Ukulele festival celebrates the power of music

by Sophia Lovell

Around the young age of six, Mitch Chang picked up his first ever instrument: the ukulele. With the instrument being so deeply ingrained in Hawaiian culture and curriculum, Chang spent his young years playing for the May Day festival, strumming in his free time, and listening to his church’s ukulele group. 

Fast-forward to 2024, and on September 21st, Chang hosted his eighth annual Ukulele Festival in Los Angeles, through his organization, Kala Koa. 

“Kala Koa is the Hawaiian way of saying calico… like a multicolored cat… even within just one of my events, like the ukulele festival, there’s a huge variety of colors and styles and approaches to ukulele.” Mitch Chang told AsAmNews in an interview before the festival. 

Kala Koa celebrates the many colors of the community and their musical passions: “The word calico describes all of my events, and each event.” 

So, why the ukulele? 

The instrument itself originated in Portugal and was brought over in the 1800s when the Portuguese settled in Hawaii. As we now know it, the ukulele is one of the defining sounds of Hawaiian culture. However, the ukulele is a diverse instrument that can perform many different adaptations and musical varieties: from Vance Joy’s Riptide to jazz pieces to Black Sabbath covers, the possibilities of this four-stringed wonder are endless. 

The instrument also lends itself well to the format of the festival; 

“I don’t think there’s any other instrument that you can really do this kind of event with… you can literally have people—100 people, 200 people, 500 people sitting next to each other and strumming.” Mike Chang told AsAm News. 

In the name of Kala Koa, the festival had artists from all over the globe: Italy, Hawaii, Amsterdam, and Japan just to name a few. 

Jeff Peterson, who also grew up in Hawaii and began playing from a young age, also joined. He spoke with AsAm News about his experience with the instrument, detailing his outreach programs in a variety of countries. He says he “love[s] seeing the reaction when young students learn how to play their first chords and songs of the ukulele.

“It is inspiring to see the positive effect it has on communities around the world,” he added. 

Peterson runs an online academy for ukulele players, and plays in a variety of styles, from classical jazz to classical Hawaiian tunes, all of which he performed during his set at the festival.