Summer 2025 Newsletter

In this issue;

• All the details on my upcoming live public gigs!
• What I’ve been up to
• What’s next for Ukulele Online…

Upcoming Gigs

I love sharing music with the public and I’m pleased to say that I will be appearing across the UK with my show Think You Know Uke? this summer at a range of festivals, venues and even a cruise!

Basingstoke Canal Cruise, Saturday 19th July

This is going to be a fun one! Join us for an evening’s cruise up and down the Basingstoke Canal aboard the John Pinkerton II canal boat, passing through beautiful countryside as the sun sets.

A canal cruise is the perfect way to unwind and cool off, especially if the weather will be at hot then as it has been in the UK recently! What’s more, I’ll be there playing live and you’ll get some fish and chips for your money too. I can’t wait to see you there…

Chilli & Cheese Festival, Guildford

A new festival for me! I’ll be roaming around singing my silly songs and keeping people happy as they explore all there is to see at this Chilli & Cheese Festival! There will be food and music galore, a perfect summer’s treat for the family.

Shrewkfest 2025

Ah! Shrewkfest has become a staple of my gigging calendar as they’ve been kind enough to have me every single year that they’ve been going! And as one of the biggest ukulele festival running this year, it’s packed with ukulele-stars from across the country and beyond. I’ll be bringing some new material to the main stage on the Saturday evening as well as running two exciting workshops on flamenco and technique. See you there!

And beyond…

There’s so many more gigs I could list here, but sadly there isn’t space for all of them! Above are just my summer-time gigs, with hopefully more to come (watch this space!). As for the rest of 2025 and into 2026, please refer to my gigs list below:

Tour Dates

“He put on a slick, professional and entertaining performance particularly highlighting his great mastery of the banjolele and ukulele…Go see his shows – you won’t be disappointed!”

Vic Cracknell, 2019

Matthew Quilliam is not responsible for the content of external links. All information correct at time of publication. Details subject to change, always contact venue for further information.

What I’ve Been Up To…

The last few months have been so busy that I’ve had no time to update you all on where I’ve been! So, here’s a somewhat dump of everything I’ve been up to since my last newsletter:

Pembrokeshire Ukulele Weekender

The lovely folks at the Wales Ukulele Project were kind enough to invite me to headline their Ukulele Weekend up in Pembroke in June. It was one of the most enjoyable gigs I’ve ever done! Not only was it a privilege to give my first proper headline performance at a festival, but it was so nice meeting such lovely people and to be surrounded by endless Welsh scenery.

New Material & Showreel

I’ve been working hard to make my 2025 shows my best yet! I’ve been updating all my repertoire to create an entirely new show that’s even funnier and spectacular than ever before. You can catch a glimpse of what I’ve been working on in my latest showreel here:

Corporate Events

This year has so far seen me do a few corporate events and conferences. These range from ambient performances to actually delivering a session on ukulele teaching to professional teachers across Surrey county. We had a productive time discussing approaches to teaching this unique instrument and I look forward to implementing some of these ideas myself in my teaching going forward.

Ukulele Bowties and Headbands

Now available from my store! Grab yourself a hand-made ukulele bowtie or headband today. Perfect for the budding ukulele player for a formal night or just for a bit of fun!

Click the image to see more information and to purchase.

Ukulele Online

I’m pleased to report that my online ukulele courses, under the Ukulele Online brand, have been doing tremendously well over the last year. Since the first course launched back in March 2024, we’ve had dozens of subscribers join the ranks. I’m so glad that you have all chosen to join us!

Now, looking forward to the future, I can reveal that the next course will be Ukulele Booster Pack. This course aims to provide something for everybody, especially those who have been playing a while and have been feeling like they are in a rut. Maybe you don’t know where to take your playing next? The course covers chord-melody, fingerstyle, new strumming patterns and more, so it’s the perfect learning tool for enthusiastic players looking for their next challenge.

Updates will be posted on this newsletter first, and if you know anybody that you think might be interested, please send them this way so they don’t miss out.

That’s all from me for now! Thanks as ever for your continued support, all the best!

Matthew Quilliam