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Rocky Mountain Ukulele Spring Retreat with Steven Espaniola
April 28 @ 7:30 pm - April 29 @ 9:00 pm
$100.00
Rocky Mountain Ukefest presents Steven Espaniola
Concert | Workshops | Open Mic & Jam Session
Friday & Saturday, April 28 & 29, 2023
Concert Location: Smiley Cafe | 1309 E. 3rd Ave., Durango, Colorado 81301
Workshop Location: Rocky Mountain Ukefest & Music Studio | 1309 E. 3rd Ave. Studio 114, Durango, Colorado 81301
Weekend Pass | $100
Weekend Pass includes Friday night concert at the Smiley Café, all Saturday workshops & Saturday evening Open Mic & Jam Session at Smiley Café. In-person workshop sessions are limited to 20 people. Online sessions available upon request only by contacting Denise Leslie.
FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 7:30 PM
Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College presents Live @ the Smiley Café featuring Steven Espaniola
The Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College presents another intimate, listening room experience for audiences with Steven Espaniola as part of the ‘Live @ the Smiley Café’ series at the Smiley Café located in historic downtown Durango. The Live @ The Smiley Café Series has limited seating for 50 in a small, intimate setting for acoustic performances.
About Steven Espaniola
Raised in Aliamanu, Hawai’i and now residing in the California Bay Area, Steven is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist Hawaiian artist specializing in Ki Ho’alu (Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar), ukulele, Upright Bass and Leo Ki’e Ki’e (Traditional Hawaiian falsetto).
His debut recording, “Ho’omaka” (to begin), features a mesmerizing collection of traditional and original Hawaiian mele (chants, songs, and poems) recorded by Na Hoku Hanohano and GRAMMY Award winning producer Dave Tucciarone. Steven’s next release, Ho’omaopopo (to understand), transports to the Hawaii of yesterday with soaring falsetto voices,slak key guitar and rhythmic ‘ukuele’ and won him “New Artist of the Year” at the Hawaii Music Awards.
He has presented at some of the country’s most prestigious ukulele festivals including Tunes in the Dunes (Oregon), Reno Ukulele Festival (Nevada), San Francisco Ukulele Festival (California) and Mighty Uke Day (Michigan).
Workshop Agenda | Level: Confident Beginners
SATURDAY, APRIL 29
10 am – 12 pm | Hawaiian Strumming Part 1
Steven teaches 3 of the most widely used strumming patterns in traditional Hawaiian music: Olapa, Classic, and Modern. Traditional Hawaiian songs will be used to show the strums in a real-world context. These techniques were elaborated in an article that Steven wrote for Ukulele Magazine. Class will be taught in a fun, kani ka pila type of environment!
2 – 4 pm | Hawaiian Strumming Part 2
Learn three more of the most widely used strumming patterns in traditional Hawaiian music: Tahitian, 6/8 and waltz, IZ strum. Traditional Hawaiian songs will be used to show the strums in a real-world context. These techniques were elaborated in an article that Steven wrote for Ukulele Magazine. Class will be taught in a fun, kani ka pila type of environment!
7 – 9 pm | Open Mic & Jam Session | Free Event Open to the Public
This is a public event for anyone who wants to join us for an evening of strumming together with Denise Leslie and Steve Espaniola at the Smiley Cafe. All instruments will be welcome and there will be a selection of songs we will play together. We will also have a limited number of Open Mic opportunities for anyone wanting to share a performance.