Mighty Uke follows the history of the ukulele's popularity from its earliest days in the court of Hawaiian King David Kalākaua through the ‘lost’ years, then its first revival on early radio and the stages of vaudeville; then through several decades in the shadows again as jazz flourished until the days of early television and revival again with stars such as Arthur Godfrey.
As film critic Leonard Maltin says, "When you see Arab and Israeli children singing and playing a tune called "Ukuleles for Peace" I dare you not to smile.
The initial meeting launched an annual event, as well as being credited with the establishment of several new ukulele groups, including the Motor City Ukes.
[8] Mighty Uke Day II was held May 5, 2012 and added an appearance on Lansing Community College's Grand River Radio Diner on WLNZ 89.7 FM, a main stage concert with Gerald Ross, The Fabulous Heftones and Lil' Rev and a number of workshops.
In addition to the open mike and previous activities, it featured a main stage with several dozen performers, numerous ukulele workshops and concerts on both Friday and Saturday night.
Friday's concert was headlined by Stuart Fuchs and the opening acts included Gerald Ross, Susan Picking and Andy Wilson.
Saturday's concert featured Victoria Vox with opening acts of high school musician Kendall Cassella, Ukulele Dwight (Joel Mabus) and the duo Saldaje.
Evening performers include; Kalei Gamiao, Victor and Penny, Marlowe, Megan Dooley, Ryan Rodriguez, and The Ukulele Kings.
Daniel Ward and Heidi Swedberg presented workshops and were the headliners at the Saturday night concert with opening act The Ukulele Kings.