukulele Meetup, which has an annual membership due of $15, meets every Thursday and Sunday at various locations. Past venues have included Eckstrom-Columbus Branch Library, Ellie Towne/Flowing Wells Community Center and Himmel Park Branch Library. New members can expect a variety of music to be played at each meet-up, with songs from genres like pop, blues, bluegrass, folk, country, gospel, rock and soul often making an appearance.  

If your passion to play the ukulele stretches past two meet-ups a week, Tucson’s next closest uke group, the Sun City Strummers Ukulele Club, lies just a 20-minute drive away. From experienced musicians to those who have never played before, the year-round club welcomes any and every ukulele player in the area.  

The Sun City Strummers meet most Tuesday mornings in the Desert Oasis from 10am until 11am for beginner and review sessions. Kanikapilas take place in the auditorium every Wednesday from 3pm until 5pm.